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VILLAGES D IRECTORY — 1 0 1 ).
Sm ith J oh n , H are & H ou n ds I ’ .H . 1
S on n in g com m on
Sm ith Sam uel, ca rrier, G a llow s
T ree com m on
ota n n a rd ir e d e r ic k H e n ry , shopk eep er,& p o st office, S on nin g com

»rAr-LEDunttAM. 4^1

T a p p in g A lb e r t, d a iry m a n . S on n in g com m on
T a ylor W illia m , b rick la y e r
T h om as E d w d . fa rm r.T a n n ers frm
! W a in e W in . G . fa rm er, C ross fa rm
I W h ich e lo C harles, fru iterer, Sonn in g com m on

M A P L E D U R H A M is a parish and secluded villa g e 2A m iles n orth ­
w est from lile h u r s t station and 2| sou th -b y-w est from P a n g io u r n e
station, b oth on th e R ea d in g and O xford section o f th e G reat W estern
id ilw a y , 4 n orth -w est from R eadin g, in th e Southern d iv ision o f the
cou n ty, hundred o f L a n gtree, union o f B radfield, p e tty sessional division
, lo n le y , cou n ty cou rt d istrict o f R ea d in g, rural deanery o f H e n le y ,
arch dea con ry and d iocese o f O xford , boun ded on th e south b y th e riv e r
ih a m e s and sh eltered b y a rid g e o f hills on th e n orth . T h e ro a d from
Laversham to M apledurham , shaded b y a row o f pines n early th e w h ole
distance, form s a pictu resq u e and agreea b le p r o m e n a d e : th e n earest
b rid g e up th e riv e r is at W h itc h u rch , a b ou t 2£ m ile s ; and d o w n , at
C aversham , 4 m iles ; there is a tow -p a th ferry across th e river from th e
R o e b u ck H o te l, a b o u t a m ile b e lo w th e lo ck .
T h e ch u rch o f St.
M argaret is a b u ild in g o f flin t and ston e, o f late P e rp e n d icu la r da te,
con sistin g o f ch a n cel, n ave, n orth p o r ch , south ch a pel and a w estern
to w e r o f b rick , raised 24 feet in 1863 and con ta in in g 6 bells a nd a clo ck
presen ted b y W illia m I V . and b ea rin g th e R o y a l in itia ls : th e ch a p el of'
the B lo u n t fa m ily, on th e south side, is railed o ff from th e rest o f th e
ch u rch , b u t its style, th ou g h la te, is su p erior to th a t o f th e ch u rch
p r o p e r : betw een th e ch a pel and th e n av e is a m on u m en t, w ith
recu m b en t figures, to Sir R ich a rd B lo u n t kt. d. 22 N o v . 1619, and
E lizab eth (M oore) his w ife , also surroun ded b y iron r a ilin g s : h ere is
a lso a brass to Sir R o b ert B a rd o if, 1 3 9 5: the fo n t is N o r m a n : th e
nave and south aisle w ere en tirely restored in 1863, an orga n ch a m b er
form ed , the g a llery rem oved and the tow er ch a m b er th row n in to th e
ch urch , three w in d ow s w ere filled w ith stain ed glass, and a ston e p orch
and t w o n ew w in d o w s b u i l t : the orga n w as presented in 1889 b y Sir
Charles D a y R ose hart. M .P ., J .P . of H a rd w ick H ou se, W h itc h u r c h ,
w ho also ga ve in 1909 a stained glass w in d ow in m em ory o f th ree o f
his s o n s ; th e in terior, in clu d in g th e ch a n cel, is decora ted in p o ly ­
ch rom e, and affords 130 sittin gs.
T h e register d ates
fro m
th e
year 1627. T h e liv in g is a vicarage, n et y ea rly value £ 3 7 7 , w ith 52£
acres o f glebe and residen ce, in th e g ift o f E ton C ollege, and h eld since
1883 b y the R e v . F ra n cis St. J oh n T h ackeray M .A ., F .S .A . late F e llo w
o f L in co ln C o lle g e , O x fo rd . H ere is a h osp ita l for six aged m en and
w om en. Sm a llw ood and B en w ell’ s ch a rity o f 12s. a yea r is d istrib u ted
in m on ey. T h e riv e r h ereabouts affords excellen t fishing for b o th p ik e
and pereh and fo r tro u t in th e w eir p o o l. M apled urham H ou se, th e
p ro p e rty o f E d w a rd F . R id d e ll-B lo u n t esq. o f C heeseburn G ra n g e,
N e w ca stle -o n -T y n e and occu p ied b y th e H on . A lg e rn o n H e n ry M ills,
is a fine E lizab eth a n m an sion o f red b rick , situated near th e T h a m es,
and a pp roa ch ed th rou gh a sta tely avenue o f ancient elm s n ea rly
a m ile in le n g t h ; th e house con tain s an in terestin g c o lle c tio n of
pictu res, a m on g w h ich is a p ortra it o f M a rth a B lou n t, y ou n g e s t
d a u gh ter o f L ister B lou n t esq. th e “ P a rth en ia ” o f P o p e ; she d ie d in
1763; d u rin g th e C iv il W a r th is house w as fortified in su p p ort o f
the R o y a l cause b y S ir Charles B lou n t k t. g o v e rn o r o f R e a d in g , w h o
was slain at O x fo rd , 1 Jun e, 1644; Sir A rth u r A s to n kt. g o v e r n o r o f
O xford , superintended in person the w o rk o f fo r tific a t io n ; b ein g a t