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rH PE CTO RY.]

BERK SHIRE.

■VViLLIN'GFORD.

¿5 3

ford. The town is a ttra ctiv ely situated on th e banks fram e of oak or Spanish ch estn ut, w hich, from its orna­
of the riv er Tham es, over w hich is a good bridge of 14 m ental m ouldings, m ay also have been b rough t from the
arches, now toll free. T here was a bridge here in the C a s tle ; over the stagin g appears the upper p art of a
tim e of K in g Stephen, afterw ards replaced by a more piscina, b uilt into the western wall of the belfry : th e
substantial stru ctu re of stone and flin t: in 1809 the bells are h ig h ly finished and were cast in 1738 : the
C orporation, under an A ct of Parliam ent, rem oved the chancel is debased Perpendicular, the nave arcades are
decayed piers and abutm ents, and replaced them by Decorated, the arches sp rin gin g from octagonal pillars
three new arches of Bath and H eadington stone, the w ith m oulded c a p s : the south doorway and porch are
tota l len gth , w ith the piers, being thus 140 f e e t ; the E arly E n g lish : on the north side of the tower, at a
old east' end was at the same tim e widened 7 feet, at a considerable height from the ground and now obscured
cost, including the erection of a tem p orary bridge, of from view by the south aisle, is a stone slab fixed in
£7,000: since 1842 the b ridge, w ith the approaches, the w all, w ith the figure, in low relief, of a kn igh t on
toll house and estate have been vested in the m ayor, horseback, in com plete arm our, w ith an escutcheon
alderm en and com m onalty of th e borough. Th e town, on his breast, in the act of fording a tem pestuous r iv e r :
recorded as a borough in Dom esday, received its first the ch u rch contains some m ural m onum ents, among
charter in 1155 from H enry II. and th is was renewed, which on the north wall is one of g re y m arble to
extended or re-granted by H enry I II. in 1267, Henry Thom as Rendal esq. of W allin gford C astle, several tim es
V II. in 1500, Philip and M ary in 15^7-8, C rom w ell in M .P. for W allingford, d. 1722; near it is a m arble
1649, and C harles II. in 1663 and 1684. Th e Corpora­ m onum ent to John C o ttin g h a m esq. d. 1746, and
tion was reform ed on the passing of the “ M unicipal E lizabeth, his w if e ; and at the west end of the church
Corporations A ct, 1835” (5 and 6 W illiam IV. c. 76), is a m onum ent to W alter B ig g esq. alderm an of London,
and now consists of a m ayor, four alderm en and tw elve a benefactor to th e town, ob. 1659; on the north wall
councillors. The b orough, has a Com m ission of the is a m arble tab le t to H enry Stam pe, ob. 16x9, and
Peace. The town is well paved and lig h ted w ith gas by there is also a m em orial to the Rev. T hom as Pentya com pany form ed in 1836, and is supplied w ith water cross, 34 years rector of S t. M ary’s, d. 1808; the m arble
from works situated near the railw ay station, the p ro­ pulpit w ith three panels in bronze, designed by the late
p erty of the Corporation, actin g as the S an ita ry A u ­ E. Onslow Ford R .A . is a m em orial to M r. W . R.
th ority ; the supply is derived from an artesian well. Lybbe Powys L ybb e (d. 1888), a form er m ayor of
The borough, w hich sent representatives to Parliam en t W allingford : the church was repaired and enlarged in
in the reign of E dw ard I. return ed two m em bers u n til 1854, under a fa c u lty dated 3rd Septem ber, 1853, at a
the passing of the “ Reform A ct, 1832” (2 and 3 W m . cost of £2,484; the sanctuary was restored at a later
IV. c. 45), by w hich the representation was redu ced to date in m em ory of the historian of W allin gford, J.
one m em ber, and by the “ R edistribution of Seats A ct, K irb y Hedges esq. of W allingford C a s t le : it contains
1885 ” (48 and 49 V iet. c. 23), it was disfranchised as sittin gs for 564 persons, of which 64 are assigned
a borough, and the representation m erged in th a t of to the rector. The reg ister of baptism s dates from
the county. T his place has given the title of Viscount the year 1638; m arriages, 1653 > burials, 1671 ; there
to the K nollys fam ily, E arls of B anbury, of Rotherfield are also records of m arriages, solem nised a t St.
G reys, Oxon. Inclu ding the sinecure of A ll Hallows, Leonard’s ch urch in 1690, 1691 and 1695, and of m a r­
in w hich there is no church, th e town has now four riages at Sotw ell chapelry in 1692. Th e livin g is a re c ­
parishes. The church of St. Leonard, near th e river tory, net yearly value £200, w ith glebe (£ 12 ) and resi­
and the lower w harf, at the south-east end of the town dence, b u ilt in 1882, a t a cost of £2,000, in the g ift of
in a street form erly called L ittle F ish street, b u t now the Bishop of O xford, and held since 1915 by the Rev.
St. Leonard’s lane, is a sm all and plain buildin g of H erbert P a trick Bowen M .A . of Oxford U n iversity. There
rubble flint, probably erected in the eleven th cen tury, is a, church estate producing £ 75 yearly. The parish of A ll
and consists of apsidal chancel, nave of th ree bays, Hallows; in cludin g the lib erty of Clapcot, now a separate
south aisle and a western tower containing one b e l l : parish, is partly within and p artly w ithout th e borough,
two arches in the chancel exh ib it some in terestin g and adjoining the C astle, and is a sinecure belonging to
perhaps unique N orm an w o r k ; there is a Norm an Pem broke College, O x fo r d ; the tith es, g rea t and sm all,
doorway on the north side of the nave, and in the and the glebe lands granted to the college in the early
chancel an ancient p riest’s d o o r: durin g th e siege of part of the reign of Charles I. yield about £375 a year.
W allingford the church was converted into barracks The parish has been annexed to St. M ary’s, and the
and grea tly in ju re d ; the south aisle and origin al apse rector receives from Pem broke College tith e-ren t charges
were, it is said, destroyed by fire : after rem ain in g for am ounting to £30 5s. 6d. a year. The church was
years in a dilapidated state, it was restored and re ­ destroyed in 1643, d u rin g th e siege, b u t th e u se of the
opened at M ichaelm as, 1704, previous repairs and re- graveyard was m aintained up to 1858: it contains a
pewing having been effected in 1685, 1695 and 1700: in stone m onum ent, erected in 1839 by th e tru stees of the
1850 the stru ctu re was enlarged and p artially restored p ublic charities of the town, to S ir Thom as B ennett kt.
and re-pewed, the apse and th e south aisle reb uilt and citizen and alderm an of London, and his fath er, Thom as
the tower added, the churchyard bein g at the same Bennett esq. of Clapcot. S t. P eter’s ch urch, in Tham es
tim e e x ten d ed ; th is w ork was effected at a cost of street, near the bridge, was reb u ilt in 1769, th e original
about £ 1,100 , defrayed b y volu n tary con tribution s: the structure having been laid in ruins d u rin g th e siege by
churchyard is bounded on the east by a brook, which the P arliam en tary forces in 1642 or 1643, and it was re ­
once form ed p art of th e circum vallation of the to w n : opened on 29th June, 1769, b ein g S t. P eter’s d a y : it
there are 260 sittings. The reg ister dates from the year consists of chancel, aisleless nave, w ith four large
1711, b ut m arriages solem nised here in the years 1690, circular-headed windows on eith er side, and a western
1691 and 1695 are found in the register of St. M ary’s. tower, w ith lo fty spire, risin g from an open octangular
The livin g is a rectory, net yearly value £195», with base, and containing one bell, w ith a clock, said to have
three q uarters of an acre of glebe and residence, in the been form erly in the H orse G uards tow er, W h iteh all,
g ift of the Bishop of Oxford, and held since 1902 by the and presented by S ir W illiam B laclcstone: the lower
Rev. A rg en t Sim m ons M .A . of Cornus C h risti College. stage serves for a porch and the total h eig h t to the top
O xford. Previou sly to M ay 14th, 1868, the ch apelry of of the vane is 118 fe e t: the chancel and organ cham ber,
Sotwell was annexed to th is livin g, b u t by an O rder in built in 1904-5, at a cost of n early £1,400, w ere ded i­
C ouncil of th at date it was transferred to B righ tw ell, cated b y the Bishop of O xford, 27 June, 1905: in a
a portion of the tithes of H arwell b ein g transferred to vau lt beneath the chancel is b uried S ir W illiam BlackSt Leonard's in exchange. The church of St. M ary, stone kt. elected Recorder of W allin gford in 1749, and
called “ S t. M ary the M ore,” stands on the site of a afterw ards a distin guished ju d ge and au th or of the
Rom an b a s ilic a : it occupies the south side of the well-known " C om m en taries on the L aw s of E n g la n d : ”
m arket place and appears from D ugdale (M onasticon) he died 14th Feb. r78o; a b lack m arble slab at the
to have been in existence shortly after the C o n q u e st: foot of the chancel steps, b ea rin g his crest, b u t w ithout
it is a structure of flint w ith stone dressings, and inscription, m arks the spot, and th ere is a m u ral m on u ­
consists of chancel, two chapels, nave of six bays, m ent to him on the exterior south w a ll: at th e w est
aisles and an em battled w estern tower of Perpendicular end are m em orials to M rs. Ann C rouche, widow, ob.
date, with octagonal tu rrets at the angles, surm ounted 1620, and M rs. E leanor C rouche : and in the porch to
by tall panelled and crocketed pinnacles, each term ina­ the G oldin g fa m ily : the com m union plate includes a
tin g in a crown, above w hich rises a v a n e ; it is pro­ chalice, paten and plate of silver, double g ilt, p re­
bable that the up p er part of the tower was rebuilt and sented in 1769 by M r. Justice B lackstone, who resided
the fabric repaired about 1653 w ith the m aterials of the at C astle Priory, on the banks of the Tham es, within
C astle, which had been dem olished by Crom w ell in the this p arish : there are about 220 sittin gs. Th e reg ister
previous year, and the crowned pinnacles are supposed of baptism s and b urials dates from the year 17 1 1 ;
to m ark the era of the Restoration : the tower contains m arriages, 1769. Th e livin g is- a rectory, n et yearly
an illum inated clock, fixed in 1868 at a cost of about value £80, in cludin g 15 acres of glebe, w ith residence,
£230, and a peal of 8 bells, hung on a m assive tim ber in the g ift of the Bishop of O xford, and held since