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36

ASTO N

TIRRÖLÖ*

B E R K S H IR E .

A S T O N T I R R O L D , in Dom esday “ E stone,” is a
village and parish 4 m iles south-w est from W allingford,
3 west from M oulsford station on the G reat W estern
railw ay, 3 m iles east from Upton station on the Didcot
and N ew bu ry railw ay, in the N orthern division of the
county, hundred of Moreton, W allin gford p etty sessional
division, union and county cou rt d istrict, ru ra l deanery
of W allingford, archdeaconry of B erks and diocese of
Oxford. The church of S t. M ichael is a b uildin g of
tlmt w ith stone dressings, and appears to have been
origin ally of Saxon or v ery E a rly Norm an d a te : it
consists of chancel, nave o f three bays, north aisle,
south tran sep t, south p orch and an em battled western
tow er containing 5 b e lls : both rood-loft doors rem ain,
b u t the stairs are w alled u p : a m odern copy of an
ancient screen stretches across th e arch, converting
the low er stage into a b a p tis te r y : th e chancel was
restored in 1913 in m em ory of th e Rev. S ir John L e ig h
H oskvns b art. M .A . re cto r 1845-1912, to whose m em ory
a new v estry was also erected. T h e south door has
a round head, restin g on sim ple jam b s, w ith a m oulded
f ille t : the porch is Decorated, and was form erly open
tim bered, hut has been plastered u p ; ou tside the
n orth aisle is an ancient doorway, possibly Saxon,
w ith p lain hollowed corbels, and walled u p ; within
it is a fine stone coffin lid , b earing an elegant but
p artially m u tilated foliaged c ro s s ; 'th e p riests’ door
on the south side of the chancel has gracefu l E arly
E n glish shafts w ith foliaged c a p s : th e windows on the
south and w est of the tran septs are D e c o ra ted ; on the
east side are tw o cusped la n c e ts ; the west window is
L a te P erp en d icu la r; th e east window, a D ecorated w ork,
w ith ogee head, is p artially filled w ith stained glass in
m em ory of M ark R obert T aylor esq. of A ston and BlewVury, who died N ovem ber 8, 1868, and lies b uried w ith
C atherine Mason, b is -wife (d. June 16, 1872), on the
R R IV A tE

R E S ID E N T S .

Anger V icto r, The F ilberts
C ross F rancis John K ynaston J.P.
M anor house
C u ff Miss
C u rry R ev. Thom as (Presbyterian),
The Manse
F u ller M iss, C roft house
F u ller Misses, Forge cottage
G reen-W ilkinson Rev. Lu m ley Cecil
M .A . (recto r), R ectory
Moon Robert Oswald M.D. Copse style
W ya tt M iss, C hestnu ts

C O M M E R C IA L .

Baillie Jam es, fa rm b ailiff to F. J.
K. Cross esq. J.P
Carol John, b utch er
E lliott Stephen, blacksm ith
G riffiths Jam es, baker & grocer
K ent B en jam in , gam ekeeper to F. J.
K . C ross esq. J .P
Lawrence Jam es, stud groom to
M ajor John G. M orris, T he Elm s
M aynard P ercy, grocer, & post office
Pope Jonathan, w aggonette proprietor

A S T O N T J P T H O B P E (“ the upper village ” ), fo r­
m erly a cb ap elry of th e parish of B lew bury, was, in
1862, united to Upton and togeth er form a separate
p a ris h ; it is 4 m iles south-w est from W allin gford and
3 m iles east from Upton station on th e Didcot and
N ew bury railw ay, in the N orthern division of the
county, W allingford p etty sessional division, union and
cou nty cou rt d istrict, and in the ru ra l deanery of
W allingford, archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of O x­
ford. The church of A ll S ain ts is a plain edifice of
great an tiqu ity, consisting of chancel and nave, south
porch and a wooden b elfry w ith short lead-covered spire
on th e western gable containing 2 b e lls : the church was
origin ally a N orm an s tr u c tu r e : the n orth doorway w ith
plain sem i-circular head rem ains, and there is a N or­
m an window on the north side, and a blocked doorway
on the south, of the same d a te : th e E a rly tim b er roof
of the nave, ceiled over in recent tim es, is also existin g,
as w ell as the tim ber-fram ed porch, a w ork of the
D ecorated period, now covered w ith i v y : th e w est
window is P erpendicular and the fon t N o rm a n ; portions
of the form er P erpendicular benches have been care­
fu lly incorporated in the new s e a ts : th e ch urch was
restored, and the chancel reb uilt of flin t w ith stone
dressings, in 1859-60, and th e church re-opened in A p ril,
i860: in the chancel are several tab lets to th e Slade
fam ily: the church w ill seat 100 persons. The ch u rch ­
yard was consecrated b y the la te Bishop W ilberforce,
May 9th, 1862. T h e reg ister dates from th e year 1861,
but a volum e of earlier date is kep t a t Blew bury. The
liv in g was declared a vicarage A p ril 3, 1866, and was
ecclesiastically united to Upton u n til 1914. when b y an
O rder in Council it was united to Aston T irro ld , joint
net yea rly v alu e £140, w ith 1 acre of glebe, and resi­
dence, in the gift of M agdalen C ollege, Oxford, and

[ k e l l y ’s

south side of the ch urch yard : there are other tom bs in
1 the churchyard to Frances Boyfield, relic t of Com ! modore Sir John Peyton K .C .B ., R .N .; to the H erbert
| fam ily, 1810-72; and to the fam ilies of C u rtis, Beckin' sale, M unday, Lano and G a le : th ere are 200 sittin gs,
' 100 being free. The reg ister dates from th e yea r 1720.
1 The livin g is a rectory, w ith Aston Upthcrrpe annexed,
join t net yearly value £140, in clu d in g 13 acres of glebe,
w ith residence, in the g ift of the P residen t and Fellow s
of M agdalen College, O xford, and held since 1912 by
the Rev. L u m ley Cecil G reen-W ilkinson M .A . of M ag ­
dalen C ollege, O xford. H ere is a Presbyterian chapel,
origin ally founded for an Independent congregation in
1662: the ex istin g stru ctu re is of som e an tiquity, anti
has an attached cem etery, well k ep t and pleasantly
shaded w ith t r e e s ; th e baptism al records are said to
date from 1738. T he ch arities am ount to £ 1 2 an n u ally,
of w hich £ 2 10s. from R igb y and S m ith ’s ch arity is
given in m oney to the E lem en tary school, £ 4 10s. d is tri­
buted in bread and clothing, and £ 5 given to the poor
in m oney. F ran cis John K yn aston Cross esq. J.P. w ho
is lord of the m anor, and M ajor John G . M orris, are
the ch ief landowners. T he soil is lo a m ; subsoil, chalk.
The land im m ediately round the village is celebrated
for its apple and ch erry orchards. T h e ch ief crops are
wheat and barley. ' The area is 1,753 a c r e s ; rate ab le
value, £ 1,6 0 7 ; the population in 1911 was 320.
Sexton, A. Aldridge.
Post, M. 0 . & T. Office.— Percy Maynard, sub-post­
m aster. L etters frcm W allin gford ; delivery com ­
mences a t 7.15 a.m . & 1.20 p .m . ; sunday, 7.45 a.m . ;
dispatched at 10.35 a-m - & 7-5 p .m . ; sunday, 9.20
a.m . L e tter Box cleared at 10.30 a.m . & 7 p .m . ;
sunday, 9.15 a.m
Elem entary School (m ixed), enlarged for 94 children \
R obert E vans, m aster
Rae Jam es, farm b ailiff to M ajor
John G . Morris
S avig ar Thom as, bead gardener to
F.
J. K . Cross esq. J .P
Slade Joseph H arold, farm er & clerk
to A ston T irrold Parish Council &
assistant overseer
S u g g ett Jam es C raven, head gardener
to Rev. L.C . G reen-W ilkinson M .A
S u g g e tt J. C. (M rs.), shopkeeper
W heeler John, beer retailer
W hichello Fredk. W m . Chequers inn
W ig ley Tom , corn dealer, Springfield

held since 1914 by the Rev. Lu m ley C ecil G reen-W ilkinson M .A. of M agdalen College, O xford.
E dm und
Gibson D.D. Bishop %of Lincoln and subsequently of
London, and some m odern w riters follow ing him have
fixed upon this place as the scene of the b attle of
E sce sd u n e A.D . 871, between K in g Ethelred, w ith A lfred
his brother and the D an es: the actual site has been th e
cause of m uch controversy, and some au th orities are
of opinion th a t the term “ E sce sd u n e ” refers, not to
a p articu lar portion of th e downs, b ut rath er to the
whole ra n g e : others have suggested places of a sim ilar
name in Sussex. E ssex and B ucks, b ut as th e Saxon
C hronicle, in trea tin g of the year 1006. states th at the
Danes, a fter rava g in g W allin gford and b ivouackin g for
the n igh t at Cholsey, w ent from thence “ along Ashdown
to C w ich elm ’s H ill,” there can be little doubt th at the
engagem ent, or some p a rt of it, was fou gh t on the
h ills above th is village, one of w hich risin g im m e­
d ia tely to the south is still known as “ K in g ’s Stand­
ing,” and a trad ition lin gers th at after th e victory
A lfred cam e down here and gave thanks in an ancient
church then occupying the site of the present church
of A ll Saints. W est of th e village, and p artly included
in th is parish, is the g rea t isolated and terraced hill
called “ Blew burton,” described under Blewbury. Thorpe
Farm , an ancient house, p artly Saxon, has been oc­
cupied by th e Slade fam ily for upwards of 400 years.
T h e E arl of Craven is lord of the m anor; M ajor John
G . M orris is ch ief landowner. The soil is loam ; sub­
soil, chalk. Th e chief crops are wheat and barley. Th e
area is 1,322 a c r e s ; rateable value, £ 9 7 7 ; the popu­
lation in 1911 was 120.
Sexton, Ernest G . Blake.
L e tters th rou gh W allin gford, arrive at 7.50 a.m . Aston
T irro ld is th e nearest m oney order & telegraph office

H ills E ustace G. Stockwells
, M orris M ajor John G. Blew burton
1C orbett Jam es, head gardener tc A lec
Langm ore H erbert Richard M B Red S tark M isses, E dlins
M orris esq
house
!
c o m m e r c ia l .
Corderoy Joseph R. carpenter
Mead M rs. Acacia cottage
Clacey Jam es, gam ekeeper to M ajor !
M orris A lec, Blewburton
John G. M orris