Page:VCH Berkshire 1.djvu/74

 A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE which is 9 1 2 feet above the sea. This range does not pursue the easterly direction for any considerable distance, but turns southwards and soon leaves the county. It will thus be seen that the county slopes from west to east, and that three distinct ranges of hills traverse it from the west to the east. South of the Kennet, to the east of the point where the chalk range leaves the county, the country rises in a gentle slope, and separates for some distance the valley of the Emborne from that of the Kennet ; but the height of the hilly ground forming the watershed is only about 400 feet on Greenham Common, and this height gradually sinks eastwards, Crookham Common being 382, Burghfield 313, and Sulhampstead only 300 feet above sea level. To the south of Reading the watershed of the Blackwater is formed by hilly ground belonging to the Tertiary formations. The river enters Berkshire at a point where the height of the surface of the water is about 200 feet above the sea, its outfall near Twyford, after its junction with the Loddon, being about i oo feet. The hills in this southern part of the county are not arranged in regular lines as are those already mentioned, but are irregularly scattered over the area. In the south-east there is a flat tract between Twyford and Maidenhead, of which a considerable extent is less than 150 feet, and some not more than 90 feet above the sea. East of Twyford a rather conspicuous and picturesque group of hills is formed by the London clay, one of which, Bowsey Hill, reaches an altitude of 454 feet, Ashley Hill being 358, and Crazey Hill 316 feet above the sea. On the south-west the same formation rises into a hilly country which on Hawthorn Hill is 248, on St. Leonard's 294, and on High Standing Hill and Cranbourn Park is 280 feet above the sea. South-west of Wokingham the ground rises at Finchampstead to 320 feet, and overlooks the valley of the Black- water ; Caesar's Camp near Bracknell attains an elevation of 410 feet, Lodge Hill is 377, and Easthampstead Plain, the highest point of the Bagshot beds, is 423 feet above the sea. The river at Maidenhead is only 84 feet above the sea. Berkshire therefore not only slopes from the west to the east, but there is also a decided slope from the north to the south. It must be borne in mind that the central plateau of the chalk is by no means a plain, or even an inclined plain ; on the contrary it is very diversified, and may be roughly divided into two parts ; of these the western, which is on the whole the more elevated of the two, is drained by the Lambourn, its northern side being terminated by the White Horse, and, as has been said already, the country slopes down towards the Kennet. In this part the elevation of Wickham Heath is 477 feet, the river Lambourn near Welford is 329 feet, and at its junction with the Kennet near Shaw is 254 feet above the sea. The eastern side includes the high ground of the chalk which rises at Lowbury to a height of 585 feet ; further south, overlooking the Pang stream, is Oare Hill, which is 397 feet high, and in the vicinity is the earthwork known as Grimsbury Castle, which is 461 feet high. The high ground about Aldworth reaches 579 feet, and Beedon touches 545 feet, while Ashampstead is 447 feet, and 28