27 chapters
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27 chapters
1. County and Shire. Meaning of the Words.
1. County and Shire. Meaning of the Words.
The words county and shire mean practically the same thing, but the former is derived from the Latin comitatus through the French comté , the dominion of a comes , or Count, and the latter from the Saxon scir (from sciran to divide). The termination “shire” is generally used for Berkshire and four of the neighbouring counties, viz. Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. The next neighbouring county is usually called Hampshire, but in Acts of Parliament and official papers
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2. General Characteristics.
2. General Characteristics.
The third division comprises the forest country of the southern and south-eastern parts of the shire. Its northern boundary runs from Inkpen in the west to Maidenhead in the east, but in places tracts north of this line belong to the third division and in other places the chalk comes to the surface south of it. The soil in the third division consists of clay and sand with no limestone. These clays and sands are very thick in the south-east of the county, but everywhere the chalk is below them if
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3. Size. Shape. Boundaries.
3. Size. Shape. Boundaries.
The Thames at Maidenhead The Thames forms the county boundary at Old Windsor from a point a little above Magna Charta Island and separates Berkshire from Buckinghamshire, and later on from Oxfordshire, the boundary sometimes running in midstream, sometimes on one bank, and sometimes on the other bank. Near Oxford the boundary passes for a short distance a little to the west of the river, that is on the Berks side. The Upper Thames or Isis becomes the boundary between Berkshire and Oxfordshire, a
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4. Surface and General Features.
4. Surface and General Features.
Cookham Dean ( Showing characteristic chalk country ) The southern division of the county has in consequence no definite northern border, but a line drawn from Hungerford in the west to Maidenhead in the east will have very little of chalk district to the south and very little forest country to the north, and is consequently a good practical boundary between the second and third divisions of Berkshire. The scenery of the southern division is quite different from that of the other two divisions.
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5. Watershed. Rivers and their Courses. Lakes.
5. Watershed. Rivers and their Courses. Lakes.
Near Bray the Thames leaves the chalk over which it has flowed for some 40 miles and enters upon a clay country, making its way in a fairly direct line to Windsor, the one place in the district where a knob of chalk sticks up through the clay. Windsor Castle stands upon this knob of chalk. The course of the river from Bray to Windsor is on the whole south-east, and after a big curve north at Eton the course becomes more southerly, with another big curve near Old Windsor. At Runnymede House the B
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6. Geology and Soil.
6. Geology and Soil.
Again, after the formation of the beds many changes may occur in them. They may become hardened, pebble-beds being changed into conglomerates, sands into sandstones, muds and clays into mudstones and shales, soft deposits of lime into limestone, and loose volcanic ashes into exceedingly hard rocks. They may also become cracked, and the cracks are often very regular, running in two directions at right angles one to the other. Such cracks are known as joints , and the joints are very important in
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7. Natural History.
7. Natural History.
Time was, and that not so very long ago, when the salmon might be caught in the Thames. In the reign of Edward III (1341), a petition was made to the King, complaining that salmon and other fish in the Thames were taken and destroyed by engines placed to catch the fry, which were then used for feeding pigs. The King was asked to forbid the use of these engines between London and the sea, and also to decree that no salmon be taken between Gravesend and Henley bridge in winter. A book on angling p
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8. Climate and Rainfall.
8. Climate and Rainfall.
( The figures give the approximate annual rainfall in inches ) Temperature, it should be remarked, varies according to height above sea level, falling about 1° Fahr. for each 100 to 300 feet upwards. In a comparatively level district, like Berkshire, this is not a very serious consideration. The mean temperature for the year varies in different parts of England from about 47·3 in the north-eastern counties to about 49·6 in the south-east. The mean temperature is about 49·0 in northern Berkshire
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9. People—Race. Population.
9. People—Race. Population.
The population of Berkshire was steadily increasing during the whole of the last century. In 1801 the census gave a population of 110,752, and this had increased in 1851 to 170,243, and in 1901 to 256,509. That is to say the population of the county had more than doubled in the century. In 1901 there were 72,217 people living in the county borough of Reading. Of the six municipal boroughs in Berkshire Windsor had the largest population, and the others in order of numbers of inhabitants were Maid
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10. Agriculture.
10. Agriculture.
The number of men engaged in agriculture in Berkshire was 14,918 at the time of the last census. As we have said, Berkshire is essentially an agricultural county, and the cloth-making which in the days of Ashmole was so great a trade that almost the whole nation was supplied from our county, has become practically obsolete. There are however at the present day several industries which give employment to a large number of workers in the county. Probably the one most definitely connected with our
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11. Industries and Manufactures.
11. Industries and Manufactures.
We have already mentioned cloth-making as one of the great industries of the county in former times. The chief centres were Reading, Abingdon, and Newbury. A fulling mill at Newbury is mentioned in 1205. The interesting Cloth Hall at that place, now a museum, was built by the Guild of Clothworkers of Newbury, which was incorporated in 1601, and the beautiful old house of Shaw was built by a Newbury clothier named Thomas Dolman in 1581. The most famous of the Berkshire clothiers was John Winchcom
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12. Minerals. Building Materials.
12. Minerals. Building Materials.
Brick was a building material in the time of the Romans and its use was most probably never wholly discontinued. In Tudor times many of the buildings were of brick and timber, and picturesque brick and timber structures of various dates will be found in all parts of our county. The gallery at Christ’s Hospital, Abingdon, shown on the next page, is a good example. All the clay formations in Berkshire have been used for brick and tile making. The works at Katesgrove and other places on the banks o
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13. The History of Berkshire.
13. The History of Berkshire.
About this time there was a royal residence at Faringdon, for it is recorded that Edward the Elder died there in 925. His son Athelstan had a mint at Wallingford, and three coins struck by him at that place are in the collection at the British Museum. The monastery at Abingdon had been destroyed by the Danes, and St Ethelwold was told by King Edred to re-establish it, but the work was not accomplished until the reign of Edgar. Ethelred the Unready had a mint at Reading. In 1006 the Danes again a
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14. The History of Berkshire (continued).
14. The History of Berkshire (continued).
Elizabeth, before her accession in 1558, lived for some three years at Sir Thomas Hoby’s house at Bisham; indeed she was practically a prisoner under the charge of Sir Thomas and his wife’s sisters. When she came to the throne Elizabeth like her predecessors lived a good deal at Windsor, and we hear of visits by her to Reading, Englefield House (Sir F. Walsingham) and other places. It was in her days that the tragedy took place which made “Cumnor Hall” known all over the world, though its celebr
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15. Antiquities—(a) Prehistoric.
15. Antiquities—(a) Prehistoric.
We now come to the Neolithic Period when, as we have seen, man was a much more civilised person than the earlier man is believed to have been. Some of his burial mounds still remain, and being oval in plan are known as long barrows. Wayland Smith’s Cave, a mile to the east of Ashbury (p. 83), is composed of some 32 stones, the remains of a long barrow of Neolithic times. Flint Implements of the Neolithic Period found in Berkshire Neolithic implements are of stone, but in many cases they are unli
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16. Antiquities—(b) Roman and Saxon.
16. Antiquities—(b) Roman and Saxon.
A number of objects of the Anglo-Saxon period found in Berkshire will be seen in the Anglo-Saxon room at the British Museum. There is a very fine sword-blade from Ashdown, and a variety of objects—shield-bosses, knives, etc.—from Long Wittenham, where a Saxon burial-place has been explored. In some cases the body had been burnt, whilst in others the skeletons remained, and were found to be of a large-sized and robust race. Another Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered at Arne Hill near Lockinge, a
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17. Architecture—(a) Ecclesiastical. Churches.
17. Architecture—(a) Ecclesiastical. Churches.
From 1150 to 1200 the building became lighter, the arches pointed, and there was perfected the science of vaulting, by which the weight is brought upon piers and buttresses. This method of building, the “Gothic,” originated from the endeavour to cover the widest and loftiest areas with the greatest economy of stone. The first English Gothic, called “Early English,” from about 1180 to 1250, is characterised by slender piers (commonly of marble), lofty pointed vaults, and long, narrow, lancet-head
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18. Architecture—(b) Religious Houses.
18. Architecture—(b) Religious Houses.
Part of the Hospitium of St John, Reading Abbey Both Reading and Abingdon were dissolved by Henry VIII, and on November 14th, 1539, Hugh Faringdon, the 31st abbot of Reading, was hanged, drawn, and quartered within sight of his own gateway. The last abbot of Abingdon had made himself more agreeable to the king, and was granted the manor of Cumnor for life, and a pension as well. The stone from Reading Abbey was much used for buildings in Reading and the neighbourhood, and in 1556, during the rei
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19. Architecture—(c) Military.
19. Architecture—(c) Military.
There is a great rectangular earthwork at Wallingford which may go back to Roman or early British times, but in any case it was adopted by the Normans and a castle was built on the site. The mound on which the keep was built still exists, but little else of these buildings survives. No remains of the castle at Newbury exist. It stood on the south bank of the river Kennet and was built about 1140. The mound upon which the keep stood is all that we have left of the castle of the St Walerys at Hint
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20. Architecture—(d) Domestic.
20. Architecture—(d) Domestic.
Many of the most beautiful private houses in England were built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and we have some examples in Berkshire. Shaw House, about a mile north-east of Newbury, was built in 1581. It is of red brick, with tall brick chimneys and a tiled roof. The corners of the house and the window and door frames are of stone, and in fact there is a good deal of stone. The house was occupied by Charles I on the day of the second battle of Newbury, October 27th, 1644, and the remains
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21. Communications—Ancient and Modern.
21. Communications—Ancient and Modern.
In the eighteenth century the roads were gradually improved, and towards the end of the century began to be kept in good order for the coaches, which were also rapidly improving. In the early part of the nineteenth century two mail coach routes ran through Berkshire. The road from London to Gloucester entered Berkshire at Maidenhead and left the county at Henley. After passing through Oxford it again entered Berkshire, and ran by Cumnor and Fyfield to Faringdon. From that place it ran by Buscot
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22. Administration and Divisions—Ancient and Modern.
22. Administration and Divisions—Ancient and Modern.
The affairs of the County Borough of Reading are managed by its Mayor and Corporation. The Town Hall, Abingdon For purposes of Assizes, Berkshire is on the Oxford circuit, and the Court is held at Reading. County Courts are held from time to time at the various towns. The County Court circuits are quite different from the Assize Court circuits. For Parliamentary elections the county is divided into three divisions, Abingdon, Newbury, and Wokingham, each of which returns one member to Parliament.
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23. Public and Educational Establishments.
23. Public and Educational Establishments.
The Prison at Reading stands upon part of the site of Reading Abbey. There is a large County and Borough lunatic asylum at Moulsford, and a very large criminal lunatic asylum at Broadmoor, in the eastern end of the county. The Town Hall, Wallingford The Royal Military College, Sandhurst, is one of the chief Government institutions for the education of officers for the army. It was built in 1812, and though quite plain in style, the long frontage on a rising ground, above a fine lake, is distinct
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24. The Forest in Berkshire.
24. The Forest in Berkshire.
In the early part of the nineteenth century there was a great deal of discussion as to the rights of the Crown over Windsor Forest, and in 1813 an Act of Parliament was passed dealing with the matter, and the Forest is now enclosed either as Crown land or as the property of private persons. Ascot Race Course is in the old Swinley Walk. Walter Fitz Other was appointed by William the Conqueror Castellan, or Governor of Windsor Castle, and Warden of the Forest; and the office, which has become know
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25. Roll of Honour.
25. Roll of Honour.
The family of Norris or Norreys has long been connected with Berkshire. Richard de Norreys, a member of a Lancashire family, held the office of cook to Eleanor, wife of Henry III, and in 1267 the manor of Ockholt, near Maidenhead, was granted to him. One of his descendants, John Norris, who held office in the Court of both Henry VI and Edward IV, built the house Ockwells at Ockholt, which has been already mentioned on page 114. He was buried at Bray in 1467. One branch of the family settled at F
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26. The Chief Towns and Villages of Berkshire.
26. The Chief Towns and Villages of Berkshire.
Appleton (466). A village near the Thames five miles north-west of Abingdon. The remains of a Norman manor house exist near the church. It is defended by a moat, and there are two other moated houses at no great distance. (pp. 18, 113.) Ardington (433), a village at the north side of Lockinge Park with a church mainly in the Early English style. There is a fine chancel arch, and the north doorway is round-headed. (pp. 78, 101.) Ascot Heath (1927). A village and parish with a railway station 29 m
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DIAGRAMS
DIAGRAMS
Fig. 3. Increase of population in Berkshire from 1861 to 1901 Fig. 4. Comparative Density of Population to the square mile in ( a ) England and Wales, ( b ) Berkshire, ( c ) Lancashire ( Each dot represents 10 persons ) Fig. 5. Proportionate Area under Corn Crops in Berkshire in 1908 Fig. 6. Proportionate Area in Acres of chief Cereals in Berkshire in 1908 Fig. 7. Proportion of Permanent Pasture in Berkshire in 1908 Fig. 8. Proportion of Permanent Pasture to other Areas in Berkshire in 1908 Fig.
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