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D IR E C T O R Y .]

BERKSHIRE.

receive 24s. each every half-year, and th e gram m ar
school has been established. Archbishop L a u d ’s charity
consists of a sum of about £50 yea rly, derived from
the m anors of H agbourne and Aston Upthorpe, and by
a deed executed 12th M arch, 1706, the incom e is applied
annually towards ap prenticin g boys each year for two
years consecutively and each th ird year to provide
m arriage portions for three poor maids.
F lu dger's
charity, founded in 1808 b y the w ill of H enry F lu dger
esq. a m em ber of the C orporation, now consists of
£900 Consols, the dividends arisin g from w hich are
distrib uted annually am ong 30 poor m en and women.
G oldin g’s ch arity consists of £1.600 Consols, le ft to
the Corporation on tru st by W iddow s G oldin g esq. a
native of W allingford, by will dated 5th A u g u st, 1818 :
the dividends arising therefrom are distrib uted an­
nually at C hristm as in clothin g, flannel and blankets,
w ithout any distinction or reservation as to religious
belief. M orrell’s ch arity consists of £4,075 10s. in ­
vested in Consols, origin ally le ft to the Corporation,
under certain conditions, by the w ill of C harles M orrell
esq. of Sloane street, London, and Bridge House, W a l­
lingford, dated 25th O ctober, 1855, which directs that
th e annual incom e therefrom derived shall be divided
equally every year am ong ten poor persons.
The
C orporation have purchased 14 acres of ground in the
p arish of St. Leonard’s and are now (1915) la yin g it out
in allotm ents at a cost of £1,200. A large piece of
ground, off the H igh street, known as the B u ll Croft,
was recently given to the Corporation by B . C. L.
Powys-Lybbe esq. of Thurle G range, S treatley, for use
as a p ublic park : the park is 19^ acres in exten t and is
now (1915) being laid out.
The C astle, b u ilt within the ancient w alls, was situated
in the north-east quarter of the town, on ground com ­
prising between 20 and 30 acres, and m ay be said to
have overhung the Tham es ; its original construction
has been attribu ted b y some to the Rom ans, and several
still existin g subterranean passages connected w ith the
keep, with portions of ea rly m asonry, have been pro­
nounced to be Rom an work ; the fortress, despoiled by
the Danes A .D . 1006, was reb u ilt b y Robert D’Oyley,
acting under the orders of W illiam the C onqueror, b e­
tween A.D. 1067 and 1071 : durin g the contest between
Stephen and the E m press M aud it was held for the
latter by Brian F itzcount, and durin g the years 1146
to 1153 sustained several attacks from the k in g , who
had thrown up fortifications in a close in the parish of
Crowm arsh, still called “ Barbican : ” in the reign of
H enry II. A.D . 1155, a p arliam ent was held at the
castle to determ ine the succession to the crown ; and
in th at of Richard I. it was traitorou sly seized, during
the k in g’s absence in Palestine, by his brother John,
who, on succeeding to the throne, strengthened and
garrisoned it against the barons : Richard Plantagenet,
King of the Rom ans, E arl of Poitou and Cornw all, and
brother of H enry III. spent vast sum s upon it and
m ade it his chief residence, and in 1246, the k in g being
present, celebrated here w ith g rea t rejoicings the birth
of his son: by E dw ard II. it was granted to his hapless
favourite, Piers de Gaveston, Baron W allin gford and
E arl of Cornw all, and on his death, A .D . 1312-13, to
H ugh Despencer the younger (executed at H ereford,
Novem ber 29, 1326). and subsequently, in 1317, to his
Queen Isabella, who transferred it to her param our,
Roger, 2nd Baron M ortim er, upon whose execution at
Sm ithfield, in 1330, Edward III. gave the castle to his
brother John P lantagenet of E lth am , E arl of Cornw all,
and it afterw ards becam e the inheritance of Edw ard,
the fam ous Black P rin ce : in 1471, a fter the battle of
T ew kesb ury (M ay 4), it becam e the prison-house of the
unfortunate M argaret of A njou, who rem ained h ere till
the paym ent of a heavy ransom by her fath er, René,
Duke of A njou, and K in g of N aples, S icily and J e ru ­
salem , liberated her in 1475 •' during the civil war,
lines of defence were again thrown up w ith in the in ­
terio r area, and the fortress regained, in some m easure,
its ancient strength, m any of the ou tbuildin gs havin g
been dism antled and q uantities of lead and other
m aterials transported to Windsor durin g th e reign s of

W ALLINGFORD.

'255

M ary and E lizabeth for th e construction of works at
W indsor C a s t le : a w arran t for th is refo rtifyin g was
issued by Charles I. in May, 1643, ar,d the defence of
the town and castle en trusted to Colonel B lagge, an
officer of g re a t courage and m ilitary talen t, who de­
fended it w ith g rea t resolution for sixteen weeks, and
even tually surrendered w ith a loss of only five slain,
27th J u ly, 1646; he died 14th Nov. 1660, and is buried
in the north cross of W estm in ster A b b e y : after its
surrender the castle becam e th e state prison, and in
1652 was dem olished by an O rder in Council, dated 18th
Nov. : th e cen tre m oat still exh ib its traces of artificial
works of g rea t stren gth , and in the la rg e ordnance m ap
the existin g rem ains of the fortifications are set out
w ith g rea t m inuteness. Th e M isses Hedges, who are
the p resent owners, occupy an E lizabethan m ansion
situated on a com m anding em inence w ith picturesque
grounds adjacent, for w hich see Clapcot.
The College of S t. Nicholas and the church or chapel
b elonging to it were situated at the south-east corner
of the area circum scribed by the fortifications of the
castle, and w ithin the third d y k e ; the still existin g
ruins show' th at the buildings were constructed of lim e­
stone (m alin) in term ixed w ith flints and cem ented w ith
concrete ; the south wall, of considerable h eigh t, is nine
feet th ick, and in the upper portion of the tower the use
of blocks of concrete m ay be tr a c e d ; an extensive view
over the surrounding country is obtained from the
sum m it, w hich is approached by a path form ed along
the top of th e w a ll; the doorway and windows, con­
structed of freestone, four of w hich remain on the w est
side, bear traces of alterations late in the 14th or 15th
century ; the b urial ground is supposed to have adjoined
the church on the south-east. The enclosure called “ the
Kine C roft ” is appropriated as a public recreation
ground, and a sum of about £ 3 yearly was form erly
received for the rig h t of dep asturin g c o w s ; it is fenced
in on the north and w est b y earthworks, form in g
portions of a Rom an cam p, which, by a perpetual in ju n c­
tion of the C ourt of Chancery, dated 21st July, 1881,
are preserved from any fu tu re disturbance.
C L A P C O T is now a separate parish. Th e C astle P re­
cincts have been m erged into it. I t w ill be found under
the letter C.
Th e areas of the several parishes a r e :—
Rateable
Acres.
Values in 1914.
Allhallows .................................
13
...
£549
St. Leonard.................................... 236 ... £ 4 ,10 1
St. M ary-le-M ore ........................
97 ... £ 5 ,7 13
St. Peter ........................................ f 34 ...
¿2,5 42
¿12 ,9 0 5
Th e populations in 1911 w ere : —
Allhallows .....................................
St. Leonard.......................................
*S t. M ary .......................................
St. Peter ...........................................

Parish
,,
,,
,,

71
L140
1,086
419

2,716
t Including 7 of water.
* In clu din g 9 officers and 192 inm ates in the Poor Law
In stitu tion .
The num ber in O ctober, 1914, was 12
officers & 104 inm ates
T h e area of the m unicipal borough is 380 a c r e s ; th e
population in 19x1 was 2,716.
Th e population of the ecclesiastical parishes in 1911
w a s :— S t. Leonard, 1,3 8 1; St. M ary-le-M ore and A ll
Hallows, 1,259; S t. Peter, 419.
W allingford C astle Precincts, in the civil parishes of
Clapcot and W allingford A ll H allows, w ith a population
in 1911 of 24, is rep uted to be extra-parochial for eccle­
siastical purposes.
Parish C lerks and S e x to n s:— S t. Leonard’s, John
Saunders, St. Leon ard’s la n e ; St. M ary’s, Joseph
A lb ert Absolon, W ood stre e t; S t. Peter’ s, Joseph
Brooker, H igh street

O F F IC IA L E S T A B L ISH M E N T S , L O C A L IN S T IT U T IO N S &c.
Post, M. 0 . & T. 0 . & Telephonic E xpress Delivery i
Office.— W illiam Ralph Shufflebotham , postm aster. ;
Letters are delivered at 7 & 9.30 a.m . & 12 noon &
6.15 p .m .; dispatched at 10 & 11.45 a m - & 3> 4-I°>
8 & 9.30 p.m . & 1 a.m . ; Sundays (letters only),
delivered at 7 a . m . ; dispatched at 9.40 p.m . & 1 a m
W all L e tte r B oxes.— Castle street, cleared at 9.10 &
11.10 a.m . & 2.40, 3.55, 5.55, 7.25 & 9 p .m . ; sundays,

8.20

p.m . ; Newtown, 9.5 & 10.50 a.m . & 2.35, 3.50,
& 7 -4 ° P-m - ; Sundays, 8.10 p.m . ; Railw-ay
station, 9.5 & 10.50 a.m . & 2.35, 3.55, 7.15 & 8.45
p.m . week days o n ly; St. John’s square, 9 & 10.40
a.m . & 2.30, 3.45, 5.50 & 7.45 p.m . ; sundays, 8.5
p .m . ; Th e B ridge, cleared a t 9.10 & 10.55 a m - &
2.40, 4, 5.55 & 7.40 p .m .; sundays, 8.25 p .m .; Poor
Law7 In stitution , cleared 11 a.m . & 7.30 p .m . ; Su n­
days, 11 a.m
5 -5 5