Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0121.jpg

DIRECTORY.]

B E R K S H IR E .

under the p ulpit, restored and placed in the centre
of the basem ent of the tower, th e chancel re-decorated
and a stained window inserted at the east end : in the
chancel is a m arble slab, w ith arm s, in scribed to the
Rev. Joseph Barnes A .M . rector, d. 1753, and to his
wife, d. 1721; in the aisle is a brass, placed by their
daughter K atherine, to the wife of W illiam H ildeslea,
ob. Janu ary, 1606, having survived him 30 y e a r s ; the
churchyard contains m em orials to the Rev. Thom as
Loveday, 34 years rector, d. 1873, and his w ife, d. 1845;
four stained windows w ere presented, in 1896-7, by the
late Jam es G rey esq. : there are 250 sittin gs, 150 being
free. The reg ister dates from N ovem ber, 1653. The
livin g is a rectory, net incom e ¿380, w ith 63 acres of
glebe and residence, in the g ift of M agdalen College,
Oxford, and held since 1913 by th e Rev. W illiam Henry
M cKennal C aldw ell B .A . of M agdalen College, Oxford.
H ere is a B ap tist chapel, erected in 1864, and affording
130 sittings. The poor of th is parish have th e rig h t of
cu ttin g fu rze upon several downs. Ilsle y has long been
noted for its sheep m arkets and fairs, a g ra n t for the
holding of which was obtained by Sir F rancis Moore,
from Jam es I. in 1620; previous to th is tim e fairs
were held a t C uckh am sley H ill (Cw ichelrnes hlaewe),
but on the issue of the gran t w ere trad ition ally re ­
m oved to a square enclosure now planted and called
“ The W a r r e n ;” the fortn igh tly m arkets com m ence in
F eb ruary and continue every alternate W ednesday till
the E aster fair, held on the W ednesday in E aster week ;
cattle, sheep and lam b fairs are. held from E aster till
N ovem ber, A u g u st 1st and 26th being th e two largest
fairs in the year, and as m any as 50,000 sheep and
lam bs have been brought for sale on these d a y s ;
H allow-tide fair, for cattle, sheep and lam bs, is held’ on
the W ednesday following the 12th of N o vem b er; dealers
and graziers come from all parts of th e coun try to these
fairs to purchase stock. There are several estab lish ­
m ents here for training Tace horses, th e lig h t and
springy tu r f of the downs being well adapted for that
purpose. L a d y W antage is lady of th e m anor and chief
C aldw ell Rev. W m . H enry M cKennal
B .A . (recto r), Rectory
G regory W illiam , Compton road
Risien E. R ussell L .S .A . D orset ho
Shears Rev. A rth u r W m. (B aptist)
C O M M E R C IA L .

Bartholom ew C has. grocer & butcher
Bond John, W h ite H art P.H
Booker Joseph, relieving & vaccin a­
tion officer,No. 2 district, collector
to the guardians & registrar of
births & deaths for llsle y sub-dist.
W antage union & registrar of
m arriages for W antage d is tric t,F il­
bert house
E ast Jam es, trainer of racehorses.
C hurch H ill house

ILSLEY.

105

Post, M. 0 . & T. Office.— E dw in Thom as T aylor, su b ­
postm aster. L e tters arrive from N ew bury a t 7 a.m .
& 2 p .m . ; dispatched at 6.50 a.m . & 2 & 6 p .m . ;
S u n d a y s , arrive 7 a . m . ; dispatched, 4.45 p .m
C O U N T Y M A G IS T R A T E S F O R T H E I L S L E Y
D IV ISIO N .
Bowles Col. Thom as John
C arter C ol. Jam es Colebrooke V .D . Orpwood, A rdington, W antage
Eyston John Joseph, H endred house, Steventon
H azel Com m ander Jam es R .N . Row stock, Steventon
Johnston G eo.A rth .M .A . Broomdown, C h ieveley,N ew bury
Loyd A rch ie K irk m an K .C ., D .L . Down ho. Steventon
M artin -A tkin s E rn est E dw in, Downend house, C hieveley.
N ew bury
W asey E dw ard, B radley court, Newbury
W roughton P hilip M usgrave N eeld B .A . W oolev park,
W antage
C lerk to the M agistrates, E dw ard Brooks Orm ond,
M arket place, W antage
P etty sessions are held at the Police Statio n the first
frid a y in each m on th (excep t October, when the m eet­
in g is held the la st friday in Septem ber) a t 1 2 o’clock
Th e following places are w ith in th e d iv is io n :— Aidworth, C atm ore, Chilton, Com pton, F arnborough,
Ilsle y (E a st), H sley (W est)
C ounty Police, Leighton G iles, sergeant
C ouncil School (m ixed), erected in 19 0 8 , for 98
c h ild re n ; A rth u r Thom as Powell, m aster
C arrier.— John W ebb passes th rou gh from W est Ilsley
to N ew hurv, tues. & th urs

Edwards John, Sun P.H
Field G eorge, blacksm ith
Frost A lb ert R ichard, coal m erchant
Gardener W illiam , S tar P.H
G oddard W illiam Beecher, builder
Hamlen H erbert John, Lam b hotel
Hamm Annie (M rs.), grocer
H att Richard W illiam , train er of
racehorses, H ill house
Lon g F rederick G eorge, grocer
Lowe E d ith a (M iss), frm r.K en n ett ho
Lowe Percy, train er of racehorses
M arriott M ary (M rs.), farm er, Ashridge farm
Pearce H enry Jam es, insurance agent
Pearce Jam es Mead, saddler
Risien E. R u ssell L .S .A .L o n d . p h ysi­
cian & surgeon, m edical officer &

W E ST
IL S L E Y
is a sm all village and parish 11
m iles north from N ew bury and 4 north-w est from C om p­
ton station on the Didcot and W inch ester railw ay, in
the Southern division of the county, hundred of C om p ­
ton, H sley p etty sessional division, union and county
court d istrict of W antage, ru ra l deanery of N ew bury,
archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of O x fo r d ; it is
pleasantly situated in a deep v alley in the cen tre of
the Downs, and the traveller, in passing along the road,
does not perceive it till he com es to the brow of a
hill at th e entrance to the village. Th e ch urch of All
Saints is an ancient fabric of flin t w ith stone facings,
in the E arly E nglish style, consisting of chancel, nave,
north aisle, north porch and a w estern tu rre t contain­
ing one b e ll; the north aisle was added in 1876; 011
the south side of the chancel is a m arble slab inscribed
to John Head, of H odcott, d. 1803; and there is a
tab let to John Head, d. 1746, and his w ife, d. 1756;
there are oth er m em orials to W illiam M orland, d.
1838 ; M argaret, wife of Thom as G ale, d. F eb ruary 7th,
1784; and a brass to M arianne M orland, d. A p ril 10th,
r877, to whose m em ory the stained east window was
also e re c te d ; and in the nave is a m em orial window
to G eorge M orland esq. placed b y L o rd and Lady
W antage in 1879: on th e north side of th e chancel is a
brass recording the opening of a new north aisle A u g u st
9th, 1876; and of the chancel Ju ly 20th, 1878 (when a
dedication stone was laid by H .R .H . Princess C hristian
of Sch lesw ig-H olstein ); the restoration of the church,
com pleted in 1881, was carried out under the super­
intendence of Mr. E dw in Dolby, arch itect, of A b in g ­
don ; in 1894 th e chancel was p artially restored and
re-floored; the south aisle has also been re-floored, at
a total cost of about ¿ 1 0 0 : there are now sittin gs for

WEST

landowner. The soil is chalk and g ra v e l; subsoil, chalk
and flint. The crops are w heat, barley, oats, turnips
and hay.
Th e area is 3,017 a c r e s ; rateab le value,
¿ 2 ,4 4 4 ; the population in 1911 was 445.
Parish C lerk, G eorge W elch.

p ublic vaccinator, W antage union,
¿ c e rtify in g fa c to ry surgn .D orset ho
Robinson Jam es H um frey, road s u r­
veyor to the W an tage R u ral D istrict
C ouncil & clerk to the E a s t Ilsley
C oun cil school & local agen t to
Franklin & G ale, auctioneers, Th e
F irs
Sneller W illiam , Swan hotel
Spencer A lb ert, Grown & Horns P.H
Stevens Francis (exors. of), farm ers
& sheep pen proprietors
T aylor Edwin Thos. stationer, Post off
W ells E. A. (M rs.), assistant over­
seer & clerk to Parish Council
W ells John Jam es, collector of taxes
for E ast & W est Ilsley
W ells M ark, b utcher

I 230 persons ; on the n orth side of the churchyard is a
' m em orial to Thom as W ise, for m an y years verg er of
S t. G eorge’s chapel, in W indsor Castle, who died 5th
A pril, 1880, and a tomb of gra n ite, inscribed to George
Bowes M orland, of A bingdon, d. June 1, 1878. The
register dates from th e year 1558. Th e livin g is a
rectory, n et yea rly value ¿ 14 0 , w ith residence, in the
g ift of the Dean and Canons of W indsor, and held since
1899 by the Rev. Edward A lexander M cConnell M .A.
of S t. John’s College, O xford. Th ere is a B aptist
chapel here, erected in 1866. C a lib u t Downing, of Oriel
C ollege, Oxford, in 1623, a divine of some em inence
in the reigns of C harles I. and I I. was rector here.
S ir G eorge Downing b art. M .P. an envoy to Holland
d urin g the Protectorate, h ith erto regarded as his eldest
son, was in fact the son of E m m an u el Dow ning, of St.
M ichael, C orn h ill, and of Salem , M ass. U .S .A . as appears
from records preserved in th e C o u rt House at Salem .
T h ere are ch arities consisting of ^ 2 a year and 10 loads
of wood to tw enty poor people annually.
The Rev.
E dw ard Moore, a form er rector, bequeathed ¿ 5 0 , the
in terest to be given ann ually to th e poor. L a d y W antage
is lady of the m anor and chief landowner. Th e soil
is chalk ; subsoil, chalk, and in some places, d a y . T he
crops are oats, wheat and barley. Th e area is 3,037
ac re s; rateable value, ¿ 1 ,7 6 9 ; th e population in 1911
was 313
Sexton, W illiam Day.
Post, M. O. & T . Office.— Joseph K in gh am E agles,
sub-postm aster. L etters th rou gh N ew bury arrive at
8.25 a.m . & 4.5 p.m . ; dispatched at 10.10 a.m . &
5.20 p.m . ; Sundays, arrive at 8.25 a.m . ; dispatched
at 9.30 a.m