Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0051.jpg

d ir e c t o r y

.]

B E R K S H IR E .

ash bu r y

.

35

W illiam son R ev.C harles A rth u r M .A. M cQuhae Thom as, grocer
P R IV A T E R E S ID E N T S.
N u llis W illiam , shoe m aker
(v icar), Th e V icarage
B arry M ajor Robert M ercer, P yt ho
Palm er Joseph, farm er,H ill Top farm.
C O M M E R C IA L .
Cooper Miss, Beeches, Q uicks green
Sim m ons Stan ley, farm er, C h ild ’s
F ear Thom as Jam es, Hillside
B u tler W illiam
John,
carpenter,
C ourt farm (postal address, P a n g ­
G ardiner H enry Balfour, Asham pAsham pstead common
bourne)
stead green
Dewe W illiam Henry, farm er
S m ith Henry, b lacksm ith , A sh am p ­
H utchinson T racy, D rift v illa
Knowles E dw ard, farm bailiff to
stead com m on
Leighton Mrs. C la ck’s end (postal
M rs. G. H erbert M orrell, Hart- Street Thom as, coal dealer & farm er,
address, Pangbourne)
rid g e Manor farm
Post office
N orton Mrs. L eyfield’s wood
L ig h t W illiam , farm bailiff to M ajor Venners Joseph, baker, D rift h ill
S m ith M iss, B lorenge
R. M. B arry, P yt House farm
W heeler A rth u r, New inn
A S H B U R Y is a parish,
m iles south-by-east from
S hrivenham station on the G reat W estern railw ay, 8
m iles south from Faringdon and 20 from N ew bury, in
the N orthern division of th e county, hundred of
Shrivenham , p etty sessional division, union and county
cou rt d istrict of Faringdon, rural deanery of the Vale
of W h ite Horse, archdeaconry of B erks and diocese of
O x fo rd ; it is the extrem e parish on th e north-w est of
the county near W iltshire, w ith the ham let of K ingstone W inslow and th e tith in gs of Odstone and Idstone
annexed. The church of St. M ary is an ancient c ru c i­
form stru ctu re in the E a rly E n g lish and Decorated
styles, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles,
transepts, north porch and a m assive em battled
western tower, w ith pinnacles, containing 6 b e lls : the
late N orm an doorway in the south aisle, re-opened in
1873, is a fine exam ple of the style, w ith th e usual
zigzag m o u ld in g s: the chancel is principally E a rly
E nglish, and retains a p is cin a ; the aisles and north
porch are P erp en d icu la r; the la tter has a good groined
and traceried roof, over w hich is a p a rv is e : a few of
the windows have also Decorated tra c e ry : in the south
transept is a trefoiled piscina and a large cinque-foiled
arch, now enclosing an ancient stone coffin, previously
lyin g in th e ch u rc h y a rd ; between the walls of this
transept and the arch of the south aisle is a rem arkable
hagioscope filled w ith open t r a c e r y : th e north aisle
retains a singular open fireplace of some a n tiq u ity : in
the chancel are brasses w ith effigies to W illiam Skelton
L L .B . prepositus of W ells C ath edral, form erly rector
of this parish and of S t. V ed ast’s, F oster lane, London,
ob. M arch 37, 1448; another to John de W alden esq.
w ith dem i-effigy, c. 1360, and a th ird to Thom as de
B ushbury, canon of H ertford and rector h ere, ob.
March 29, 1409, w ith m u tilated e ffig y : a stained window
was erected in the south tran sept in 1873 to the Rev.
W illiam C ham bers B.D. 36 years v icar, who died in
i860, and the stained east window to the R ev. Henry
M iller, vicar, 1860-92; the carved oak brackets on the
pulpit and in the chancel were executed by M r. Heber
H um frey, of K ingstone fa rm : the ch urch was restored
in 1873-8, at a cost of £1,450, and in 1898 a carved
oak chancel screen and choir stalls were erected by the
Rev. C. J. F. T u le M .A. rector 1892-1900. In 1906
the tower was underpinned and its north-w est buttress
rebuilt. The reg ister dates from 1653, and there is
an old parish book w ith entries from 1602. The livin g
is a vicarage, net yearly value £198, in clu d in g 27 acres
of glebe, w ith residence, in th e g ift of M agdalen C ol­
lege, Oxford, and held since 1913 by th e Rev. W atson
Failes M .A. of T rin ity College, C am bridge. The
ancient nam e of the benefice was AsTibury S t. Marycum -Chapelwick, and there was form erly a chapel, of
which nothing now rem ains, at the northern boundary
of the parish. There is a sm all P rim itive M ethodist
chapel in the village and a B ap tist chapel at Kingstone.
The charities am ount to about £ 10 yearly, tw o-th irds
of which go to the school and th e rem ainder for coal.
It is, perhaps, w orthy of rem ark th a t the Rev. Thom as

Stock M .A. Fellow of Pem broke College, O xford, to
which he w ent from Abingdon School, was a form er
( curate of th is parish, and originated in 1777 the Sunday
school system of in structio n by collectin g together the
children of the poor in th e chancel of th is ch urch and
there g iv in g th em in s tru c tio n ; in 1778 he w en t from
A shbury to G loucester, where he becam e acquainted
w ith Mr. Raikes, whose benevolent efforts in p rom otin g
and establish in g Sun day schools are w ell known. In
the parish, adjoining A shdow n Park, is a v a lle y con­
tain in g a la rg e num ber of h uge m onoliths called
“ Sarsen stones,” probably th e indurated rem ains of
a tertia ry form ation form erly overlying the chalk. The
rem arkable crom lech called “ W ayland S m ith ’s C av e,”
now m arked b y a clum p of trees or circu lar plantation,
and situ ated about a m ile eastw ard of th e village, has
been m ore p articu la rly noticed under W an tage. Th e
great b attle of ASscendune, or Ashdown, between the
Saxons, under K in g E th elred and his brother A lfred,
and the Danes, in 871, in w hich the la tte r w ere totally
defeated, was believed by m ost of th e old w riters to
have taken place near th is v illag e at th e western
ex trem ity of the Ridgew ay, b ut th e b est modern
antiquaries concur in fixin g the site of the en gage­
ment on the hills to th e south of Aston Upthorpe, or
between th a t point and C uck h am sley H ill (C w ich elm ’s
hlaewe). Ashdown P ark, 2^ m iles south, th e seat of
Evelyn, C ountess of Craven, is 103 acres in extent, and
well w ooded; th e m ansion, erected by W'ebbe, a pupil
of Inigo Jones, is a building of stone. T he m anor of
A sh b ury was given by K in g Edred to th e m onastery
of G la sto n b u ry ; after the Dissolution it was granted
by H enry V III. to the fam ily of E ssex, of whom i t was
purchased in 1625 by S ir W illiam C raven , an ancestor
of the E arls of Craven. Th e E arl of C raven is lo rd of
the m anor and principal landowner. T he soil is chalk
and c la y ; subsoil, rubble and clay. Th e chief crops
are w heat, beans, barley, turn ips and clover. T h e area
of the entire parish is 5,604 acres of land and 5 of
w a ter; rateable value, £ 7 ,1 3 3 ; the population in 1911
was 660, in clu d in g Ashdown Park.
K ingstone W inslow is a ham let h alf a m ile n orth -east
Odstone tith in g is one m ile north-east.
Idstone is a tith in g th ree-quarters of a m ile sou th ­
west.
Sexton, Robert Taylor.
Post, M. 0 . & T. Office.— Robert Pound, sub-postm aster.
L etters arrive from Shrivenham , B erks, at 6.45 a.m . k
from Swindon 3 p .m . ; dispatched at 1.30 & 6.35
p .m . week days ; Sundays, 9.30 a.m
W all L e tte r Box at Idstone, cleared week days at 10.20
a.m . & 6.15 p .m . ; Sundays, 10.40 a.m
E lem en tary School, erected in 1864, for ^70 ch ild ren ;
Leonard A u stin Darlington, m aster
Police Station , Sydney John H ording, constable
C arriers— John S m ith , of K ingstone, to Swindon, mon.
& fri. ; G eorge S trou d , to Swindon, every week day
except wed

Coles John, wheelw right, Idstone
P R IV A T E R E S ID E N T S.
Darlington Leonard A ustin , collector
Craven E velyn C ountess of, A sh ­
of taxes & surveyor, H ill side
down park
Day Reginald W isem an, farm er, Fern
Craven Hon. Osbert W illiam J.P.
farm
Ashdown park
Dove John, stud groom to the
Failes Rev. W atson M .A . (vicar),
Countess of Craven
Vicarage
Frearson Henry John, farm er, O d­
Malden Rev. H arry E dw ard B .A.
stone farm
(chaplain), Ashdown park
G oddard W illiam , blacksm ith
Inwood Levi, farm er, Odstone
C O M M E R C IA L .
Manners W illiam , farm er, Chapel
Avenell George F. plum ber
W ick farm
Ball G eorge, farm er
M atthews G ilb ert, organ ist & choir­
Billings Thom as, head gardener to
m aster to p rivate chapel & m usic
the Countess of Craven
m aster of choir school, Ashdown
Bunce W illiam , blacksm ith
park
Carter Thos. Jas\ Rose & Crown P.H Page John, jobbin g gardener
Cole Rd. J. farm er, B errycroft farm Partridge W illiam , job b in g gardener

Pound H enry (M rs.), m iller (w ater),
Upper m ill, Kingstone
Pound Robert, baker &c. Post office
Reeves F . M. (M rs.), farm er, R u f­
fins w ick
Ricbens Joseph (M rs.), shopkeeper
Sherm an G eorge, gardener to the
Countess of Craven
Sm ith John, carrier, Kingstone
Stroud G eorge, carrier
Stroud G eorge (M rs.), shopkeeper
T aylor Robert, sexton
T aylor Thom as S. farm er, Idstone
T illin g Jam es, thatcher
T uck er E dw ard, farm er, M anor farm
T u ck er H enry, farm er,K in gston e frm
W hite Annie (M rs.), baker
W illis H y.(M rs.), frm r.O dstone lands
W illis Jas. (M rs.),farm er,C olleg e frm
BERKS.

3*