Kellys_1917_0409.jpg

394

a r b o r f ie l d

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V IL L A G E S DIR E C TO RY— 1917.

P R IV A T E R E SID E N TS.

Arborfield Reading R oom (A rthur Gar­
rett, sec)
Army Remount Depot (N o. I V .) (Capt.
Frederick Charles O'Rorke, veterinary
officer), Arborfield Cross
Barker Charles, farm bailiff to W illiam
Sim onds esq. W hite Hall farm
Barnes Edward, land steward to John
Simonds esq. Newland
Bentley George, wheelwright, Newland
Bishop Henry, farm er, Arborfield Cross

Bryant Francis, farmer, Duck's Nest farm
Bushell Joseph, Bull P.H
Clark W m . Swan P .H , .Arborfield Cross
Cox W illiam , parish clerk
Curnick Frederick, farmer, W hite's farm
Dimond James, farmer, Carter’s hill
Druett James, forem an to Mrs. Lncas
Fulbrook W illiam , carrier
Garrett A rthur, builder & contractor
Hayward James R. master of Elementary
School
'
1
Isaac Wade A. farm er, Langley Pond
farm (letters, Barkbam)
Lucas Charles, farm er, Newland farm
Mattingley John Henry, blacksmith, Post
office, Newland
Newman Geo. Henry, Mole P .H . Newland
Parfitl Douglas, farmer, New farm
Rapley W illiam Jas. Bramshill Hunt P.H
Seymour Francis W illiam , grocer
Tayler Arthur Charles, tailor, Newland

BEAR
W OOD is an ecclesiastical
parish, form ed in 1846 out of parts of the
parishes of Hurst and W okingham , the
Hurst portion consisting of the Liberty
of Newland and that part of the Liberty
of W innersh w hich comprises the village
of S indlesbam ; it still forms part of the
civil parish of H urst, in the Eastern d ivi­
sion o f the county, petty sessional division
and union of W okingham , Reading county
cou rt district, rural deanery of Sonning,
archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of
O x fo r d : Bear W ood is 2 m iles west from
the W okingham railway station and 5
south-east from Reading. The church of
St. Catharine, situated on rising ground
at the top of the village of Sindlesham
(built and endowed about the year 1845
at the expense o f the late John W alter
esq. and his father), is a bu ilding of stone
in the Decorated style, consisting of chan­
cel, nave of four bays and an embattled
western tower, with pinnacles, containing
2 b e lls; the organ was presented by the
late Thomas Rickman Hannan esq. j ! p . of
Sindlesham House, and there are several
m em orial w indow s; on the 9outh side cf
the churchyard, which is laid out with
great taste and kept in the m ost perfect
order, is the vault of the W alter fa m ily ;
there are 280 sittings. The register dates
from the 'year 1845.
The living was
declared a rectory June 26th, 1866, net
yearly value £175, with residence and 6
acres of glebe, in the gift of John W alter
esq. M .A. and is at present held by the
Rev. W illiam Henry Bnyley. Bear W ood,
the property and residence of John
W alter esq.
M .A. was form erly
an

outlying part of W indsor Forest, and
still retains m uch
of its
primitive
wildness of character;
its name
is
supposed to be derived from the Saxon
word “ here,” signifying a farmstead in a
w o o d ; hollies and junipers flourish here
in great perfection, and the gardens
abound with rhododendrons and other
exotic p lan ts; m ost varieties of .the fir
tribe, including a large num ber of Cedrus
Deodara, are to be found h ere; but the
chief attraction is the m agnificent lake,
which covers a space of over 43 acres and
contains several islands, one of which is
over an acre in ex ten t; this fine sheet of
water yields to none in the county but
V irginia W ater in p oint of size, and per­
haps not even to that in beauty ; an upper
lake covers over 3 a c r e s ; below the lakehead are. the kitchen garden, the dairy
farm and other b u ild in gs;
the waste
water of the lake is applied to turning a
large water wheel, which drives a saw
m ill and other m achinery. The mansion,
which was rebuilt between 1865 and 1869,
is a stately edifice of red brick with dress­
ings of Mansfield sto n e ; it contains a
suite of fine reception room s, including
a picture gallery of 70 feet by 24 feet.
Sindlesham House, pleasantly situated a
short distance from the road, is the resi­
dence of Mrs. Betton-Foster. The princi­
pal landowners are John W alter esq. M.A.
and Mrs. Betton-Foster.
The soil is
gravel and c la y ; subsoil, London clay.
The chief crops are wheat and barley. The
area is about 3,000 acres and the popu­
lation in 1911 was 679.
Newland is i j m iles south-west.

Anderson Rev. Joshua Alexander M .A.
T he R ectory
Bankhead-Brown Janies* Birch house
Fulbrook W illiam , The Pheasantries
Hargreaves Mrs. S. Arborfield hall
Prescott Kenneth, Arborfield court
Sim onds John, Newlands house
COM M ERCIAL.