Mortimer West End is on the northern boundary of Hampshire and, as the name suggests, is to the west of Mortimer.

The name of Mortimer comes from the Norman Lord, Ralf of Mortimer, to whom the villages and surrounding lands were given after the conquest. 

During the Roman occupation of Britain this area was very active with one of the major towns being Calleva, which was built on an earlier site of an Artrebate tribe, whose king ruled large parts of what is now Berkshire, Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey.

The Romans built their amphitheatre in what is now Mortimer West End, outside of the city walls.  Here the townspeople could watch gladiators combat, wrestling and bear bating. Crueller spectacles enjoyed by the Romans, such as fights to the death are not thought to have taken place here.  The amphitheatre was excavated in 1982 and is now maintained by English Heritage.

Nearby is a fine example of a cruck cottage and there are at least two Roman roads in Mortimer West End, the first going north from Calleva and the other, the Devils Highway, going east.

From Norman times, the ownership of the lands and villages in this area descended down through the Mortimer family.   In 1425, Edmund Mortimer died of the plague with no male heirs and so it passed to his sister Anna then to her son, Richard Duke of York, father of Edward IV and Richard III.  Thus the Mortimer estates all over the country became part of the Crown Holdings.  When Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509 and married Katherine of Aragon, Mortimer West End was part of the marriage settlement.  There is no evidence of any Royals or Mortimers coming here.  As with their other estates all over England, affairs were run by bailiffs.  The woods and farms in Mortimer West End are now part of the Englefield Estate, owned by Sir William Benyon.

During the Civil War, the two main fortresses near the village were Donnington Castle, Newbury and Basing House, Old Basing.  The Lord of the Manor was the fifth Marquis of Winchester, a Royalist.  The nearest the war came to Mortimer West End was in September 1643 when Prince Rupert launched an abortive attack on the Parliamentary army on the road between Aldermaston and Padworth.  300 men were killed.

In the 18^th century, Mortimer West End and the surrounding district comprised small farms and open heathland and was wild and lawless.  Horse stealing and other crimes were prevalent.  Catching criminals was inefficient but punishment harsh, involving death or for the fortunate, transportation.  A particularly horrible murder was committed in 1830, the victim an eight year old orphan called Charlotte Billimore, living at Little Heath and last seen alive after school.  A Thomas Miles was suspected as he had disappeared from the village.  He was arrested at Mattingley but discharged as there was no evidence against him.  Robert Byles, a surgeon, was also suspected but given an alibi.  Thomas Miles confessed six months later.  He was said to be retarded and detained during his majesty’s pleasure.

Mortimer West End’s only school was opposite St Saviours Church and had a teachers residence attached.   It was a Church of England School given by Richard Benyon in 1860.  It closed in 1929 because of lack of pupils and is now a private house.  The children of Mortimer West End are now bussed to Silchester School.

The village has had various shops and post offices, with the last at ‘Clytham’ Church Road closing in 1983 after 21 years.  As for Public Houses, there have been three; the Silchester Arms on the Devils Highway, better known as the Jackdaw, opened for the navvies building the railway.  It closed in 1950; the Red Lion in Church Road started life as a small farm house c1700 and became a public house in 1794.  It has long been favoured by walkers and in the winter has a great open log fire; Ye Olde Turners Arms in West End Road, although officially in Mortimer,  is actually the youngest pub in the area.  It was converted from two cottages in 1867.  A car park and mobile homes now occupy the turnery, where mop and broom handles and bowls were made.

During World War II, Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands came to live at ‘Lanewood’, in West End Road, now demolished.  Her daughter, Princess Juliana, also stayed there for a short while when she returned from Canada.  Queen Wilhemina was frequently seen sketching around the village, accompanied by her bodyguard.  After the war she returned home.

Finally, as for the population, this has increased from approximately 300 in 1811 to around 450 in 1901.  In 2004 it had increase to only 500, due mainly to boundary changes.