Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1911_0084.jpg

81

f a r in g ;

o x.

B E R K S H IR E .

ham , rural deanery of the Vale of W hite Hur.se, arch­
deaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford. The town,
which is situate on an eminence, dates as far back as
the 9th century. The Saxon kings had a palace here,
in which Edward the Elder died in 925. In 1144 Robert,
Earl of G loucester, erected a castle, which after a short
siege was demolished by the forces of K in g Stephen.
D uring the civil wars Faringdon House was garrisoned
for the king, Sir M armaduke Rawton kt. being gover­
nor ; it was attacked in June, 1645, and again in 1646;
it was surrendered by Royal command to Sir Robert
Pye kt. its owner, who was then in command of the
Parliam entary troops, considerable damage, however,
being done both to the town and the church. The
town is lighted with gas by a company formed in 1835,
and supplied with water by the Rural D istrict Council.
The church of All Saints is an ancient and interesting
cruciform edifice of stone in the Norman and later
styles, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles,
double gabled transepts and a low central tower with
plain parapet, containing 8 bells and a clock; the north
door of the nave, now disused, is E arly Norman ; the
nave and other portions of the church are in the Tran­
sition style, dated from about 1180. and including the
south door, which retains some rem arkably good Early
English ironwork; the nave arches are sem i-circular,
supported by massive cylindrical piers with rich foliated
cap itals; the E arlv English tower, erected about 1200,
is sustained by four great piers, lined w ith clusters
of sem i-cylindrical shafts, each furnished with a capital
of an elegant and varied fo rm ; the chancel is also
Early English, of about the same period, and is re­
m arkable for its great length and extrem e sim plicity;
there are canopied sedilia, with rich decorated work,
dating from about 1300; the Unton chapel of the north
transept is also Decorated, but later, and dates from
about 1370; the window is rem arkable as having 3
foliated canopy in its s p lay; the windows of the north
aisle of the nave are Perpendicular and were probably
inserted about 1400; the west window of the nave is
about a century la te r; the Pye chapel, attached to the
chancel, was probably added soon after the Reforma­
tion ; the east window and six others in the chancel,
four in the south transept, three in the aisle of the
south transept and two in the south aisle of the nave,
are stain ed ; in the Unton chapel is an alabaster tomb,
with recum bent effigies of Sir Thomas Unton kt. of
Wadley, and Elizabeth, his w ife ; adjoining is a monu­
ment to Sir Alexander Unton kt. ob. 1547, w ith effigy
of him self in a tabard, and his two wives. Mary and
C ecvll, in heraldic m antles, with ten ch ild ren ; on the
west wall is a marble m onum ent to Sir Edward Unton,
made a kn igh t of the Bath at the Coronation of Queen
Elizabeth, who married Anne (Seym our), widow of John
Dudley, E arl of Warwick, daughter to Edward Seymour.
Duke of Som erset. Lord Protector of E n glan d ; on the
east wall is a tablet to Sir H enry Unton. knighted in
Holland in 1586, by Robert. E arl of Leicester, for his
bravery at the siege of Z u tp h en ; he was twice chosen
ambassador to France, and died in 1596, during the
em b assv ; the monument was erected in 1606 by his
widow. Dorothy, whose kneeling effigy form erly stood on
a pedestal at the foot, but is now in the Pye ch a p e l;
in this chapel, on a buttress of the tower, is a m ural
m onum ent to Lionel Rich. ob. 1742, who m arried in 1734..
Annie. daughter of Henry Pve esq. ; against the north wall
is a noble m onum ent of white m arble, with blue columns
supporting cherubs of alabaster, to Jane Pye, ob. 1706;
another m onum ent of variegated m arble, supported by
columns of the Tuscan order, in m em ory of Ann Pye j
there are m any additional monuments and brasses to
the Parker, Purefov, Pleydell and other fam ilies, but
Xiese have been m ostly m utilat°d or removed fronb
cheir original positions; Richard Lenton. vicar, ob.
ra io ; Thomas Farvndon esq. ob 1396, and M argaret, his
wife. ob. 140Z; and their daughter, Ca henne Pvnchepole, ob. 1443: in the chancel is a m em orial window,
erected in 1902, to the late Mrs Bennett, of F aring­
don H o u se: the oak vestibule screen w ’thin the south
door was erected in 1904, at a cost of
In 1909 a
etained glass window was erected bv the parishioners
to the memory of the late G. W. Hakgood esq The
church was thoroughly restored in 1854 : there are 900
sittings, 300 bping free. The chur > is approached bv
a nleasant avenue of chestnut trees The register dates
from the vear 1^82. The living is a vicarage, with Little
Coxwell annexed, net vearlv value fz n o including 78
acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of Simeon’s
trustees, and held since 1909 bv the Rev. John Edward

[ kelly’s

Cowell M.A. of Corpus C hristi College, Cambridge. The
m eeting house of the Society of Friends in Lechlade
road is a building of stone with 15 0 sittings. The
Baptist chapel, Block Green square, first founded in
15 76 , is of stone, and will seat 250 persons. The Con­
gregational chapel, Marlborough street, erected in 1840.
has 300 sittings. The Prim itive Methodist chapel, C o x­
well street, erected in 18 96, will seat 250 persons. The
Wesleyan chapel, Gloucester street, erected in 1837,
has 180 sittings.
The Nonconformists’ cem etery of
about
acres, on the western side of the town, was
opened for burials in 18 65, but has no m ortuary chapel;
it is under the management of trustees. The Town
Hall or M arket Hall, situated in the centre of the town,
is a rectangular structure, partly open below, and
carried on p illars; the upper part, which has a tru n ­
cated pyram idal roof, with a vane, is used for parochial
purposes, and the lower as a fire engine station. The
Corn Exchange, built in 1P63, an edifice of stone in
the Gothic style, is now chiefly used for balls, concerts
and general assemblies. Two rooms, bu ilt originally
for a savings bank, form an adjunct to the Exchange
and are used for sm aller m eetings. The Post Office, in
Marlborough street, erected in 1898, is an edifice of
red brick with stone dressings. A m arket is held here
every Tuesday and the great cattle m arket on the firsc
Tuesday in every m onth; there are statute fairs on the
Tuesday before and the Tuesday after Old Michaelma*
day. The Police Station is in Coach lane, and the Fire
Engine station in Ma ket place. Sir Henry Unton k;.
left in 15 9 1 >Cn8 yearly, derived from land, for appren­
tice fees and blankets for the benefit of the poor of the
Port of Faringdon; a sum of £ 15 from Eleanor Goff’s
charity, left in T756. is for apprentice fees ; Johanna
Alford in 17 2 1 gave £20 annually to ten poor fam ilies;
there are several other charities for bread, coals and
clothing, am ounting to about £$0 yearly, which amount
is distributed by the trustees. The Faringdon Cottage
Hospital, on the Coxwell road, was opened July 15th,
1892, both the site and building being the gift of the
late W. Dundas esq. J.P. of the Elms. The building
is of red brick and stone, from designs by Mr. John
Luker, architect, of W est Dulwich ; there are at present
eight beds and two cots. Faringdon Hill, east of the
town, is an eminence of considerable height, crowned
with a plantation of lofty firs, planted by Mr. Pye, the
Poet Laureate ; circular and transverse walks round
and through the plantation form a favourite promenade,
commanding beautiful and extensive views of the sur­
rounding country. About 1h miles north is Radcot
Bridge, over the Tsis, which separates this county from
Oxon ; it has three pointed archps one large and two
smaller, and massive parapets rising to a point in the
centre ; this bridge was the scene of a battle in 1387
between Robert de Vere, oth Earl of Oxford and Duke
of Ireland, a favourite of Riohard II. and the forces of
the disaffected nobles under Henry, Earl of Derby (after­
wards Henrv IY ) and Thomas, Duke of Gloucester,
when the troops of de Vere, num bering some 5*000.
being surrounded, he secured his personal safety only
bv divesting him self of his arm our and swim m ing down
the river ; it was also held bv the Rnvabsts during the
C ivil W ar as an outpost to Faringdon House :
miles
south-east is the celebrated White Horse (from which
the val° is named). rUdelv cut through the turf on the
side of the chalk hill, and dating in all probability from
the Saxon period, Paringdon House, re-erected in 1780
bv Henry James Pve esq M.P for Berks and Poet
Laureate, is a build-ug in the Italian stvle. situated on
an eminence, with fine views of the counties of Oxford
and Gloucester ; Mr. Pve, who received from the Unive-sifv of Oxford the h o n o r a i deorpps of M.A. in 1766
and D C L. in 1 7 7 2 . became Poet Laureate in 1790, and
in T792 one of the police m agistrates for W estm inster;
he was the author of a poem called “ Faringdon H ill,”
and other works, and died A ugust 11,
: the m an­
sion is now the residence of Col. Ward Benm'tt. The
tru 'tees of the late Daniel Bennett e«q. are lords of
the manor, a court leet is held annually at the Crown
hotel
The pHucipal landowners a>e Oriel College,
O xford, Ladv Wantage, of Lockinge Park, the trustees
of the late D -m rl Peunett esq and Sir Alexander
Henderson ba”t. J.P. of Buscot. The area is 5,872 acres
of land and 25 of w ater; rateable value, including
L ittle w o rt\ / t < 06? : the population in tq o i was 2,900
in the civ'l end 2."70 in the erolecdpstiral parish, in­
cluding 6 offipe,-«!
Rç inmate* of the workhouse.
Parish Cl-rfc Wi'llinm Collins Sell, Marlborough street.
Saxton, Mark Havnes.

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