Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0109.jpg

BEEK SH IEE.

D IR E C T O R Y .]

rem a in s: the nave roof is dated 1 6 3 5 : in 1 8 7 9 - 8 0 the
church was restored at a cost of , £ 1 , 5 3 1 , the walls of
the ch u rch and tower being care fu lly repaired, the
interior enlarged, a new chancel arch erected and the
whole interior re-sea te d : the old font is of Purbeck
stone, ornam ented w ith carved crosses, b ut
is now
d is u s e d : the original early font was rem oved in 1 7 8 0
to the church of Stone, B ucks, and th e present font
was given when the church was re s to re d : there are
2 9 2 sittin g s, 2 8 2
being f r e e ; th e rem ain in g 1 0 are
appropriated. The reg ister dates from the year 1 5 3 8 .
The livin g is a vicarage, net yearly value £ 2 3 0 , with
1 3 5 acres of glebe and residence, in the g ift of Lionel
Dewe L ow sley esq. and held since 1 9 1 2 by th e Rev.
Henry Gosse W infield Cooper M .A. of O riel College,
Oxford. There are W esleyan and P rim itive M ethodist
chapels here.
The charities am ount to about £ 2 1
yearly, which is distributed in clothin g and m oney.
About 3 m iles to the south of H am pstead Norris and
near the H am let of W ell House is a h ill fortress called
G rim sb ury Castle, rem arkable for its stren gth , the
extrem e b eauty of its situation and the skill displayed
in its c o n stru ctio n ; the ram part is of circu lar form
having two entrances, one on. the north and th e other
on the south side, the form er being reached by a
narrow sunken ro a d ; the fortifications on this side,
consisting of a deep d itch and lo fty bank, are of a
form idable character, and opposite the entrance is a
mound, perhaps used for reconnaissance; the fortress
is nearly inaccessible on the northern and western
sides, being defended by m orasses, and before the
country was drained the whole of the valley m ust
have been under w ater, as is evident from the peat
dep osit ; w ithin the ram parts, 011 the rig h t side by
the south-east corner, is a beautifu l spring of excellent
water, which is never known to be d ry ; the adjoining
ham let derives its nam e from this spring. Th e Pang
stream also rises in th is parish. A bout 1 8 3 3 , in a field
on W ell House F arm and about h alf a m ile from this
spot, the rem ains of a Rom an v illa were d isco v ered ;
in several other p arts of the parish rem ains of skele­
tons and spear-heads have been found, w hich seem to
indicate th a t it was a place of considerable im portance
in the tim e of the B ritish and Rom an periods. In a
part of G rim sb ury F orest, locally term ed “ Fence
Wood,” at the foot of th e h ill, a few hundred yards
on the north or H erm itage side of the forest, a pileP R IV A T E

R E S ID E N T S .

Betts John A rnott, Manor house
Cooper Rev. H enry Gosse Winfield
M .A. (vicar), Vicarage
Coop-'r Rohert W illiam , W yld court
De V itre G eorge T. Denis, E lin g
Melsome G eorge, L an gley park
Scrivener Mrs. Parsonage house
Tunniciiffc Francis W hittaker M.D.
The L itton
C O M M E R C IA L .

Alder F rederick
G eorge,
farm er,
Lower Botham pstead
Allen Edward, L an glev H all inn,
W orld’s End
Barlow Hy. hurd le ma. & tim ber dir
Barlow John, carpenter
Betts Jn. A rnott, farm er, Manor frm

W E S T H A N N E Y is about 1^ m iles north-w est from
the W antage Road station of the G reat W estern ra il­
way, 4 north-north-w est from W antage and 7^ south ­
west from Abingdon. The church of St. Jam es the
G reat is a fine cruciform building of stone, consisting
of chancel, nave of five bays, south aisle and an em ­
battled tower on the north side containing 7 bells and a
clock : the chancel is poor and Late P erp en d icu la r: the
chancel arch E a rly E nglish and very acute, w ith good
corbel s h afts; a blocked hagioscope and rood-loft stairs
rem ain: the south transep t is E arly E n glish , w ith a
trefoiled piscin a: the north transept, above which the
tower rises, has a Transition Norm an arch opening to
the n ave; its east window and piscina are Decorated
and there is a curious old staircase to the b e lf r y : the
nave has five Decorated arches on the south side, the
columns supporting these being of m odern d a te : the
south aisle is Decorated and has a rich ly panelled para-

93

Railw ay Station, A lb ert Robbins, station m aster
H erm itage is an ecclesiastical parish form ed out of
this c iv il parish and w ill be found under a separate
heading.

Bosley A lb ert, shopkeeper, W orld’
E nd (letters via Beedon)
Brown John, farm er, Townsend ho
Burgess E li Jas. grocer & blacksm itl
Bushell G eorge, W hite H art P.H
Chapm an W allace & K e n n eth ,fan n ers
B otham pstead farm
Cooper Robt. W m. frm r. W yld cour
De V itre G eorge T . Denis, stewarc
to Mrs. G eorge W m . Palm er, E linj
Dewe John, farm er, H aw farm
Dewe T hom asC yril,farm er,W in ton he
Evans G eorge C harles, grocer
Fowler M ark, farm er
Fulker G eorge, carrier
Hart Robert, insurance agt.Riseholm i
H ath rill Charles, beer retailer
H erbert Owen, R ailw av hotel
H erm an W alter, grocer & baker

H A N N E Y is a parish consisting of th e townships of
East and W est Hanney, in the N orthern division of the
county, hundred, p etty sessional division, union and
county court d istrict of W antage, rural deanery of
Wantage, archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford.

HANNEY.

dw elling was discovered some years ago a t a depth of
four or five feet below the surface, and consisted of
baulks of rou gh oak tim b er, about 18 feet in len gth ,
supported by v ertical posts at th eir extrem ities, and
by a stouter one in the centre, also 18 feet lo n g ;
altogeth er, m ore than two wagon loads of oak tim ber
were taken out and the solid earth or clay was found
to be at a depth of about 7 f e e t ; it is in ferred th at
this stru ctu re m ay have been th e p latform of an
ancient dw elling. T h is m anor was held by th e fam ily
of Norris, or Norreys, in the reign of Henry V II. ; the
place had been previously known as H am pstead C ifrewart, from a fam ily of the la tte r nam e, who possessed
it in the tim e of H enry III. and then as H am pstead
F errars for a like reason. Lady W an tage is lady of
the m anor. Messrs. John Dewe, R. W\ Cooper and J.
A. B etts, and Mrs. G. W . P alm er, of M arlston House,
are the principal landowners. The soil is stony, clay
and g r a v e l; subsoil, chalk. Th e chief crops are wheat,
barley and oats. Th e population of H am pstead N orris,
H erm itage and the ham lets in 1911 was 1,217, and in
the ecclesiastical p arish 75 7 ; the area is 6,046 acres ;
rateable value, £5,398.
Th e parish contains th e ecclesiastical p arish of H er­
m ita g e, 3 m iles s o u th ; and the h am lets of L ittle
H ungerford, 2% s o u th ; Botham pstead, i j w e s t ; E lin g ,
1 south ; L a n g ley H all, 2% w e s t ; W orld’ s E nd, 3 w e s t ;
and W ell H ouse, 3 south.
Post & T . Office.— H ubert Jam es W rig h t, sub-post­
m aster. L e tters arrive from N ew bu ry at 7.30 a.m . &
12.45
p .m . ; dispatched at 12.55, 2-4° & 7-20 P-m- ;
Sundays, arrive 7.35 a.m . ; dispatched 9.10 a.m .
Y atten don is the n earest m oney order office
W all L e tte r B ox, W orld’s E nd, cleared at 12.15 & 6-3°
p.m . ; Sundays, 5.15 p.m
Constable in C h arge, G eorge B urgess
School (m ixed), erected in 1^45 & enlarged in 1899. for
143 c h ild ren ; W illiam G . Pennington, m a s te r; Mrs.
W illiam Pennington, infants’ m istress
C arriers to : —
N ew bury— G eorge F ulker, tues. th urs. & sat. 9.30 a.m
Reading— G eorge F u lk er, sat

K im ber G eorge, shopkeeper
K irk b y E rn est Jam es, farm bailiff to
R. W. Cooper esq
L ousley A rcher, hay & straw dealer
Lousley Jethro, san itary inspector to
th e W antage R u ral D istrict Council
& assistant overseer, Roselands
Morton Annie (M iss), farm er
P yke Jane (M rs.), Coach & Horses
P.H .
W orld’s E nd (letters via
Beedon)
Read Jam es, farm er, W o rld’s End
(letters via Beedon)
Sim m ons Ph ilip , farm er, Oak house
Weedon B rothers, coal & coke m ers
Woodley W m . w atch m a. & bee frm r.
W orld’s E nd (letters via Beedon)
W right H ubert J. shopkpr. Post office

p e t : th e lower p art of th e tow er is Transition N orm an,
the upper portion Perpendicular and the bell fram e is
dated 1605: the north doorway is N orm an and has an
E arly E nglish porch, the south doorway D ecorated : in
the chancel is a brass, w ith effigy, and m u tilated m a r­
ginal inscription to John Seyes, rector, c. 1370; besides
others to H um phrey C heynie, of W est W oodhay, w ith
effigy in arm our and 12 E n g lish verses, 1537 ; S ir C h ris­
topher L y tco t (knighted in 1591 by H enry IV. of B o u r­
bon, king of France and N avarre), high sheriff of Berks,
d. 1599; w ith effigies of h im self in arm our and his
wives Jane (E ssex) and C ath erin e (G re y ) ; John A yshcom be, of Lyford, gent. 1592, w ith figures of two wives,
ten sons and four d au g h ters; and O liver A yshcom be,
gent. 1611, and his wife M artha (Y ea te), four sons and
two d a u g h te rs : there are also m arble m onum ents to
John Ayshcom be, 1655,
a rm s ; E . S crogg, 1784;
and H. Popham , 1752: in the south tran sep t are brasses
to Thom as M ellisborne, ibo2, two wives and three
dau g h ters; in the nave is a tab let to Edw. Bowles,
1685, and his wife, E lizabeth Bowles, 1718, aged 124
yea rs: there is a stained window in the south side of
the chancel to the m em ory of Helen M acdongall d.
October 21st, 1887, and others erected b y the Rev.