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226

SHAW-CUM -DONNIN 'GTON.

BERKSHIRE.

and D ecorated styles, consisting of chancel, w ith organ
cham ber and v estry , added in 1878 at a cost of £ 2 ,000 ,
nave, south porch and a w estern tow er, containing 6
bells : in the chan cel are m em orial windows to H. R.
E yre esq. th e Rev. G . F. E ve rett, a form er rector, and
others : in the ch urch is an in scribed brass, erected by
the county of B erks to th e late L ieu t. C harles G eorge
E yre, Im p erial Y eom an ry, who fell at §terksfon tein ,
South A frica, d urin g th e ’ Boer w ar, 1899 - 1 9 0 1 : a lych
gate was erected by the late W . P. Blackburn-M aze esq.
in m em ory of E ve lyn A gn es M arion B lackburn-M aze :
in 1878 , d urin g the levellin g of th e ground on the
north side of the church yard, an ancient B ritish cinerary
urn. 18 inches h igh and 16 wide, was discovered, or­
nam ented w ith zigzag lines, produced by m eans of
some pointed in strum en t : there are 377 sittin gs, 204
being free. T h e reg ister dates from the year 16 50 .
The liv in g is a rectory, net yea rly value £349* including
27 a. 2 r. 14 p. of glebe, wi t h residence, in the g ift of
Douglas E yre esq. and held since 1909 b y th e Rev.
W illiam K in gsley KefEord M .A . of S t. John’s C ol­
lege, C am b ridge. There are several ch arities, am ount­
ing together to about £ 7 1 yea rly, which is distrib uted
durin g the year in food, clo th in g &c. Shaw House,
the property and residence of T h e Hon. Mrs. Farquhar,
was b u ilt in 1581 by Thom as D olm an, clothier, of N ew ­
bury, and is a stately m ansion in the characteristic
style’ of that period, w ith a cen tral façade of three
gables and porch, and is lig h te d by num erous large
m ullioned windows and flanked by deeply projectin g
w ings w ith tall oriels : th e ch ief interest of Shaw
House arises from its in tim a te connection w ith the
second b a ttle of N ew bury, when it was garrisoned for
the k in g ; on Sun day m orn in g, 27 th LKrtober, 1644 , th e
Parliam entary forces, com ing down C la y H ill, passed
the riv er b y Shaw and forced th e guard near tüe
house, b u t w ere thereupon attacked and routed by Sir
B ernard A stley : subsequently th e E arl of M anchester,
w ith a la rg e force, cam e down upon the house, then
defended by L ieu t.-C o l. Page, b ut w ith the help of Sir
John Brown and Col. Thelw all, the enem y was beaten
“ quite ou t of the field, leavin g two drakes, some
colours, and m any dead bodies behind them ; ” a num ber
of cannon balls, found about the grounds, m ay be
seen in the entrance hall, and in th e oak w ainscot of
the east bow-window in the draw ing-room is a hole,
¿aid to have been m ade b y a shot aim ed at th e king
while standing near th e window ; opposite the spot is
a brass p late w ith a likeness of C harles I. and the
inscription follow in g: —
“ T A N T IS N IQ V ID Q V A M E R E P T E P E R IC L IS
“ HANG I Y X T A F E N E S T R A M
R E X C A R O L V S PR IM VS
IN S T A N T E O B SID IO N E
SCL O PPO P E T R Æ I C T Y TA N T V M NON
T R A IE T C Y S F V IT
D IE O CTOB. X X V II. M D C X L IV .”
T he Hon. Mrs. F arq u h a r is lady of the m anor of Shaw
and p rincipal landowner. The soil is clay, loam and
SH AW .
P R IV A T E R E S ID E N T S .

F arq uhar Hon. M rs. Shaw house
K efford Rev. W illiam K in g sley M .A.
(rector). Rectory
Lovelock Richard, Southcote
M artin-A tkins Newton,Highwood villa
Tw ichin M rs. Dolmans
C O M M E R C IA L .

A ld e r W illiam , farm b ailiff to A lfred
H ancock esq
B ailey Thom as, b uilder
Dolton H. & Son, corn m erchants
Kirnber Thom as, farm er, Shaw Dean
Law rence Richd. farm er, G range frm
R ob les Edm und, farm er, Shaw farm

[ k e l ia ’s

g r a v e l; subsoil, chalk, clay and gravel. Th e ch ief crops
are wheat, barley, oats, beans and turnips, ih e area
is 1,984 acres of land and 12 of w a te r; rateab le valu e,
£ 4 , 8 0 7 ; the population in 19 11 was 626 .
V erg er, A lb ert Deacon.
L etters th rou gh N ew bu ry arrive at 7 a.m . Uonnington
is the n earest m oney order & telegrap h office
E lem entary School (m ixed), erected in 1876 , for 142
ch ildren ’; Mrs. R oberts, m istress
D O N N IN G TO N is a tith in g , one m ile north-w est. Don­
nington C astle, now in ruins, is beau tifu lly situated on
a h ill surrounded by trees, about a m ile north of N ew­
b u r y ; the existin g portion consists only of the g a te­
way, flanked by tall circu lar towers, p artly overgrown
with i v y; the castle was first erected by R ich ard de
Abberbury, guardian of R ich ard II. durin g his m in ority,
and form ed nearly a square, its walls frontin g the four
cardinal points and being defended by Tound tow ers at
the a n g le s; the w estern end term in ated in a 6emihexagon and on the east fron t was the p resen t stone
gate-house, 40 feet long, w ith its flanking towers and
p o rtcu llis; its le n g th east and w est, reckoning the
thickness of the w alls, was 120 ft. and its breadth, in ­
cluding the towers, 85ft. : trad ition, converted into h is­
tory by successive w riters, has associated Donnington
Castle w ith the name of G eoffrey Chaucer, who it
has been said owned the estate, the actual fact being
th at not th e poet, b ut Thom as C h aucer, his reputed
son, and ch ief butler to R ich ard II. did purchase this
castle and m anor, w ith oth er m anors, in 14 14 - 14 15 , from
Richard de A bberbury and his wife for 1,000 m arks in
silver : durin g the year 1644 the castle was held for the
king w ith th e g rea test g alla n try and in trep id ity by
Ool. John Boys, who successfully repulsed the attacks
of L ieu t.-G en . M iddleton, C ol. E orton , the E a rl of M an­
chester and G eneral W a lle r; Col. Boys was knighted by
the kin g at Redheath, 22 nd O ctober, 1644 , for his brave
conduct, and only surrendered the castle in obedience
to in structions from head-quarters, A p ril 1 , 1 6 4 6 ;
these “ loyal ruins ” are now the p rop erty of the co­
heiresses of the la te W . H. H. H artley esq. Donnington
Hospital consists of twelve alm shouses and was originally
founded by Richard de A bb erb ury in the reign of
Richard I I . ; after the Dissolution its estates continued
in th e Crown t ill about 15 70 , when, on the p etition of
C harles, E arl of N ottin gh am , Lord A dm iral, and owner
of Donnington C astle, th ey w ere restored to th e hos­
pital, which was then probably reb u ilt at the ea rl’s
ex p en se; th e foundation consists of a m aster and
twelve poor b reth ren ; G eorge Jam es W a tts esq. is
m aster. B rew ing is carried on here by M r. E E.
Palm er. Donnington G rove, the seat of M rs. B est, is a
m odern structure.
Post, M. 0. & T. Office, Donnington.— Miss M ary Jane
Coles, sub-postm istress. L etters arrive from N ew­
bury at 6 .15 & 10.30 a.m . & 12 .5 p.m . ; dispatched
at 10.30 a.m . & 12 .5 5 , 7 .1 5 & 7.5 5 p .m . ; sundays,
arrive 6 .15 a .m .; dispatched 6 p.m

Saunders Fredk. W . Donnington H irst
Sperling Mrs. Rowland, Donnington
Castle house
A rth u r, Tubbs C yril B. Snelsm ore house
B all L ieu t.-C o l.
Edward
W alton W illiam J.P. Donnington holt
Sunnyside
B est Mrs. Mary L . Donnington grove W atts G eorge Jam es
C O M M E R C IA L Fellowes Mrs. A bdy, M erlebank
B utler Joseph, farm er, F air view
F lin t E rn est Reginald, H artfield
G athorne-H ardy Hon. A lfred Erskine Coles M ary Jane (M iss), C astle inn,
grocer, & post office
J.P. Donnington P riory
Goddard John, farm er, C astle farm
H ancock A lfred A lgernon , H ilika
Kim
ber Frank, farm er, Packers farm
H awkins Edwd. Robt. Donnington lo
Nailor M arth a (M rs.), beer retailer
jlJ o yd M rs. R iverside
Palm er E rn est Edward, brewer &
Louch F ran k Quek^tt, Th e H ayes
m altster. T N 89Y
Money W alter, Shaw dene
1Parsons 'E dm und A rth u r, Th e Cedars Penn W alter, coachm an to W illiam
W alton esq
Ricardo Col. G erald Craven J.P . The
W em ham R ichard, farm er, W hiteE lm s
field farm
Robinson G . G idley, Packers close
D O N N IN G TO N .

P R IV A T E

R E S ID E N T S

G R E A T o r W E S T S H E F F O E D is a p arish on the
south-w estern bank of the riv er Lam bourn, w ith a
station on th e Lam bourn V a lley section of th e G reat
W estern railw ay, and is 4 $ m iles north-north-east from
H ungerford, 7 north-w est from N ew bury and 4 $ south­
east from Lam bourn, in the Southern division of the
county, hundred of K in tbu ry-E agle, N ew bury p etty
sessional division, union and cou n ty court d istrict of
H ungerford, rural deanery of N ew bury, archdeaconry
of Berks and diocese of Oxford. Th e church of St.
Mary, approached th rou gh a fine avenue of lim e tree«,
is an edifice of flint stone, affording a v ery adm irable

specim en of a church of the tim e of H enry I I I . ; it
consists of quasi-chancel, nave, south porch and a
circular w estern tower containing 6 bells : also a clock
which strikes, b ut is w ith o ut a f a c e : the lower p art of
the tower, w hich ha3 m assive w alls, p artly b u ilt of
flint, is L ate N orm an ; the upper portion is octagonal
and of Perpendicular date ; the tower arch is T ra n ­
sition N orm an : the fine south doorway is of th e same
date, as w ell as the font, w hich has a cylindrical basin,
rich ly carved w ith scrolls
foliage, in four bands, the
low erm ost havin g an invected border and pendent
le a fa g e : th e east and w est windows are s ta in e d : the