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232

SPARSHOLT.

BERKSHIRE.

S P A R S H O L T is a parish in the N orthern division of
the county, consisting of the township of Sparsholt and
W estcot ham let, which is in the hundred of Eastm anton, p etty sessional division, union and county court dis­
tric t of V\ antage, and of K in gston Lisle township and
F aw ler h am let, which are in F arin gdon hundred, vVantago p etty sessional division , union and county court
d istric t, W antage ru ra l deanery, archdeaconry of B eik s
and diocese of Oxford. The W ilts and Berks canal
passes throu gh this parish, w h ich is 4 m iles west from
W antage and 3 south from the Challow station on the
G reat W estern railw ay. Th e church of the Holy Cross,
one of the m ost ancient churches in the county, existed
before 963, and was rebuilt in 1187, the whole being
enlarged and the p resent chancel b uilt in 1327: it is
now chiefly of the Decorated period, and consists of
chancel, nave, south transept, north porch, vestry and a
w estern tower w ith wooden shingled spire, erected in
1796 and containing 4 bells, two of w hich date from
J5 7 ®> the tenor was cast in 1603 an d the fourth is a
pre-R eform ation bell dedicated to S t. C ath erin e: the
east window is m odern, b u t the side windows of the
chancel are lo fty and of good Decorated w o r k : the
sedilia, piscina and a sepulchral recess have feathered
arches, w ith crockets, pinnacles and fin ia ls : on the
north side of th e chancel is an ogee-arched recess,
sim ilarly ornam ented and prob ab ly an E aster sepulchre :
the nave has good windows of two lig h ts and an opentim bered D ecorated r o o f; the north doorway is L ate
Norm an, w ith a sem i-circular arch and shafts w ith
foliaged c a p s ; on the south side is a sim ilar doorway
now blocked; in the south chantry, w h ich form s part of
the Sparsholt m anor house estate, now (1915) the pro­
p e rty of M rs. H ippisley, are tw o recesses very rich ly
ornam ented w ith ogee arches, beneath w hich are two
a lta r tom bs, w ith fem ale effigies of wood, w earin g veils
and wim ples and supposed to represent two w ives of
R obert A chard, by whom th is chapel was erected c.
1330: in the tran sep t is the wooden effigy of a knight,
believed to represen t either Lord Talbot or possibly
R ob ert A ch a rd : the tran sep t screen dates from 1350:
in the church is a m onum ent to S ir George H yde K .B .
of Denchworth and K ingston L isle, ob. 1625:
the
church was restored in 1891 a t a cost of ¿ 1 .5 0 0 : in
1891 the south chan try was restored, and two stained
windows and other g ifts were presented in 1897-8 by
th e la te L ieu t.-C o l. H ip p isley: in 1910 an east window
SPA R SH O LT.

[ k e l l y 's

was presented by Mrs. H ippisley in m em ory of her late
husband, and in the sam e year an organ was provided
at a cost of ¿ 3 1 0 : the church affords 200 sittin gs.
Th e reg ister dates from the year 1558 and includes
entries from K ingston Lisle. The livin g is a vicarage,
with the chapelry of K in gston L isle annexed, join t net
incom e y'368, w ith 14 acres of glebe and residence, in
"
"
~
"
~
- College,
- -the
g ift' uf' the
Provost and’ "Fellow
s of* Queen's
Oxford, and held since 1898 by the Rev. Francis A rc h i­
bald P a ttu llo Shirreff M .A. of th at college, and rural
dean of W antage. T h e charities are about ¿ 2 0 yea rly,
of w hich ¿ 1 1 10s. is for apprenticing, outfits and
general benefit of the poor, ¿ 2 10s. for Sunday school,
¿ 2 14s. for steeple fund, and ¿ 3 6s. for ch urch p u r­
poses ; these charities are now adm inistered under a
scheme of the C h arity Com m issioners dated 1910.
T here are three m anors within the parish. M rs. H ip­
pisley, who resides at the Manor House, is lady of the
m anors, the chief of w hich belonged to the Crown until
gran ted by H enry I. to Richard A c h a rd : in 1807 th is
m anor was held by Thom as G ab bit, on whose death
it was sold t6 the H ippisley fam ily, th e trustees of
Miss A tkin s, L a d y W antage, Queen’s College, O xford,
and the Dean and C hapter of W inch ester are th e p rin ­
cipal landowners. Th e chief crops are w heat, barley
and oats. The soil is w hat is called greensand and
consists of c h a lk ; subsoil, clay and chalk. Th e area of
Sparsholt township is 3,324 acres of land and 5 of
w a te r ; rateable value, ¿ 5 ,3 2 7 ; the population of th e
township of Sparsholt in 1911 -was 335 in the c iv il parish
and 648 in the ecclesiastical parish.
W estcott is a h am let in th is parish half a m ile w est.
K in gston L isle, w ith the ham let of Faw ler, will be
found under a separate beading.
By Local Governm ent Board Order 20,649, dated
M arch 24, 1887, a detached part of Sparsholt was tran s­
ferred to W est Challow.
P ost & T . Office.— Mrs. H arriet H icks, sub-postm istress.
L etters arrive th rou gh W antage at 6.45 a.m . & 12.30
p .m .; sundays, 6.45 a .m .; dispatched at 10.35 a n i & 6.55 p .m .; sundays, 9.35 a.m . C h ild rey is th e
n earest m oney order office
W all L e tte r Box, W estcott, cleared a t 10.30 a.m . & 6.50
p .m .; sundays, 9.35 a.m
E lem en tary School (m ixed), established in 1872, for 105
c h ild re n ; M iss Ada Newm an, m istress

B int W illiam Charles, beer reta ile r

Pocock Jam es Richard, farm er

(M arked thus * letters should be ad­ *Brooks F ran k, frm r.N orth F ield frm Stone G eorge, beer Tetailer

dressed Farin gdon .)
H ippisley Mrs. S parsholt Manor ho
M allam M rs. H oll Place
S hirreff
Rev.
Francis
Archibald
P a ttu llo M .A. (vicar & ru ra l dean),
T he Vicarage

C arter W m . S aul, farm er, S outh frm
C lem en t G eorge A rg yle , farm er, E astW ESTCOTT.
m anton farm
M arriott WTilliam Edm und
I Collins E dw ard, w h eelw righ t
;
c o m m b r c ia l .
F rogley A aron, farm er
jBridgem an H erbert & Son, news agts
H yde Joseph John, frm r. R ectory frm Day John, shopkeeper
COMMERCIAL.
Packer John, blacksm ith
F rogley W alter Jam es, farm er
A ldw orth Jn. frm r. Broad Leaze frm Pocock Annie (M rs.), shopkeeper
.K in g Honoria (M rs.), grocer

S P E E N , the Rom an “ Spinae,” is a villag e and parish, nf Oxford, and held since 1905 by the Rev. Robert
w ith a station on the Lam bourn V alley ra ilw a y ; the Bruce Dickson M .A. of T rin ity College, C am bridge, and
ancient parish (now divided into three parishes) con­ surrogate. There are alm shouses for tw o widows in
sisted of the tith in gs of C h u rch and Wood Speen, Speenham land, also ¿ 3 0 yearly from several charities.
Bagnor, M arsh Benham , Speenham land and Stock Gross ; A Convalescent Home was established in 1869 and con­
it is in the Southern division of th e county and partly tains 5 b ed s: it is supported by subscriptions. Mrs.
in the hundred of Faircross and p artly in the hundred 1 B est, lady of the m anor of B agnor, and Sir Richard
of K in tb u ry-E agle, p etty sessional division, union and V in cen t Sutton bart. lord of the m anors of Benham
county court d istrict of N ew bury, ru ra l deanery of N ew ­ Valence and Speen, are the principal landowners. Th e
bury, archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of O x fo r d ; soil is prin cip ally gravel, except the Kenn et v alley,
C h u rch Speen is bounded on the south b y the river w hich is chiefly w ater m ead ow s; subsoil, chalk and
Kennet and the Ken n et and Avon canal about a m ile clay, w ith peat and bog in the v alley. The chief crops
and a half w est-north-w est from Newbury. The m other are wheat, barley, oats and some roots. The entire area
church of S t. M ary, situated in a valley, was, w ith the is 3,431 acres of land and 60 of w ater ; rateable v alu e,
exception of the ancient north aisle and chancel, alm ost ¿ 9 o 3 7 ; population of the civil p arish in 1911 was 1,255
entirely rebuilt in i860 at the expense nf the Rev. H. W. and of the ecclesiastical parish 657.
M ajendie M .A. vicar from 1819, and the tow er was
Bagnor, one m ile north, and "Wood Speen, north-w est,
reb u ilt in 1871 as a m em orial to h im : the present are hamlets.
church is a structure of flint in the Decorated style, con­
Speenham land, now a separate ecclesiastical p arish ,
sisting of chancel, nave of five bays, aisles, north and
form s part of the borough of N ew bury, and w ill be
south porches and a western tow er containing 8 bells :
found fully described under th at town.
there are several stained windows : in the north aisle is
Stock Cross, i | m iles north-west, and Marsh B enham ,
an altar tom b, with effigy in arm our, to John B aptiste
C astillion, a Piedm ontese, who died in 1597, and a 1 2 w est, have been formed into an ecclesiastical parish,
m onum ent to Dame Elizabeth C astillion, wife of his j and will be found under a separate heading.
Sexton, Allen E th eridge.
son, S ir Francis Castillion kt. who died in 1603 ; she is
represented habited in a farth in gale and flowered gown Post, M. 0 . & T . Office, Speen.— Mrs. S. E. Cann, sub­
and veil, alm ost covering the body ; there are also monu- | postm istress. Letters arrive from N ew bury at 7 a.m .
m ents to the C raven fam ily, in cludin g one by Canova j & 12 noon; dispatched a t 7 a.m . & 1.20, 6.40 & 7.30
to E lizabeth, Baroness Craven and M argravine of I p.m . ; sundays, dispatched at 7 a.m
Anspach, who died in Jan u ary, 1828 : there are 350 s it­ Sub Post Office, B agnor.— Mrs. E liza Deacon, sub-post­
m istress. Letters arrive from N ew hury at 6.25 a.m .
tings.
The register dates from the y°a r 1629.
The
& 12 noon; dispatched at 6.25 a.m . & 12 noon &,
liv in g ' is a vicarage, net yearly value ¿540, in cludin g 6
6.25 p.m . ; no collection sunday
acres of glebe, w ith residence, in the g ift of the Bishop