Named after a 13th century lord of the manor, Peter de Yattendon, Yattendon is a small pretty village in the heart of the extensive Yattendon Estate in the eastern Berkshire Downs.

In the 14th century the manor of Yattendon was bought by the De La Beche family whose main residence was at La Beche Castle near Yattendon. Later it was in the hands of the Norreys family who built Yattendon Castle, a large fortified manor house. All that remains of Yattendon Castle now is the moat and the manor house now stands on the site. Yattendon Estate is now owned by the Iliffe family.

The village square, which is in the centre of the village, was built up to accommodate a market and the houses round it were built as planned units. In the square is a bus shelter which was once a picturesque well.

The parish church is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, also near the centre of the village. It was built by Sir John Norreys in about the middle of the 15th century. The porch, vestry and spire were added 15 years later by Alfred Waterhouse, builder of the Natural History Museum.

To the east of the village was Yattendon Court a Victorian Gothic mansion which was built by Alfred Waterhouse, who now owned the manor of Yattendon. Yattendon Court was pulled down by Lord Iliffe in 1925 and the present building was built by him to replace it.

Much of the Yattendon Estate is given over to traditional farming and forestry including growing Christmas trees and it houses a number of thriving small businesses. Yattendon Court is now the HQ of the Yattendon forestry business.

Nearby is the hamlet of Burnt Hill which is thought to have been established as a brick making settlement in the 18th century.

Yattendon is just north of the M4 motorway east of Chieveley.