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156

R E A D IN G .

B E R K S H IR E .

The charities for distrib ution in S t. G iles’ parish are
about ¿ 4 5 yearly ; St. Lauren ce, ¿28 1 Yearly, and St.
Mary, ¿ 5 6 .
The Reading M unicipal C h u rch C h arities produced
,in 1913) a net incom e of ¿2,502 12s. yd.

[ k e l l y ’s

p arliam en tary purposes. A Local Board was form ed in
January, 1891, b ut under the provisions of the “ Local
Governm ent A ct, 1894,” the parish was governed by an
Urban D istrict Council, the d istrict com prising the
ecclesiastical portion of the parish of S t. P eter’s,
Gaversham.

The general M unicipal charities amount to ¿1,086
y e a r ly ; Sim eon's ch arity of ¿4,000, in Consols, the
interest of which, now ¿ i n yearly, is applied in cloth ­
ing children of Sunday schools.

The parish church of St. P eter, origin ally Norm an, is
an edifice of flint, w ith stone dressings, consisting of
chancel with aisle, nave, aisles and a western tower
with plain parapet, containing 6 b ells: it was partially
The •• Palm er P a rk ,” presented by the late George restored and reseated w ith open benches in 1857, when
Palm er esq. of the firm of H un tley and Palm ers, covers a vestry was built, and was furth er restored in 1879
an area of about 50 acres of land in the eastern suburb and the tower rebuilt at a cost of ¿ 3 ,5 7 0 : the nave
of the borough, and is used as a p ublic recreation arcade, a portion of the original Norm an church, con­
ground. Mr. Palm er also gave, at an earlier date, a sistin g of an arcade of circular arches on plain round
large recreation ground in the K in g ’s Meadow, which is pillars, w ith other ancient features, was then destroyed,
extensively used for crick et, football and other out-door but there is a Norman south d oo rw ay: the chancel
games.
arcade, of two arches, is Perpendicular and relieved byA t Bob’s M ount, overlooking the K atesgrove clay-p it, panelled work : the stained east window is a m em orial
a Roman am phora was found, and on the same spot to John Stephens esq. of C aversham Rise, and there are
flint instrum ents were disinterred by the late L ieut.-C ol. several others : the church affords 600 sittin gs, of which
C. Cooper K in g F .G .S . D u rin g the construction of the 220 are free. The churchyard was closed to interm ents
sewage works, bones of an enorm ous wild ox, standing and a new burial ground at H em dean opened in June,
16 hands high, other rem ains of sm aller anim als, fra g ­ 1885. The register dates from the year 1597. The
m ents of fossil oysters and pieces of ancient ware and livin g is a vicarage, n et yearly value ¿28 5 , w ith resi­
dence, in the g ift of C h rist C hurch , Oxford, and held
glass were discovered along Plum m ery Ditch.
since 1898 by the Rev. Charles W illiam E useby Cleaver
T he soil here p rin cip ally consists of alternate layers M .A. of that house, who is also surrogate. The church
of clays and sands of m an y colors, w ith flint p eb b les; of St. Andrew, in A lb ert road, erected in 1911, consists
the clays are m ade into tiles and drain-pipes, and the of clerestoried nave with north and south aisles, chancel
sands are m ixed w ith the clays in brick m aking.
and vestries : there are 300 sittings. There is a Free
The ancient civil parishes of St. G iles, S t. Laurence B aptist chapel in the village, b u ilt in 1872; a C ongre­
and St. M ary have been am algam ated and now form the gational chapel, b u ilt in 1827; a W esleyan chapel at
c iv il parish of R eadin g. The area is 9,106 acres of Low er Caversham , erected in 1898, and another in
W oodcote road, erected in 1909. A C em etery of 4 acres
land and w a te r; rateable value, ¿504,683; the popu
was formed in M ay, 1885, and is under the control of the
lation in 1911 was 87,693.
D istrict Council. T he County Police Station here was
Included in the tota l population of R eading civil erected in 1884, and p etty sessions for the Henley
parish was 534 inm ates and 38 officials in the Poor division are held fortn ightly. John (F itz-G erald), 18th
E arl of K ildare, who died 9 Nov. 1707, left by his w ill,
Law In stitu tion . 126 in the Scattered Homes, 162 in
dated 19 M arch, 1704-5, to 5 A p ril, 1707, 18 acres of
m ates and 80 officials in the Royal Berkshire H ospital
2 13 m ilitary and 82 other inm ates in the Depot B ar­ land, the rents, now am ounting to ¿ 1 7 , to be applied
racks, and 93 prisioners and 30 officials in H.M. Prison. to the use of the p o o r: and his widow, E lizabeth,
Countess of K ildare, by w ill, dated 3 Oct. 1748, gave
The population in the underm entioned form er civil ¿ 10 0 , laid out in the purchase of ¿ 10 5 7s. 6d. Old
parishes was in :—
South Sea A n n uities, now represented by ¿ 1 1 6 15s. 2d.
1891 .
¿ 2 | per C ent. Consols, the dividends of which are
1901.
St. G iles ................ 31,640
applied
to the apprenticing of poor children : M r. J.
38,114
St. Laurence ...........
4»534
Stephens left ¿500 in like Consols, the in terest to be
4,857
St. M ary ................ 23,880
-spent in providing clothing to be given to the poor in
29,246
the m onth of January in each y e a r : Mrs. B urch ett’s
Under the provisions of the “ D ivided Parishes A c t,” charity of ¿ 4 9 yearly is for the m aintenance of dissent­
by Local G overnm ent Board OrdeT 23,869, dated March in g places of w o rsh ip : Mrs. Clissold le ft ¿ 10 0 , th e
24, 1889, 2»I 57 persons w ere transferred from T ileh u rst interest of which is expended in bread, distributed to
to S t. Mary, Reading, and those portions of B urghfield, the poor on the anniversary of her death. W. T .
E arley and Shinfield civil parishes w ithin the borough C raw shay esq. is the principal landowner. Th e subsoil
added to S t. G iles, Reading.
is gravel on chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley
and oats.
The population in the M unicipal wards in 1911 was :—
A bbey, 3,923; B attle, 10,167; C astle, 5,130; Caversham
Lower Caversham , three-quarters of a m ile east,
E ast, 7,444; C aversham W est, 5,742; Church, 7.777;
E ast, 11,203; K atesg rove, 8,286; M inster, 4,369; R ed­ E m m er Green, i£ m iles north, and Cane End (in the
lands, 5,793; T ileh u rst, 7,824; V ictoria, 5,992; and ecclesiastical parish of Kidm ore End), 4 m iles north­
west, are now p art of the borough of Reading. Th e
W est, 7,444; total, 87,693.
church of St. John the B aptist, L O W E R CAV E RSH A M ,
The population of the ecclesiastical parishes in 1911 b uilt in 1888, at a cost' of ¿ 5 ,1 8 7 , is an edifice of flint
w a s S t . M ary, 15,0 71; S t. G iles’ w ith St. Luke, w ith stone dressings, in' the E arly E nglish style, and
14,147; S t. Laurence, 3 ,12 3 ; C h rist C hurch , W hitlev. consists of chancel; nave, south aisle and a western
6,379; G rey F riars. 4,572; H oly T rin itv , . 8,030; St. turret containing one b e ll: in 1898 a stained window
John the E vangelist, 5.600; S t. G eorge, T ileh urst, was placed a t a cost of over ¿ 3 0 0 : there are 350
5,344; S t. Bartholom ew, E arley, 7,499.
sittin gs. The C ath olic church of Our Ladv and St,
Anne was b u ilt in 1902; there is also a convent of the
W H IT L E Y is a ham let of the parish of S t. G iles, and V isitation. The public hall at E m m er G reen is used for
now included in the extended borough. Southcot House concerts, lectures and religious services. The church
is a large and ancient edifice, b u ilt by John Blagrave, of St. B arnabas, at EM M E R G R E E N , was opened for
the m athem atician, to whose fam ily, for m ore than two public warship in 1899.
centuries, Southcot belonged.
P arish Clerk, David P lan t, 9 C hester st. Caversham .
The area of the P arliam en tary borough is 2,441
acres ; the population in 1911 was 63,299; the num ber
C O U N T Y M A G IS T R A T E S F O R H E N L E Y P E T T Y
of electors on the P arliam en tary register in 1014 was
11,138.
* "r
S E SS IO N A L D IV ISIO N .
Parish
L aurence,
S t G iles’ ,
Alfred G.

C le r k s ;— S t. M ary’s, W alter L o n g ;
St
G . F o x e ll; G re y F riars, A lfred Jas. D arling •
John J. L a w ren ce; S t. John the E vangelist.
North.

C A V E R SH A M , a civil parish, now p art of the
c cu n ty borough of Reading, is situated am idst p ic ­
turesque scenery, on the north bank of the Tham es
opposite R eading, with w hich it is connected bv an
iron bridge, in the Southern division of the county for

H erm on-Hodge S ir Robert T rotter bart. W yfold court,
Reading (chairm an)
M ackenzie W illiam D alziel, Faw lev court (B ucks), Hen­
ley-on-Tham es (chairm an at Henley)
E askerville Col. Jn. D L. Crowsley pk. H enley-on-Tham es
Blackwood H arry Officer, W est Monkton house, Taunton
Ohivers Thos. G ran t, T he Hollow, Caversham , Reading
Clem ents C harles, Rockfort, Ilenley-on-Tham es
C orbould-E llis C uthb ert F rederick, Crom well lodge,
Stevenage, H erts