Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1911_0039.jpg

D IR E C TO R Y .]

B E R K S H IR E .

BASILDON.

37

which seems never to have been constructed: the chan­ tory, net yearly value ¿198, including 6 acres of glebe,
cel is separated from the nave by an arch of 15ft. with residence, in the gift of Sir Francis Burdett bart.
span, richly ornamented w ith roses and dog-tooth and and held since 1906 by the Rev. W illiam Henry
zigzag mouldings and grotesque h ead s: the centre of Blackwell, of St. Bees. This manor, in the time of
the arch has undergone a singular depression, pro­ Edward the Confessor, belonged to a fam ily named
bably owing to the lateral pressure of the arch itself Gunner, or Gonnere, and im m ediately after the Con­
and the absence of any internal pier or external but­ quest, to Richard Puingeant (A nglo-Saxonice: Bigge),
tress, as well as to the incomplete state of the originally the supposed founder of the ch u rch ; then to the
projected stone vaulting of the chancel roof, the ribbed Longespees, Earls of Salisbury, who appear to have held
groins of which are ornamented with beak-heads and it from the reign of H enry I I . ; at a later period it
flow ers: the south door of the nave is a good example was in the fam ilies of Coventry and Choke or Chokke,
of a shafted Saxon arch, with bead and dog-tooth also of Abingdon, who recorded their pedigree and
ornaments, but was m uch m utilated in the 16th cen­ arm s at the visitations of 1566 and 1664-6. Richard
tu ry by the erection of a porch by Richard Choke, then Choke, of Avington, 2nd son of Sir Richard Choke
lord of the m anor, about 1574 : the font, a remarkable kt. Justice of the Common Pleas (1471). m arried Alice,
specimen of Saxon work, is cylindrical, and has a daughter and heiress of Robert Coventry, of Avington,
cable m oulding round its upper ed g e; the lower por­ esq. ; his grandson Francis was knighted in 1643;
tion is arcaded, and has in the arcading thirteen rudely la tterly it was in the possession of W illiam Jones esq.
sculptured figures, most of them in ecclesiastical vest­ of Ram sbury Manor, W ilts, whose eldest daughter,
ments : two are bishops in palls— one seated and one in Elizabeth, m arried W illiam Langham esq. (afterwards
attitude of benediction; two are bishops in copes— Jones), created a baronet in 1774; on his death w ith ­
one with crozier and one w ith pastoral sta ff; two are out issue, in 1791, the estates passed to Eleanor, the
priests in albs— one with hands crossed in prayer and 2nd daughter, wife of Francis Burdett esq. in suc­
one in the embrace of the fiend; two are priests giving cession to whom the manor passed to Sir Francis B u r­
each other the kiss of p eace; two are ecclesiastical dett bart. J.P. but now belongs to H um phrey Jeffrey
lawyers in copes— one with brief in hand and one with a W alm eslev esq. J.P. of Kintbury. The Manor House,
Lord Chancellor’s w ig ; the foul fiend, with horns and now (1911) occupied by Mr. John Bishop, is surrounded
cloven feet, is twice repeated; and the 13th is in­ by a very ancient wall, w ith hand-cut stone coping,
describable, except as probably representing Boethius, supposed to have once encircled some m onastic h o u se;
or some other decollated saint, with his head in his the present mansion was built in 1725, the earlier,
own h an d s; behind the font stands an ancient slab, erected in 1574, having been destroyed by fire. T he soil
with a striking but rudely incised C alvary cross upon is light land ; subsoil, gravel or chalk. The chief crops
its upper h alf; the only monum ents of importance are wheat, barley and oats. The parish comprises 1,177
in the church are three slabs on the chancel floor and acres of land in two farms, and 8 of w a te r; rateable
an escutcheon suspended in the porch, all memorials value. ,£958; the population in 1901 was 97.
of the Berkshire fam ily of James, now represented by
Radley, i f miles north, and Bowling Green, 2J m iles
Lord Northbourne, of Betteshanger, K e n t: the walls of north, are ham lets within this parish.
the church are of great thickness, and the windows
Sexton, W illiam Harrison.
are deeply splayed, and four are filled with stained Letters through Hungerford, arrive about 7.20 a.m . &
g la s s : the chancel retains a square aumbry, a piscina
6.50 p.m . ; S u n d a y s , 7.30 a.m.
K intbury is th e
and a beautiful sed ile: in the churchyard is a fine
nearest m o n e y order & telegraph office, about 2 miles
tom b to Simon Rawlins esq. of Bridgcomb, Uffington,
distant
1762, and Anne, bis wife, 1764: there are 80 sit­ W all Letter Box cleared at 7.20 a.m . & 6.50 p.m. ;
tings. The register dates from the year 1725 : the
Sunday, 7.30 a.m
earlier records, then kept in the Manor house, were The children of this place attend the school at K in t­
destroyed by fire in that year. The benefice is a recbury, to which parish Avington is affiliated.
Blackwell Rev. Wm. Hy. Rectory
Bishop Jn.farm er,M anor House farm .Prince Charles, gamekeeper to Capt.
Gore James, farm er, Radley farm
! Edward H. B. Sawbridge
B A L K I N G , see Baulking.
B A R K H A M is a parish and village 2^ miles south­ 1886 by the Rev. Peter Hampson Ditchfield M .A. of
west from W okingham and 6 south-east from Reading, Oriel College, Oxford F .S .A ., F .R .H ist.S . and diocesan
in the Eastern division of the county, petty sessional inspector of schools. A llw righ t’s ch arity of £ 3 yearly
division and union of W okingham, hundred of Charl­ is for bread and Glasspool’s ch arity of £199 10s. is for
ton, county court d istrict of Reading, and rural deanery coals. The poor’s allotm ents were purchased by the
of Reading, archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of Ox­ late John W alter esq. for between £400 and £500 and
ford. The village is a very ancient one, and is men­ the money invested in the £ 2 ! per Cent. Consols ; the
tioned in the Domesday Survey and in tb.e Abingdon interest is expended in coals for the benefit of the poor.
Chronicle. It was granted to the abbey of Abingdon The Manor House, a red brick mansion, with pleasant
in A D. 941, and can therefore claim an existence of crounds and shrubberies, is the residence of Wilson
nearly 1,000 years. The church of St. James, rebuilt Noble esq. J.P. ; John W alter esq. of Bear Wood, is
between 1867 and 1874 on the foundations of the old lord of the manor and chief landowner. The soil is
church, is an edifice of flint w ith Bath stone dressings, in gravel and c la y ; subsoil, London clay. The chief crop§
the Early English style, and cpnsists of chancel, nave of are wheat and barley
The area is 1,381 acres of land
four bays, transepts and a south-west tower with spire, and 3 of w ater; rateable value, £1,490 ; the population
containing 4 b ells: the chancel and transepts were in 1901 was 218.
added in 1887 by the late John W alter esq. : there is an
interesting monument of the 14th century: the church Post Office.— George H arris, sub-postmaster. Letters
arrive from Wokingham at 7.30 a.m . & 5.30 p.m. ;
plate includes a chalice bearing the date 1561 : the
Sundays, 8.10 a.m . ; dispatched at 9.30 a.m. & 6.30
church was restored in 1887, and the chancel rebuilt, at
p.m. ; Sundays, 10.55 a m
Arborfield Cross, one mile
a cost of £'1,800, and has now 200 sittings. The re ­
distant, is the nearest money order & telegraph office
gister dates from the year 1538, and is in a good
state of preservation.
The living is a rectory, net The School has been united to that of Arborfield,
yearly value £260, with 22 acres of glebe and resi­
situated in th at parish, & the children of this place
attend there
dence, in the gift of John W alter esq. and held since
c o m m e r c ia l .
Brooks Percy & Frederick, farmers,
P R IV A T E R E S ID E N T S
Allen George Blake, Bull inn
Langley Pond farm
Barry Capt. James L. Moat house
A llright John Alfred, farmer
G rainger W illiam , gamekeeper to J.
Ditchfield Rev. Peter Hampson M .A., Bicknell Ernest George, farm bailiff
T. W alter esq
F .S .A .,F .R .H ist.S . (rector),Rectory
to E. M.Sturges esq
Harris George, baker & grocer &
Noble Wilson J.P. Manor house
Blake Edwin Geo.frmr.Handpost frm
sub-postm aster
Sturges Edward M. Barkham square Blake George, farm bailiff to A. Gib- Scoones Richard, blacksmith to E . M.
bons esq. Langley Common farm
Sturges esq
B A S I L D O N is a village and parish on the river
Tham es, which is here crossed by a bridge of four
arches, on the line of the G reat W estern railway, and
erected at a cost of £25,000; the village is 2§ miles
south-east from Goring station on the Great Western
railway, and 8 north-west from Reading, in the Southern
division of the county, hundred of Moreton, union of
Bradfield, petty sessional division and county court

district of Reading, ru ral deanery of Wallingford, arch­
deaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford. The church
of St. Bartholomew, supposed to have beer erected in
the reign of Edward II. (1307-27), is a building of flint
with stone dressings, consisting of chancel, nave, south
porch and a western tower of 'brick, with pinnacles, and
containing a clock and 4 b e lls ; in the chancel is a
monument to Sirv Francis Sykes bart. of Basildon Park,