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V IL L A G E S

D IR E C T O R Y

A B B O R I T E L D is a village and parish
on the river L oddon, 5 m iles south-east
from Reading and 3 west from W oking­
ham, in the Eastern division of the
county, in the hundred of Sonning, petty
sessional division and union of W oking­
ham, county court district of Reading,
rural deanery of Sonning, archdeaconry
of Berks and diocese of Oxford.
The
church of St. Bartholomew is a building
of flint and stone in the Early English
style, erected in 1863 at a cost of up­
wards of ¿4 ,0 0 0 , to which the late Sir
William Brown bart. of Liverpool, was
the principal c o n trib u to r; it consists oi
chancel, nave and north porch, western
tower and spire containing 6 bells, 5 of
which are from the old c h u rc h : the
chancel windows are stain ed : there ar e
two m emorial windows to m embers of
the Towgood fa m ily : the church affords
230 sittings.
The old church of St
Bartholomew, bu ilt in 1236 of chalk and
flint, stands in the grounds of Arborfield
H a ll; it is now in ruins, the roof, con­
sidered unsafe, having been taken down
in 1863: the piscina, sedilia and cre­
dence table, as well as some m oral paint- ings, brasses and m onum ents rem ain;
the aisles contain tombs and tablets to
members o f the Standen and Conroy
families.
The register dates from the
, year 1706. The living is a rectory, net
yearly value ¿2 4 1 , with residence, in the
. gift of M rs. Hargreaves, and held since
1898 by the Rev. Joshua Alexander Ander­
son M .A. of Pembroke College and R id­
ley Hall, Cam bridge. Here is a Congre­
gational chapel, erected in 1899, seating
200 persons. The old m anor house, nowgone, is described in Miss M itford’s “ Our
Village ” as “ the old house at Aberleigh,” and the Loddon is celebrated byPope under the name of “ L odona.”
Arborfield Hall, the seat of Mrs. S. Har­
greaves. is pleasantly situated on the
banks o f the river Loddon, w it h grounds
.and park. A rborfield Grange, at present
vacant, is a pleasant house standing in

grounds of lim ited extent, containing a
shrubbery and a m iniature lake.
The
principal landowners are John R. Har­
greaves esq. Sir George A rthur Charles
Russell bart. of Swallowfield Park, and
John W alter esq. M .A. of Bear W ood.
The soil is clay and gravel; subsoil,
London clay. T he chief crops are wheat
and barley. The area is 1,469 acres of
land and w ater; rateable value, ¿ 2 ,0 4 6 ;
the population in rpir was 234.
Newland is a liberty one m ile east. The
area is 1,227 acres of land and water ;
rateable value, ¿ 2 ,5 5 b ; fhe population in
1911 was 298.
Parish Clerk, W illiam Cox.
K ing’s Tax Collector, W111. Hy-. North,
Beach Rocks, 387 London road, Reading.
Post, M. 0 . & T. 0 ., S. B. A Annuity A
Insurance Office, Newland.— John Henry
Mattingley,
sub-postmaster.
Letters
arrive from R eading at 7 a.m. A 6.35
p .m . (to callers o n ly ); dispatched at
8.15
a .m ..A 1.50 A 6.25 p .m .; Sundays,
arrive at 6.50 a .m .; dispatched, 12 noon
Pillar Box, Arborfield Grange, cleared at
8 a.m . A 6.35 p .m .; sun. at 12.20 p.m
Wall Box, Mole inn, Newland, cleared at
7.30 a.m . A 6.10 p .m .; sun. 7.30 a.m
Elementary School (mixed A infants), for
the parishes of Arborfield A Barkham,
bu ilt in 1873, A enlarged 1910, for 182
ch ild ren ; average attendance, 149; Jas.
R. Hayward, m aster
The Parish Council consists of 5 members,
viz. : John Simonds (chairm an), Francis
W illiam Seym our, Arthur Charles Tayler, Henry Bishop, Mrs. Bentley
A portion of the names given under Ar­
borfield are in the ecclesiastical district
of St. Catharine, Bear W ood, but placed
here for postal purposes
Carriers to Reading.— Phillis, daily except
w e d .; A cot, tues. thurs. A s a t .; M aybanks, tues. thurs. A sat. A Bayliss,
daily except wed