Kellys_1917_0411.jpg

396

BU RG H F IE L D .

V ILLA G E S D IR ECTO RY— 1917.

rebuilt in 1892, at a cost of £2,000, en­
tirely defrayed by the late Richard Benyon esq. of Englefield (d. 1897), Miss
Sophia C. Thursby, o f Brighton, and the
late Arthur Harvey Thursby esq. D .L .,
J.P. of Culverlands (d. 1909), nave, tran­
septs, and an octagonal western tower,
with a small dome and containing 6 b e lls :
the tower was restored in 1901 at the sole
cost of Ernest Chance esq. .* at the west
end is a stained window, presented by the
Rev. Henry Curtis Cherry M .A. rector
from. 1827; the Rev. F. B. Boyd, a form er
rector,
presented the church with five
stained
w ind ow s; a stained window was
also erected bv the R ev. Benjamin Bradney Bockett M .A. vicar o f E psom (183983), in m em ory of his brother and two
siste rs; and another has been placed in
the south transept by the late Arthur
Harvey
Thursby esq.
D .L ., J.P. in
memory' of his father and m o th e r ; the
east window, placed in 1892 by Miss
Sophia Charlotte Thursby, of Brighton,
is a m em orial to the R ev. W illiam Ford
Thursby B .C .L . rector of Burgh Apton.
N orfolk (d. 1893) and Eleanor Mary, his
w ife ; in the tower there are two "stone
effigies and one of oak, all of early d a te ;
a floor stone inscribed to the Rev. Garnans Daunser M .A. 1676, has been found
under the old ch an cel: there are 608 sit­
tings, 402 being free.
A new burial
ground, adjoining the old churchyard,
was consecrated in 18S6.
The register
dates from the year 1363. The living is
a rectory, net yearly value £600, with
residence and 13 acres o f glebe, in the
g ift of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot,
and held since 1911 by' the Rev. W illiam
Henry George M .A. of Salwyn College,
C am bridge. The M ission room , Burghfield Common, the property of the tru s­
tees of the late H oratio Bland esq. was
form erly M r. Bland’ s m useum .
The
collections are now in the m useum at
Reading. In 1886 the trustees re-seated
the whole of the building, and it will now
seat 200 persons. There are also Wesleyan
(rebuilt 1911) and Prim itive M ethodist
chapels. The H oliday Home, an institu­
tion and club for social and educational
purposes, is situated at Burghfield Com ­
m on, and was opened March, 1913. The
Brightwell charity, for the apprenticeship
o f poor hoys o f the parish, now yields an
annual incom e o f £23 igs.
There are
three other charities with an aggregate
incom e of £27 yearly, which is given to
aged poor persons. There are three alm s­
houses for widows, situated in the parish

of Tilehurst, built and endowed by the
late Miss Mary Lyne.
T he knightly
fam ily of 'Williams resided here in the
16th century, and subsequently the Pottenger fam ily. Culverlands, the residence
of Col. Sir Charles W yndham Murray
C.B. is situated in extensive arid pictur­
esque grounds, com m anding a magnificent
view of about 16 miles of undulating
cou n try ; in i88r it was entirely reno”
vated and a new wing and stables added.
Highwoods, a very handsom e edifice, is
occupied by Francis E. Foster e s q .; Hilifields is the residence of Henry George
W illink esq. M.A-., J.P ., C.C.
Gilliat
Edward H atfeiid esq. of Morden Hail,
M itcham , Surrey, is lord of the manor.'
The
principal landowners are James
Herbert Benyon esq. (lord lieutenant), ot
Englefield House, W illiam George Watson
esq. of Sulhamstead House, Alfred Palmer
esq. J.P. of W okefield Park, Stratfield
M ortim er, the Rev.
Harvey William
Gustavus Thursby M .A. rector of Burgh
Apton, Norfolk, and Henry George W il­
link esq. M .A .. J.P ., C .C .; Ernest Chance
esq. is also the owner of considerable
property in the village. The soil is loam ■
subsoil, gravel and clay. T he chief crops
are wheat, barley, oats and beans. The
area is 4,237 acres of land and 47 acres of
w ater; rateable value, £ 8 ,7 6 8 ; the popu­
lation in 1911 was 1,343.
Pinge W ood and Sheffield Bottom are
hamlets of this parish.
Parish Clerk and
Sexton,
Charles
Chamberlain.
Overseers, F . T . W enm an and Edward
Butler.
Assistant Overseer and Rate Collector,
Edwin C. W heeler, Burghfield Common.
The Parish Council consists of 9 m em ­
bers, viz. :— Job Lousley (chairman),
Ernest Chance, W illiam Henry Hews,
Matthew Henry- Parfitt, George Manners,
Edward Butler, Charles Fisher & Rev.
W illiam Henry George M .A .; (one
v a c a n cy ); Henry David Higgs, Burgh­
field Com m on, clerk
Post Office Telephone, Bnrghfield E x­
change & Public Call Office, Burghfield
Com m on ; Mrs. Booth, in charge
Post & T. O.— George Cooper, sub-post­
master. Letters arrive from Reading
at 7.3 a .m .; dispatched at 8.3 a.m. A
6.20 p .m .; Sundays, arrive 7.10 a .m .;
dispatched 9.43 a.m .
The nearest
m oney order office is at Burghfield
Comm on.
Postal orders are issued
here & paid
1,