Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0252.jpg

236

BERKSHIRE.

STOCKCROSS.

age, net yea rly value ¿350 , w ith residence, in the gift
of the Bishop of O xford, and held since 1912 by the
Rev. C u th b ert F etherston Trow er M .A . of St. John’s
C ollege, O xford. There is a W esleyan chapel here,
erected in 1833. Benham Park covers about 200 acres,
in clu d in g wood, w ith a lake ; the house, designed in the
Italian style, is the p roperty and residence of Sir
Richard V incent Sutton b art. who is th e p rin cipal land­
owner. The area is 1,815 a c re s; the population in 1911
was 641.
P R IV A T E RE SID E N TS.

COMMERCIAL.

B ingham A lfred John J.P . N alder
H ill house
B ressey E dw ard, The G ables
B u tler C harles F rederick, E lm villa
E dgington W alter, The Bungalow
F litton W illiam , Furze H ill cottage
Francis Miss
H ayw ard M iss, Pleasan t view
Jenney Mrs. Benham gran ge
S utton S ir R ichard V incent b art.
Benham p ark
T arte M ajor Bernard R. K . Foley lo
T row er Rev. C u th b ert Fetherston
M .A. (vicar), V ica rag e

A sh b y John, farm bailiff to S ir
Richard V. S utton bart. Th e D airy,
M arsh Benham
Bacon A lbt. beer ret. M arsh Benham
IBingham A lfred John J.P. agent for
S ir Richard V in cen t S utton b art.
N alder H ill house
lBrown Ernest, organist
Copeland Joseph & Son, grocers. Post
office
Day Louis G eorge, beer retailer
Dewsbury Thom as, electrician to S ir
Richard V incent S utton bart
E lm s G eorge Frederick, shopkeeper
.

S T R A T F IE L D M O R T IM E R
is a scattered village
and extensive parish, p artly in H am pshire, w ith a sta­
tion called M ortim er on the G reat W estern railw ay, 43$
m iles from London and 6| south-south-w est from
Reading, in the Southern division of the county, h un ­
dred of Theale, union of Bradfield, p etty sessional
division and
county
cou rt
d istrict of
Reading,
ru ra l deanery of Reading, archdeaconry of Berks
and
diocese
of
Oxford.
Th e
ch urch
of
S t.
M ary the V irg in , reb u ilt in 1869, at th e cost of
the late R ichard Benyon esq. J.P . of E nglefield House,
and com pleted in June, 1896, is an edifice of stone
in the G othic style, consisting of chancel w ith aisle,
clerestoried nave of four bays, aisles, north and south
porches, v estry, and a w estern tower w ith spire, to­
geth er 160 feet h ig h , and now containing 8 bells, the
6 bells of 1702 having been recast and 2 new bells
a d d ed ; the cost of the whole was ¿ 17,0 0 0 : in the
church are some ancient m onum ents and brasses to
R ichard T rev et, alias Hasylwode, 1441, w ith effigy in
arm our, and Johanna his w ife : a brass, in the chancel,
was placed by the parishioners in m em ory of the Rev.
Robert John G ould, 20 years vicar of the parish, who
died A p ril 28th. 1880: th ere is also a bronze tablet w ith
th e names of the incum bents since 1307, presented in
1905 by the Rev. C . L . Lovett-O am eron M .A. v ic a r 188019 13: in th e chancel is an ancient Saxon slab, found
below the chancel of th e form er church, and com ­
m em oratin g CEdelward, supposed to be the Ealdorm an
of H a m p sh ire; the probable date is about 1020: the
organ was given by Mrs. Dobson : there are 550 sittin gs,
all free, except those in the chancel aisle, which were
allotted by facu lty to the owner of W okefield Park. The
reg ister dates from the year 168 r. T h e liv in g is a
vicara ge, net yea rly value ¿28 9, w ith residence, in the
g ift of Eton College, and held since 1913 by the Rev.
A ub rey B askerville M ynors M .A . of O riel College,
Oxford. The church of S t. John, erected in 1881-2. at
a cost of ¿8,000, w holly defrayed b y th e late Richard
Benyon esq. of Englefield, and opened in Feb. 1882. was
considerably enlarged in 1896, and is an edifice of red
brick w ith stone dressings, consisting of chancel, nave,
south aisle, baptistery, organ cham ber, arid a western
tow er containing 6 bells and a ch im in g a p p a ra tu s ; the
reredos is a large foldin g trip tych , w ith p aintings by
Mr. N. H. J. W estlake, of scenes from th e life of
C h r i s t : the stained east window was the g ift of J. H.
Benyon esq. and there is a m em orial window to Captain
V ern ey Lovett-C am eron R .N ., C .B . ; in th e south ais’ e,
form erly the nave, is another altar w ith a separate
painted reredos. A Parish H all, in connection w ith the
above church, was erected in 1910 to seat 300 persons.
H ere is a P rim itive M ethodist chapel w ith 80 sittin gs,
and a C ongregational chapel. T he "Working M en’s Club,
e r e c t e d in 1892, at the sole expense of the late R ichard
Benyon esq. is a stru ctu re of brick, com prising a large
b illiard and reading room and ante room, bar &c.
The club is now (1915) used as a Red C ross hospital.
A V olunteer F ire B rigad e has been form ed, havin g an
engine and various apparatus. Th e N u rsin g Fund is
supported by donations and subscriptions of m em bers.
T h e charities am ount to about ¿220 yearly, and include
Mrs. A licia C larke’s gift and Mrs. H arriet B rocas's, or
the Old A lm shouse ch arity, from which three widows
receive 8s. 6d. each q u arterly. There is a distribution

[ k e l l y ’s

P arish C lerk, H enry Law rence C larke.
Post, M. 0 . & T . Office.— Joseph Copeland, sub-post­
m aster. L e tters arrive from N ewbury at 7 a.m . &
12.30
p .m .; dispatched, 8 a.m . & 1.15 & 6.5 p.m
W all L e tte r Box, Benham , is cleared at 8 a.m . & 5.35
p.m . ; Sundays, 8.30 a.m
E lem en tary School (boys & girls), b uilt in 1830, for 235
c h ild re n ; H enry Law rence Clarke, m a s te r ; in fan ts’
school, for 70 c h ild re n ; M rs. Dorcas N ailor, m istress
Police Sergeant, Jesse G oddard
'Hine A rth u r W . head gam ekeeper to
I S ir Richard V incent Sutton bart
Howard Joseph, head gardener to Sir
' Richard V incent Sutton bart. Ben­
ham gardens, M arsh Benham
Lam b M ary Ann & Isabella, farm ers,
, Ham stead farm (letters throu gh
i Ham stead M arshall)
[M ara Patrick, beer retailer
Moyse Robert John W . clerk of the
; works to S ir Richard Vincent
I Sutton bart
¡Pothecarv A lb ert, N ags H ead P.H
Stockcross W orking Men’s C lu b (W.
Flitton , hon. sec)

of bread yearly on St. Thom as’ day, to the amount of
¿ 6 . F airs are held here on the 27th of A p ril and on
th e 6th day of N ovenlber for cattle. W arennes Wood
is the seat of S ir Robert G ra y Cornish M owbray bart.
M .A ., D .L ., J . P . ; M ortim er H ill, the residence of M ajor
S ir Charles Roderick H unter bart. M .P. ; M ortim er
House, of M ajor W illiam Peel N a sh ; and M ortimer
Lodge, of P eter W illiam s esq. Wokefield House, the
prop erty and residence of A lfred Palm er esq. J.P . is a
fine mansion standing in a park of 210 acres. Jam es
H erbert Benyon esq. L .L ., J.P . is lord of the manor
and p rin cipal landowner. T h e soil is g ra v e lly ; subsoil,
clay. The crops are chiefly on th e four-course system .
The area, in clu d in g commons and waste land, is 3,031
acres, of w hich only 2,907 are ra te a b le ; rateable value,
¿8 ,6 8 7 ;
population of the civil parish in i g i r was
1,423 and of the ecclesiastical p arish (in cludin g W oke­
field), 1,598.
W O K E F IE L D , 1 m ile north, is a tith in g . A lfred
Palm er esq. is lord of the m anor. T h e area is 658 acres
of land and 8 of w a ter; rateable value, ¿ 1 , 1 1 9 ; th e
population in 1911 was 128.
| M ortim er W est End was a tith in g in this parish, but
j has been constituted a separate c iv il and ecclesiastical
parish, and transferred to H am p sh ire; for p articu lars
see K e lly ’s D irectory of Hants.
Post. M. 0 . & T. Office (letters should be addressed
M ortim er, R eadin g).— A rth ur Jam es F oster,
subpostm aster. Delivery, 6.25 a.m . & 12.35 & 5 -4 5 p m . ;
dispatched at 9 & 11.40 a.m . &
3, 6.55
& 8.25p.m . ;
Sundays, delivery 6.25 a .m .; dispatched 6.10 p.m
Post, M. 0 -, T . & Telephonic E xpress D elivery Office,
M ortim er Com m on.— E rn est Edward B ivand, sub-post­
m aster. Letters arrive from M ortim er at 7 a.m . &
at 12.55 & 6.10 p .m .; dispatched, 8.45 & 11.5 a.m .
& 2.30, 7.40 & 8.10 p .m .; Sundays, arrive 7 a .m .;
dispatched 11.35 a rn
W all L e tter Boxes.— Near Vicarage gate, cleared 8.45 &
i t . 20 a.m . & 2.40 & 7.50 p.m . ; Sundays, 5.50 p.m . &
Catherine H ill, cleared at 10.45 a-m - & 5 -5 ° p .m .;
Sundays, 11.15 a .m .; Wokefield G reen, cleared at 8.30
& 11.5 a.m . & 7.35 p .m . ; sundays at 11.50 a.in
Police Station, F rederick W illiam T aylor, sergeant, & 2
constables
Volunteer F ire Brigade, W illiam G eorge M osdell
E lem en tary Schools.
St. M ary’ s (m ixed), b u ilt in 1869, w ith a square tower
containing a clock w ith 3 d ia ls ; i t w ill hold 184
children, & is p artly supported by Mrs. C larke's
c h a r it y ; E rn est G eorge Andrews, m aster
St. M ary's (infants’), b uilt in 1877, for 63 c h ild re n ;
M iss K . E. W ay, m istress
S t. John’ s (infants), M ortim er Com m on, b u ilt in 1889,
for 102 ch ild ren ; M iss Lloyd , m istress
R ailw ay Station, M ortim er, Thom as T aylor, station
m aster
C arriers to Reading.— Hounsell, daily, except w e d .;
Lever, wed. & sat. ; B ye, daily, except -wetl. ; W h it­
burn, tues. th u rs. A s a t.; Sm ith , wed. & sat
j C arrier to N ew bury.— L ever, thurs