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BEECH

H IL L .

B E R K S H IR E .

[ k e l l y ’s

S toteville, as a cell of V a le m o n t; the existin g portions
retain no featu re older than 1648. Beech H ill House,
the seat of M rs. H unter, is a large and plain mansion
of b rick. T h is is a p arcel of the m anor of S tratfieldsaye, of w h ich th e Duke of W ellington is lord. The
p rincip al landowners are the D uke of W ellin gton K .G .,
G .C .V .O . M rs. H unter, A lfred P a lm er esq. and the
provost and fellow s of Eton College. T h e soil is c l a y ;
subsoil, gravel. The chief crops are w heat, beans and
grass. The area is 945 acres of land and 4 of w a te r ;
rateable valu e, £ 1,6 2 0 ; the population in 1911 was 208.
Sexton, C harles G aiger.
O verseers, E rnest Jam es M inett and Francis B.
Thom pson.

A ssistan t Overseer, E llio tt Lee.
Post Office.— Miss L aura E . A ppleton, sub-postm istress.
L etters from Reading arrive at 5 .4 5 a.m . & 1 .2 5 p .m . ;
dispatched a t 1 1 . 1 5 a.m . & 7 .2 0 p .m .; sunday, arrive
5 .4 5 a.m . ; dispatched a t 6 .3 0 p .m . Th e nearest
m oney order & telegrap h office is at M ortim er, 2 m iles
distan t
E lem en tary School (m ixed), b u ilt in 1 8 5 0 , for 73 c h il­
dren. w ith house for m istress, where a sunday school
is held ; M rs. E . E . P erry, m istress

B E E D O N is a village and parish 7 m iles north from
N ewbury and 3 north-w est from H am pstead Norris sta­
tion on th e N ew bu ry and Didcot branch of the G reat
W estern railw ay, in the Southern division of the county,
hundred of F air Cross, p etty sessional division and
county court d istrict of N ew bury, union of W antage,
ru ral deanery of N ew bury, archdeaconry of Berks and
diocese of O xford. The ch u rch of S t. Nicholas is a
sm all b u ild in g of flint and rubble in the Transition
N orm an style, and consists of chancel and nave, south
p orch and a w estern bell-cote, containing 5 b e lls ;
rhe east end has three T ran sitio n N orm an windows,
w ith dog-tooth ornam ent and banded shafts between
the li g h t s ; th e chancel arch , w ith its corbel shafts,
as w ell as the north doorway, belong to th e same
p e rio d ; th e south doorway is E a rly E n g lis h ; the
ch u rch wa? restored in 1882, a t a cost of £800,
under the direction of M r. E dw in Dolby, arch itect,
of A bingdon, and was re-opened 22nd July, 1882, the
cost of the rep air of the chancel havin g been entirely
defrayed b y Lord and L a d y W a n ta g e ; there are 125
sittin gs, 75 being free. T h e reg ister dates from the
year 1732. The liv in g is a vicara g e, net yea rly value
£ 155, including 36 acres of glebe, w ith residence, in the
g ift of L a d y W antage, and held since 1909 by th e Rev.
C harles John Thomson B .A . of Jesus College, C am bridge.
In 1877-8 a q u an tity of Rom an an tiquities, com prising
fragm ents of Sam ian, Dnrobrivian and other fictile ware,
together w ith bones and skulls of the shoTt-horned ox,
goat and Ted deer and a v a rie ty of other rem ains
b elonging to the Rom ano-B ritish period, were discovered

here by Mr. W alter Money F .S .A . of N ew bury. L ad y
W antage is lady of the m anor and p rin cipal landowner.
Th e soil is various, p rin cipally clay and chalk m ixed ;
subsoil, chalk. Th e chief crops are wheat, barley and
oats. The area is 2 ,0 1 2 acres, in cludin g woods ; ra te ­
able value, £ 1 , 2 5 2 ; the population in 1 9 1 1 was 2 3 8 .

C arriers to R eadin g.— H ounsell, mon. tues. th u rs. fri.
& sat. ; B ye, m on. tues. th urs. & sat. ; Staniford,
tues. bhurs. & sat
T urn er Rev. Charles Stephen M .A Johnson R ichard, beer reta iler
P R IV A T E R E S ID E N T S .
Lee E llio tt, assistan t overseer
G reatw ood
H enry
F ran cis
Ross,
V icarage
M inett E rn est Jam es, farm er
T run kw ell cottage
C O M M E R C IA L .
Prin g Ernest, farm er, Trun k w ell frm
H arrison S ir Frederick, Th e P rio ry
Tam e W illiam , O ld E lm Tree P.H
Rucknell Jane (M rs.), farm er
H ickm an Mrs. T ru n kw ell house
V/heeler W illiam , w heelw right
D ouglas A rth u r, blacksm ith
H un ter Mrs. Beech H ill house

H uxham W illiam H y. Stanm ore ho
Slade G eorge W illiam , Old Manor
house
Thom son Rev. Charles John B.A.
Vicarage

S TA N M O R E is a ham let three-quarters of a mile
n orth -w est; in A p ril, 1815, a la rg e bell-shaped barrow
here, called by the villagers “ B urro w -h ill,” was opened
by the la te Charles E . Lon g esq. then resident at L a n g ­
ley H all, and at the depth of about 10 feet some rem ains
of b urnt bones, w ith fragm ents of a funeral urn were
m et w ith, below w hich the floor of the barrow was
reached and found to be pierced by seven perpendicular
holes, about a foot deep, cu t in the solid chalk and each
containing a deposit of charred wood.
Parish C lerk, Thom as C urtis.
Post Office.— A lfred Taylor, sub-postm aster.
Letters
th rou g h N ew bury, arrive a t 6.45 a.m . & 2.15 p .m . for
callers o n ly ; dispatched at 6.25 a.m . & 6.30 p . m. ;
on S u n d a ys delivered 6.45 a.m . & dispatched 5-10
p.m . C h ieveley, 3 m iles distant, is the nearest m oney
order & telegraph office
P illar L e tter Box, C h urch , cleared at 8.10 a.m . & 6
p.m . ; sunday, 8.10 a.m
E lem en tary School (m ixed), erected 1876, & altered in
1909 to accom m odate 90 children ; Richard P ickett,
m a s te r ; M rs. P ick ett, m istress
C arrie r.— Hy. P artington, to N ew bury, tues. th urs. & sat

Slade George W illiam , Manor &
C O M M E R C IA L .
L an gley P ark farm s
Goodm an W alt.B rice Edw ards,painter
Stevens
Francis (exors. of), farm ers,
H uxham W m . H v.frm r.S tan m o re frm
Stanm ore
P artington H enry, carrier
Prism all & Co. grocers, butchers,
bakers &c

B E E N H A M is a parish and village, 9 m iles westsouth-w est from R eading and 8 east from N ew bury, in
the Southern division of the county, hundred of Reading,
union of Bradfield, Reading p etty sessional division and
county cou rt district, rural deanery of Bradfield, arch ­
deaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford. T h e Alderm aston station on th e H ungerford branch of th e G reat
W estern railw ay, 45 m iles from London, is in the parish.
The church of S t. M ary is a modern edifice of flint, w ith
stone dressings, in the E a rly E n glish style, consisting of
chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and an em battled w est­
ern tow er of red brick w ith pinnacles and containing 6
bells : the organ was presented b y the late vicar ; the
church was stru ck b y ligh tn in g and p artly b urn t in the
year 1794 and reb u ilt in 1796; i t was enlarged and re ­
stored in 1859 : there is a monument to the Rev. Thom as
Stackhouse, v icar here from 1733, who wrote a “ H istory
of the B ib le,” and an “ Exposition of the Creed,” w ith
other works, and died n t h Oct. 1752; Haines records a
brass here to W illiam C arter, gent. 1586 : there are 240
sittin gs, 170 being free. Th e reg ister dates from the
year 1562. The liv in g is a vicarage, gross yearly value
£ 18 5, w ith residence, in th e g ift of th e Rev. Thom as
H ext Bushnell M .A . of Shanklin, Isle of W igh t, and held

since 1907 by the Rev. G ilbert D uffus S uth erlan d B ush ­
nell B .A. of K eble College, O xford. H ere is a P rim itive
M ethodist chapel. Beenham House, the seat of L t.-C ol.
W illiam W heat W aring J.P. lord of th e m anor and
principal landowner, is a large square mansion of brick
facin g the B ath road, and stands within a park of about
150 acres.
T he soil is clay and loam ; subsoil, gravel.
Th e chief crops are wheat and bariey. The area is
1,805 acres of land and 12 of w a t e r ; rateable value,
£4,538 ; the population in 1911 was 528.
Parish Clerk, Joseph H atto.
Post Office, Beenham V illa g e.— Charles Jam es Layley.
sub-postm aster. L etters arrive from Reading at 7.30
a.m . & 1.30 & 6.25 p.m . ; dispatched at 7.45 a.m . &
1.35 & 6.30 p.m . ; Sundays, no collection. Beenham ,
i j m iles distant, is the nearest m oney order & te le ­
graph office
Beenham M. O. & T . Office is in the parish of Padworth
E lem en tary School, b u ilt in 1840, enlarged in 1892 &
again in 1910,for 145 children ; W illiam Robert Todd,
m a s te r ; M rs. V icto ria Voice, m istress & Miss May
H inkley, in fan ts' m istress
Alderm aston R ailw ay Station, Geo. Jones, station m aster
C arrie r to R eadin g.— Johnson, wed. & 6at

Bushnell Rev. G ilb ert D uffus S u th er-1 W arin g M rs. Th e G range
land B .A . (vicar). V icarage
|
c o m m e r c ia l .
F reeling Charles E dw d.Beenham lodge Bowden Thom as, H all Place farm
K e a l Charles, C hurch cottage
Ciaridge W illiam ,farm bailiff to John
O ldb ury M iss, Rose cottage
S tran ge esq. G ravel P it farm
W arde W illiam Henry, Stoneh urst 1 Godwin Thom as C. farm er
W arin g L t.-C ol. W illiam W heat J.P . H all Fredk. stud groom to L t.-C ol.
Beenham house
W m . W heat W aring J.P . Park frm

Hare & H ounds, The People’s Re­
freshm ent H ouse Association Ltd .
Bath road
Holloway G eorge, blacksm ith
Hood E dw in, beer retailer
K eal Ann (M rs.), A w bery farm
L a yle y Charles Jam es,grocer & baker,
Post office