Parishes: Hurst

HURST

La or Le Hurst (xiv cent.); Hurste (xv cent.).

The parish of Hurst, formerly described as a parochial chapelry, is of large extent, and in 1832 contained four liberties: Whistley in Charlton Hundred; Broad Hinton, then in Wiltshire, (fn. 1) but annexed in 1844 to Charlton Hundred; Newland and Winnersh in the hundred of Sonning. The liberties of Newland and Winnersh lie in the south of the parish, the liberty of Whistley with the church and village of Hurst in the centre, and Broad Hinton with Twyford village in the north. Twyford is now a separate ecclesiastical and civil parish (fn. 2) and Newland with a part of Winnersh was formed into the ecclesiastical district of St. Catherine, Bear Wood, in 1846.

The area of the undivided parish was 6,898 acres, of which 3,683 belonged to Charlton Hundred, the Whistley Liberty having 1,933 acres, the Broad Hinton Liberty 1,750 acres, Newland 1,170 acres and Winnersh 2,045 acres. The Inclosure Act for the parish was passed in 1807. (fn. 3)

The parish is flat and well wooded, its western boundary being formed by the River Loddon. Its physical structure shows three well-defined divisions, a narrow strip of alluvial meadow land bordering the river and liable to floods; running parallel with this a slightly raised terrace of gravel, on which most of the numerous hamlets and farms are built, and beyond this terrace and rising rapidly from it a bank of higher ground, connected with the forest country to the east and cut into a number of separate hills by a series of small streams tributary to the Loddon, such as Embrook and the Broadwater. An almost isolated hill of London Clay, not far from the centre of the parish, is the site of the church and manor-house.

The parish is traversed by many roads and bylanes. The Reading and Wokingham road crosses it from west to east, and is intersected by the road leading from Arborfield Cross to Twyford, with a branch to Maidenhead.

The village of Hurst, which with Whistley Green lies to the north of the church, is somewhat scattered, and consists in the main of red brick houses and cottages with roofs of slate and tile. Several of the older cottages, however, are timber-framed with brick filling, and a few are thatched. Opposite the south side of the church is a row of almshouses, described on a tablet as a 'hospital for the maintainance of 8 poor persons each at 6 pence per diem for ever.' They were erected and founded in 1664 by William Barker of Hurst and form a low range of brick buildings with a return wing at each end. The roofs are tiled and have dormer windows.

Hurst House was originally built by Richard Ward, grantee of the manor, in 1530, and was largely pulled down and rebuilt in 1847 by the late Rev. A. A. Cameron, vicar of Hurst. When the old house was removed there were found some massive old oaken door-frames, which had been hidden by later woodwork and plaster, and some curious painted tablets in the state bedrooms adorned with the heads of angels and griffins and inscribed in roughly-painted letters with such couplets as the following:

'Soon from thy bed as thou dost rise Take heed, serve God in any wise.'

In the rebuilding, though the house was re-erected on a smaller plan, great care was taken to preserve the fine carved panelling and the old doorways with their massive moulded wood jambs and lintels. The original bricks were used in the reconstruction. Those of the walling are about 9 in. by 2¼ in., and at the eaves level is an ogee brick moulding. The moulded ceiling in the dining room is an exact reproduction of the original. The windows on the north or entrance side have moulded wood frames and transoms and casement lights, the rest of the windows, however, have modern stone jambs, mullions and transoms. The chimneys form a feature of the exterior, and are of various shapes on plan, some square, some round and others star-shaped, while most of them have projecting moulded bases and cappings. The large stables are the only part of the original buildings now standing. This house was inhabited by the Harrisons, (fn. 4) and sold in 1720 by George Harrison to Galen Cope. In 1740 John Cope, his second son, disposed of it to James Waller of Lincoln's Inn, gentleman, and in 1772 James Waller and the Rev. James Waller sold it to John Wowen of Hertford Street, St. George's, Hanover Square. Mrs. Wowen lived there until her death in her ninety-seventh year, when it was bought by the Rev. Archibald Allen Cameron, late vicar of Hurst, and it is now the property of his nephew Mr. Archibald J. Mackey. (fn. 5)

The ancient manor-house of Whistley stood close to the Loddon in a park which is now pasture land of the Whistley Court Farm. The house passed with the Bill Hill estate (q.v.) and was pulled down about the middle of the 19th century by the late owner. Mr. Leveson-Gower. The fine iron entrance gates were removed to Bill Hill. An avenue of limes and chestnuts that led to the house, some fish-ponds and the stables still remain. There are also remnants of the gardens, and some statues that adorned it were in existence for some time after the demolition of the house.

Haines Hill, in the liberty of Broad Hinton, is a large house, the older portion of which is Elizabethan or early Jacobean. Internally there is a long gallery similar to that at Bramshill and other large houses of the period. This part may have been built by William Hide, called of Haines Hill, who died in 1589. (fn. 6) The house was formerly H-shaped in plan and had several courtyards. The windows and walls of the ends of the gallery were rebuilt in the Queen Anne style by the Biggs, as the date, 1716, on the outside testifies. The front part of the house was built by James Edward Colleton in 1760, and the old account books relating to the building are still at Haines Hill. Captain Garth added the servants' wing about 1825. Most of the internal ornamentation of the older portion is of the Queen Anne date; that of the later mid-Georgian. There are many family portraits by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lely, Kneller and other masters.

At the close of the 16th century the property was acquired by the Windebanks, (fn. 7) who about this date bought the manor of Odes (see below). (fn. 8) Sir Francis Windebank (son of Sir Thomas who died in 1607) was Secretary of State in the reign of Charles I and a friend of Archbishop Laud, who frequently visited him at Haines Hill, and records his visits in his Diary. (fn. 9) Many of Windebank's letters dated from Haines Hill are extant. (fn. 10) On one occasion, when he had to transact business of state at Haines Hill owing to the fear of infection in London, the Council of State urged the establishment of a stage at Wokingham with good horses and guides to run to Hartford Bridge and Staines during the secretary's residence in the country. (fn. 11) Haines Hill came with Odes (q.v.) to the Bigg family, with whom it remained until about the middle of the 18th century. It was acquired in 1736 by James Edward Colleton, who married Lady Ann Cowper, daughter of the first Earl Cowper. After the death of James Edward Colleton and subsequently the failure of direct heirs in his line, Charles Garth, who had married Elizabeth Colleton, granddaughter (fn. 12) of Sir John Colleton, succeeded to the estates of Haines Hill and took in addition the name of Colleton. On his death in 1818 he left no male issue and his brother Captain Thomas Garth inherited the property. He died in 1841, and his son Mr. Thomas Colleton Garth, D. L., succeeded. He was the founder of the Garth Hunt, and held his opening meet at Haines Hill on 8 November 1852, holding the mastership for half a century. He died in 1907, leaving the estate to his sister Mrs. Shifner. On her death in 1910 it passed to Captain Godsal, the present owner. (fn. 13)

Hurst Lodge, about a quarter of a mile north-east of the church, is a 17th-century building with a new front of the latter part of the 18th century. It is L-shaped on plan, the principal entrance being on the north-west side. The hall has good oak panelling with a white frieze immediately below the ceiling. The principal beam across the hall is supported by two wooden classic columns with moulded bases and capitals, and at each end is a carved bracket support. The dining room has a large Renaissance mantelpiece of wood painted white. The stairs are old and have turned balusters and moulded handrails. There is some old oak panelling, now painted white, on the first floor landing and in one of the bedrooms. The old part of the main block is built of thin red bricks and the windows have wood framed casement lights, the transoms being moulded in some cases. The roofs are tiled, and on the north-east side is a row of dormer windows to the attics. On the south-west side is a small piece of formal garden with flower beds and stone paving. The house was formerly the property of the Barkers of Hurst, a branch of the Barkers of Sonning. John Barker was for thirty-four years gentleman usher to Queen Elizabeth, married Frances Manfield of Amerden in Taplow, Bucks., had three sons and five daughters, 'greatly beloved of all good men,' and died in 1620. (fn. 14) His son Henry Barker succeeded him, and dying in 1651 was buried in the church. (fn. 15) His only surviving daughter Frances married Henry Fairfax, second son of Viscount Fairfax of the peerage of Ireland, (fn. 16) who by right of his wife held the house and estate. Their son Henry married Ann daughter of Sir Thomas Browne, author of Religio Medici, and his surviving daughter and heir married in 1697 David fourth Lord Cardross, eventually eighth Earl of Buchan. (fn. 17) Owing to the distance of Hurst from Scotland the countess sold the property about 1742 to Robert Palmer of Hurst, ancestor of the Palmer family of Sonning. (fn. 18) The representatives of the late Mr. Golding-Palmer of Holme Park sold the house and land to Mr. Philip Hubert Martineau, the present owner, and the name of the house has been changed to Hurst Court.

Situated to the north-east of the village is Hinton House, a square red brick building with a low office wing at the north-west. The walling is of long thin bricks and the windows, which have apparently been restored with plaster, have chamfered jambs, transoms and square heads. The chimneys are unusually high and much resemble those at High Chimneys, described below, both houses probably having been built about the same date in the late 16th or early 17th century. The principal entrance is on the north-east side, and opens into a narrow hall. The principal rooms face south-east, and some of them contain very good panelling, particularly the dining room, which has pilasters with carved flat ornament and moulded capitals. The frieze has carved grotesque animals, and above is a dentil cornice. The fireplace has small double shafts in the jambs and an elaborate overmantel with two large and five small panels containing circular wreaths and figures. The hall and staircase have an oak panelled dado, and the stairs have turned balusters and square newels with moulded finials. On the first floor the room over the dining room is panelled from floor to ceiling and has a moulded cornice, probably all of oak, but now entirely painted white. The chimneypiece is of carved oak and the overmantel has panels separated by small pilasters which support a dentil cornice. The room on the opposite side of the landing has painted deal panelling of the 18th century. At one time the house was much larger and had another wing at the west end, which has been pulled down. It was built possibly by William Hide (who died in 1624 seised of a capital messuage called Hinton Hatch, see below), for the letters 'W.H.' appear on the north chimney in the brickwork. It was formerly the property of Mrs. Shifner, who inherited it from Mr. T. C. Garth, her brother, and is now owned by Captain W. Godsal, her nephew.

Further north is Stanlake Park. The present house dates from the latter part of the 16th century. A wing was added on the south-west in the 18th century, when the house was considerably renovated, while in recent years further additions have been made to the south of the house, a central entrance porch built, and the building generally restored and modernized. The Elizabethan building was H-shaped and symmetrically designed both on plan and elevation. It is two stories in height with attics in the roof, and is built of red brick with stone dressings and roofed with tiles. In the centre block of the original house was a large hall, apparently entered directly from the outside, though now through a modern porch. On either side of the hall were smaller rooms, lighted from the front by large bay windows. The staircase, an open one with turned balusters and moulded handrail, was situated behind the northernmost of these two rooms in the space now converted into a boudoir, it having in recent times been removed to its present position on the south side of the hall. The offices, it would appear, were on the site of the 18th-century addition, and were rebuilt when this addition was made. At the same time the present drawing room at the back of the hall was added, though it is possible that a smaller room previously existed here. The rooms on the ground floor have all been redecorated in the 18th century or later. One bedroom alone retains its original fireplace. Most of the bedrooms, which open off a central passage, have 18th-century panelled dados and plaster cornices of the same date. In the window of the bedroom called the King's Arms bedroom, at the northernmost corner of the house, are the royal arms of the Stuarts with the garter and supporters; under the motto is the date 1626. The front of the Elizabethan house has three gables, the two side wings projecting in front of the central block and having bay windows carried up to the level of the attics. Most of the windows in this part of the house are mullioned and transomed, but may have been restored. The 18th-century addition, which is three stories in height, is built of red brick and, as with the earlier building, is roofed with tiles. In this block and the modern additions are accommodated the offices and servants' quarters. To the south-west of the house are the stables, one block of which dates from the 16th century, while in the garden beyond is a domed brick ice-house.

High Chimneys, appropriately so called, is a small H-shaped house of 17th-century date, situated about half a mile to the south-west of the church. The entrance and garden fronts are almost exactly alike, and at one end a modern wing has been added. The entrance doors have rectangular moulded panels and are hung in heavy moulded frames. The house was until recently in the possession of the Barker family, but is now the property of Captain Godsal.

There is an interesting inn close to the church, now called the 'Castle,' but formerly known as the 'Church House' or the 'Bunch of Grapes.' (fn. 19) A curious mural painting has been recently discovered beneath several layers of wall-paper. It has an old bowling-green, which has been in use for a very long period. (fn. 20) Hurst Cottage, now rented by Mr. G. Roupell, contains a curious mantelpiece. There is a Baptist chapel in Hurst dating from 1849.

The forest of Windsor was in the time of James I divided into sixteen 'walks,' and Norden's map shows the Bear Wood Walk on the west of the forest bordering on the Loddon and embracing Winnersh, Newland, Arborfield and Barkham. It was stocked with fallow deer, and the keeper was Sir Francis Knollys. Bear Wood was known earlier as Bishop's Bere Wood or Bisshopesber and was chase of the Bishops of Salisbury appurtenant to their manor of Sonning. It came to the Crown with that manor in 1574 and was reserved when the manor was granted out of the Crown in 1628. (fn. 21) The lands which now constitute the park of Bear Wood remained Crown lands until about 1830, when Mr. John Walter, the proprietor of the Times newspaper, the son of the founder and second of that name, purchased it and built a residence there. Besides building the house Mr. Walter erected the church of Bear Wood, and the ecclesiastical parish of Bear Wood was formed in 1846, including portions of the liberties of Newland and Winnersh, together with part of Wokingham. In 1860 his son and successor Mr. John Walter, the third of that name, pulled down the former house and erected a large mansion. He laid out beautiful and extensive gardens, constructed a huge lake, and rebuilt most of the village of Sindlesham. The plan of the house is so arranged that a large picture gallery forms the central and principal chamber, wherein is placed a notable collection of paintings, chiefly of the Dutch school. Mr. John Walter greatly enlarged the estate, purchasing land in Wokingham, Parkham, Finchampstead and Sandhurst. He was M.P. for Nottingham from 1847 to 1859, represented Berkshire from 1859 to 1865 and again from 1868 to 1885. He was high steward of Wokingham, governor of Wellington College and alderman of the Berkshire County Council. In 1894 he died and was succeeded by his son Arthur Fraser Walter, who was followed on his death in 1910 by his son Mr. John Walter, the fifth of that name.

Sindlesham House, formerly Sindlesham Lodge, was acquired by Thomas Rickman Harman by his marriage with Miss Forbes about 1810. Harman was succeeded by his son Thomas Rickman Harman, who died in 1913, leaving the property to his niece, Mrs. Foster. the present owner. The estate was largely increased by the Inclosure Act, which came into force about 1814, and the house was much enlarged.

Sindlesham Mill is the property of Mr. Charles Simonds.

A Baptist chapel was built at Sindlesham in 1881.

Bill Hill, the seat of the Leveson-Gower family, was owned in the early years of the 18th century by Lord Blundell (Sir Montague Blundell, fourth baronet), who was raised to the peerage in 1720 and died in 1756, when the title became extinct. He was M.P. for Haslemere. In 1734 he sold Bill Hill to Lady Harold, the fourth daughter of Thomas Earl of Thanet by Catherine Cavendish, daughter of Henry Duke of Newcastle. In 1736 she became the third wife of John first Earl Gower, and on her death was succeeded by her son Rear-Admiral the Hon. John Leveson-Gower. The second Earl Gower, a son of the first earl by a former wife, brought an action to secure the property, but as the estate was purchased by Lady Gower with her own money it was decided that it should descend to her own son. The admiral married Frances daughter of Admiral Boscawen, and was succeeded by his son General John Leveson-Gower, M.P., who died in 1817. He was second in command in the disastrous La Plata Expedition of 1805. His son John Leveson-Gower was the next owner. His son John Edward succeeded in 1883, married Miss Katherine Elizabeth Cochrane, died in 1892 and was succeeded by his son John Henry Leveson-Gower, who died in 1912, his mother, Mrs. John Edward Leveson-Gower, being the present owner. The house was probably a hunting lodge in the forest. Lady Gower built the stables, east wing, the present dining room and drawing room. The wall of the kitchen garden was built by Lord Blundell. The house contains several old family portraits of the Tufton family and of Earl Gower, Sir William Leveson-Gower and other members of the family.

Twyford was constituted an ecclesiastical parish in 1876 (fn. 22) and a civil parish in 1895. It covers an area of 693 acres, of which 180 acres are arable land and 252 permanent grass. (fn. 23)

A number of palaeolithic flints, now in the Reading Museum, have been found at Twyford. (fn. 24)

The main road from Reading to Maidenhead runs through the village in an easterly direction and is intersected near the church by the road from Hurst to Wargrave. The Great Western railway runs through the centre of the parish and has a station in the village.

The principal settlement, which stands at the crossroads, is now quite of a suburban type. It is well lighted and has a good water supply obtained from wells in the neighbourhood. Leland describes it as 'a praty townlet,' and mentions that 'at the west end runneth Loden a praty river and so breketh out in armes that thereby I passed over four bridges.' (fn. 25) Standing on the south side of the main road in the middle of the village are the almshouses, a block of brick buildings with two wings roofed with tiles. They are one story high and accommodate six inmates, three in each of the side wings, each inmate having a bed-sitting room and a scullery. In the centre of the front to the road is a slightly projecting gable with a round-headed opening in the centre, over which is a moulded brick pediment. A central passage leads through into the square at the back. On the west side of the passage is a fine panelled oak screen dividing it off from the hall, while on the other side a half-timber and brick partition separates the passage from a similar room, now put to no special use. Over the central entrance is a stone slab inscribed 'Domino et pauperibus A^o 1640 | Vivet aīa mea et laudabit te et | Judicia tua adjuvabūt me.'

There is a Wesleyan chapel in the village built in 1853 and a Congregational chapel dating from 1794.

Twyford was the scene of a skirmish in 1688 between the soldiers of the Prince of Orange and the adherents of James II. There were two annual fairs held here on 24 July and 11 October in 1792, but they are not mentioned in the list of 1888. (fn. 26)

MANORS

The earliest mention of the manor of WHISTLEY (Uuiscelea, x cent.; Wiselei, xi cent.; Wysseley or Whysshele, xiv cent.), later HURST alias WHISTLEY, is in the chronicle of Abingdon Abbey, wherein it is stated that King Edgar in 968 A.D. gave 10 hides in Whistley to his thegn Wulfstan, who conveyed it to the abbey. (fn. 27) In the Domesday Survey it is enumerated among the possessions of the abbey, and mention is made of a mill worth 5s. and 250 eels and a fishery worth 300 eels. (fn. 28) The manor was appropriated to the kitchen and remained with the abbey of Abingdon until its dissolution. (fn. 29)

The abbot had sometimes much trouble with his tenants and labourers on his manor. In 1393 the bondmen and bondage tenants withdrew their services from Peter, Abbot of Abingdon, and met in assembly and swore to refuse to render their accustomed services. Power was granted to imprison the delinquents. (fn. 30) In the following year they were still contumacious. (fn. 31) In 1396 the king gave a confirmation to the abbot of his rights and privileges, reciting the grant by Edgar to Wulfstan and a confirmation of Richard I. It appears that the foresters claimed a benefit of refreshment called 'Metehorn'—viz., a right to be supplied weekly with two repasts of food and drink for themselves or their servants, but the king released the lord from all such obligation. (fn. 32)

In 1538 Thomas, Abbot of Abingdon, delivered up the manor of Hurst with the other possessions of the abbey to King Henry VIII. (fn. 33) Two years later the king granted it as the manor of Hurst alias Whistley to Richard Ward of Waltham St. Lawrence and Colubra his wife, (fn. 34) daughter of William Flambert of Chertsey, serjeant-at-arms to the king. Ward was cofferer to Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. He died in February 1577–8, his wife Colubra having predeceased him, (fn. 35) and was succeeded by his son Richard, who was knighted at Reading in 1601. (fn. 36) Richard Ward died at New Windsor in 1605, having bequeathed the manor to his greatnephew Richard Harrison and his nephew William Millward the younger. (fn. 37) Katherine Millward and Anne Weldon, sisters and two of the heirs of Richard Ward, released their share in the manor to Richard Harrison in the same year. (fn. 38) Harrison, who was knighted in 1621, (fn. 39) resided at his manor-house at Hurst, and was a friend of Archbishop Laud, who several times mentions him in his Diary in 1625 and 1626 on the occasion of Laud's visits to Sir Francis Windebank at Haines Hill. He was M.P. for Wootton Bassett (1621–2), for Berkshire (1624–5 and 1628–9), and for New Windsor in 1640, (fn. 40) and was Sheriff of Berkshire. He suffered greatly for his loyalty during the Civil War. He died in 1655 and was buried, as his will, dated 8 November 1654, directed, 'in that place in the chancell in Hurst heretofore by mee built, and neere to the sepulcher of the Lady Saville, my wives mother who lyeth interred there, as may be.' (fn. 41)

Sir Richard Harrison was succeeded by his son Richard, who was also a distinguished Royalist. Impoverished by his loyalty and his sacrifices made for the royal cause, he mortgaged the manor of Hurst Wynhurst alias Whistley in 1659 to Samuel Hyne, who paid £1,000 for that and other property at Finchampstead. (fn. 42) Sir Richard Harrison was again in possession in 1672, when with John Harrison, LL.D., his son and heir, he made a settlement of the manor. (fn. 43) In 1678 William Harrison, S.T.P., and his wife Dorothy were holding it, (fn. 44) and William Harrison continued to hold it until 1694. (fn. 45) The manor court was then held by George Harrison, presumably the son of William, who with Dorothy Harrison, widow, levied a fine of it in 1697. (fn. 46)

In 1700 the manor court was held by Catherine Harrison, widow (presumably of George Harrison), and in 1705 by Charles Willis and Catherine his wife. In 1711 the court is described as that of George Harrison, an infant in the custody of Dorothy Harrison, widow. (fn. 47) The last court of George Harrison was held on 22 March 1719, John Dalby being steward, and in 1722 George Harrison and Sara Harrison alias Cornelius sold the manor and other property to John Dalby. (fn. 48)

Thomas Septimius (sic) Dalby, who succeeded, (fn. 49) conveyed the manor in 1785 to Richard AldworthNeville, (fn. 50) from which date it followed the descent of the manor of Hinton Pipard (fn. 51) (q.v.).

The manorial privileges included free fishing, free warren and view of frankpledge.

The liberty of WINNERSH (Wynhurst, xvii cent.) was originally part of the Bishop of Salisbury's manor of Sonning and was under the exempt jurisdiction of the bishop. (fn. 52) Hence it retains the name liberty, but as an estate it was probably broken up at a comparatively early date. Part of it was attached to the manor of Hurst, which appears in 16th and 17th-century records as the manor of Hurst Wynhurst alias Whistley. (fn. 53)

Another part of the liberty became the manor of SINDLESHAM (Scindlesham, xiii cent.; Syndlesham, xiv cent.; Sinsam, xvii cent.), which was held of the Bishop of Salisbury in the 13th century by Robert de Sindlesham. (fn. 54) He enfeoffed another Robert de Sindlesham, who was holding Sindlesham in 1284. (fn. 55) In 1320 Robert de Sindlesham received a quitclaim of the manor for life from Margaret de Lenham (possibly Margaret granddaughter and heir of Robert de Sindlesham, sen.), with reversion to her sons Richard and Thomas and the heirs of Richard. (fn. 56) Richard was succeeded by his son John, who on his death left a son Robert under age. (fn. 57)

Although the records of this manor are scanty, it is evident that it remained in the Lenham family, for in 1491 Robert Lenham died seised of it, leaving a son Henry, (fn. 58) who was still a minor at his mother's death in 1498. (fn. 59) In 1523 the reversion was settled by Joan Lenham, widow, on Sir Thomas Englefield, who died seised of the manor of Sindlesham and of property called Sandfords in Sindlesham and Hurst in 1538. (fn. 60) Sir Francis Englefield, son of Thomas, the recusant, was attained for high treason in 1585 and forfeited his estates. The manor remained in the Crown until 1609, when it was granted to Salter and Williams, (fn. 61) who conveyed it to Samuel Backhouse, Sheriff and alderman of London. It was settled on his son John Backhouse on John's marriage with Flower daughter of Thomas Henshaw of London. (fn. 62) This John, who succeeded his father in 1626, was made Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Charles I. He suffered severely for his support of the royal cause in the Civil War. At his death in 1649 the manor passed to his brother William, whose daughter Flower married (secondly) William Backhouse, created a baronet in 1660, (fn. 63) and by her third marriage with Henry Hyde Viscount Cornbury, eldest son of the Earl of Clarendon, it passed to that family. Henry succeeded to the earldom in 1674 and in 1675 he and his wife sold the manor to Sir William Jones, the king's attorney-general. (fn. 64) In 1723 Richard Jones with William his son and heir suffered a recovery of the manor. (fn. 65) From this family it passed to the Spencers towards the end of the century, (fn. 66) and was purchased about 1800 of Earl Spencer by the Right Hon. Edward Golding (fn. 67) of Maiden Earley, M.P. for Downton (Wilts.), Lord of the Treasury during the administration of Lord Sidmouth. He amassed great wealth in the East Indies, and spent his large fortune in purchasing his estate at Maiden Earley and other property in the county. (fn. 68) He died in his seventy-second year in 1818 at Lord Sidmouth's house in London and was succeeded by his son Edward Golding, J.P., D.L., who died in 1844. His son the Rev. Edward Golding, vicar of Brimpton, succeeded and died in 1857, when the lordship of the manor descended to his son Captain William Golding, who in 1878 sold it to Mr. John Hargreaves together with the Maiden Earley property, (fn. 69) which in 1903 was sold to Mr. Solomon B. Joel.

The messuage and 30 acres of land in Sindlesham called Sandfords (see above) were held by William Irish at his death in 1623. (fn. 70)

A parcel of the manor of Sindlesham was separated from the rest of the manor in the 14th century and became the manor or farm of LEE. This was held by Ralph Rastwold at his death in 1383, (fn. 71) and descended to his son Richard Rastwold, who died seised in 1475, (fn. 72) leaving a son Thomas. In 1550 Anthony Rastwold conveyed his estate under the name of the manors of Lee, Warres and Hurst to Sir Edmund Pecham, kt., (fn. 73) who in 1557 sold to Richard Ward the manor or farm of 'le Lee' in Hurst, and at the same time transferred his interest in a lease for eighty years of Sandford Mill granted by the Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 74) The manor of Lee followed the descent of Hurst alias Whistley until 1785, when Thomas Septimus Dalby sold the estate to Lady Gower of Bill Hill, with which estate it subsequently passed.

The reputed manor called Warres mentioned above is found in 1607 in the possession of Sir Thomas Windebank (fn. 75) (see manor of Woodes or Odes). This property evidently took its name from a William Warre of Hinton who held land there at the end of the 14th century. (fn. 76)

The liberty of NEWLAND was part of the manor of Sonning (q.v.) and was included in the Bishop's Bear Wood. (fn. 77) The eastern part remained open and uninclosed until 1814. The liberty extends to Arborfield by Arborfield Cross (or Awfield Crosse), (fn. 78) the east side of the street there being in Newland, the west in Arborfield. In 1507 Nicholas Moore of Barkham held lands and tenements in 'Syndlesham and Newlondfeld,' having acquired the same from Humphrey Gardyner, Reginald Ireland, and Joan Berton, daughter and co-heir of John Berton, late of Hurst. These lands under the name of Mores are found in the possession of Sir Thomas Englefield at his death in 1538. (fn. 79)

Mr. Walter purchased from the Crown a large portion of the liberty about 1830 for the laying out of his park and the building of his house (see above). The remaining portion of the liberty has for many years been in the possession of the Simonds family, who, under the Inclosure Act of 1814, acquired a large increase to their estates. The Carter's Hill property is owned by Mr. Charles Simonds, the rest by Mr. John Simonds of Newlands.

Until 1844 the district of HINTON was in Wiltshire. Hinton is not mentioned in 1086, but in the 12th century it is found in the possession of the Earls of Salisbury, of whose hundred of Ashridge the three Hintons—Broad Hinton, Hinton Pipard and Hinton Hatch—formed tithings (see account of Ashridge Manor and Hundred under Wokingham). (fn. 80) The first mention which has been found of Hinton is in 1166, when Earl Patrick of Salisbury (so created between 1142 and 1149) was holding it. (fn. 81) Before the middle of the 13th century it was granted by William Longespée Earl of Salisbury, son and heir of Ela Countess of Salisbury, granddaughter of Earl Patrick, to Henry de Mara, (fn. 82) who in 1256 had licence to assart 240 acres of land out of the demesne of his manor of Hinton within the forest of Windsor. (fn. 83) This was the manor of HINTON or BROAD HINTON, (fn. 84) from which the manor of Hinton Pipard was apparently formed by subinfeudation. Maud daughter and heir of Henry de Mara married Peter de Montfort of Beaudesert, co. Warwick. (fn. 85) The manor descended to John, their son, and to his son John, who was killed at Bannockburn in 1314 and was succeeded by his brother Peter. (fn. 86) In 1349 Peter de Montfort settled Hinton on himself for life, with reversion to John his illegitimate son for life and remainder to Guy, son of Peter, and Margaret his wife, daughter of Thomas de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, and contingent remainder in default of issue to the Earl of Warwick. (fn. 87) Guy died in his father's lifetime, leaving no issue, so that after the death of Peter and John de Montfort the manor went to the heir of the Earl of Warwick, his son Thomas, who succeeded his father in 1369. (fn. 88) In 1396 he forfeited his lands, and Hinton was granted by the king three years later to John Marquess of Dorset. (fn. 89) The Earl of Warwick was restored in 1399, and died seised of the manor in 1401. (fn. 90) His son Richard Earl of Warwick died seised of it in 1439. (fn. 91) Henry Earl of Warwick, who succeeded, demised the manor to John Norreys for life, with reversion to the earl and his heirs. Henry died in 1446, leaving an only daughter Anne, (fn. 92) who died in infancy. Her heir was her aunt Anne, sister of Earl Henry, who married Richard Nevill Earl of Salisbury, (fn. 93) slain at Barnet in 1471. The manor was included in the quitclaim made by the countess of her estates to the Crown in 1487, (fn. 94) but apparently possession had been obtained as early as 1479 by Sir George Nevill, (fn. 95) descendant through his mother Elizabeth of William Beauchamp Lord Bergavenny, brother of Thomas Earl of Warwick (who died in 1401). (fn. 96) In 1513 Sir George Nevill, son of the above-mentioned George, conveyed Hinton to Thomas Lathom, clerk, and others (fn. 97) in trust for Sir Thomas Englefield. (fn. 98) From Sir Thomas Englefield the manor descended in 1514 to his son Thomas, (fn. 99) who died seised of it in 1538. (fn. 100) His son Francis in 1546 conveyed the manor to Nicholas Wood and Alan Lee, (fn. 101) possibly in trust for Richard Ward, who was making a settlement of it in 1575. (fn. 102) It thereafter descended with the manor of Hurst alias Whistley (q.v.) until as late as 1785. (fn. 103) It was in 1907 held by Mr. Thomas Colleton Garth, and is now owned by his nephew Captain W. Godsal.

The manor of HINTON PIPARD was held of the manor of Broad Hinton. (fn. 104) About the middle of the 13th century a John Pipard is found as witness to a grant by the Earl of Salisbury of rents to Reading Abbey, including one payable by Sir Henry de Mara. (fn. 105) A Simon Pipard of Hinton was living in 1297. (fn. 106) Another John Pipard was holding lands in Hinton, Hurst and Ruscombe in the following century, which in 1362 were quitclaimed by his daughter and co-heir Denise, widow of Robert de Crokeford, to her sister Felicia, widow of William Mawardyn. (fn. 107) Rather later the manor came to the Thorpe family of Thorpe, co. Surrey. John Thorpe, son of John Thorpe, left a daughter Alice, who inherited the manor. (fn. 108) She married Robert Osborne, from whom she was divorced, and afterwards as Alice Flemyng granted the manor to certain feoffees, against whom several suits in Chancery were brought about 1470 by her cousins and heirs, Maud wife of William Revell and Ela wife of Robert Blount, the daughters of Nicholas Stanlake, son of Elizabeth daughter of the elder John Thorpe. (fn. 109) Probably at this date two properties in Hinton Pipard and Stanlake coalesced, as the manor is generally found in later records as the manor of HINTON PIPARD alias STANLAKES or STANLAKE.

The manor came possibly through inheritance to Henry Reynold and Agnes his wife, who were holding in right of Agnes in 1502, when they conveyed it to Sir Reginald Bray. (fn. 110) The manor descended to his niece Margery wife of Sir William Sandys, (fn. 111) created Lord Sandys of the Vyne in 1523. (fn. 112) It descended to their son Thomas Lord Sandys, whose son William Lord Sandys suffered a recovery of it in 1599. (fn. 113) This was possibly part of a transaction by which the manor was granted to Miles Sandys (of the family of Sandys of Latimers, co. Buckingham), fatherin-law of Elizabeth daughter of William Lord Sandys above mentioned, for he died seised of it in 1601, (fn. 114) when Edwin his son and heir (husband of Elizabeth) succeeded. A life interest was apparently reserved to Elizabeth widow of Henry Sandys, eldest son of William Lord Sandys, who died in his father's lifetime, afterwards wife successively of Sir George Paulet of Crondall (co. Hants) and of Ralph Scrope of Hambleden (co. Buckingham). (fn. 115) She held courts as Elizabeth Scrope Lady Paulet or as Elizabeth Scrope from 1583 onwards. After her death in 1601 Sir Edwin Sandys conveyed the manor in 1606 to Sir Thomas Windebank. (fn. 116) Sir Thomas died the following year, (fn. 117) and his son Francis sold Hinton Pipard in 1610 to Richard Aldworth. (fn. 118) He died seised in 1623, (fn. 119) when the manor descended to his son Richard. It descended in the Aldworth family (fn. 120) to Richard Aldworth of Stanlake, whose son (by his second wife Catherine Neville) Richard Neville Aldworth, (fn. 121) after 1762 Richard Aldworth-Neville, was the father of Richard AldworthNeville, second Lord Braybrooke, who assumed the name of Griffin (fn. 122) and died in 1825. His son Richard, who succeeded as third Lord Braybrooke, (fn. 123) was born at Stanlake. He, who is well known as the editor of Pepys' Diary, was succeeded in 1858 by his son Richard Cornwallis Neville, fourth Lord Braybrooke, on whose death without male issue in 1861 the manor passed successively to his brothers, Charles fifth Lord Braybrooke and Latimer sixth Lord Braybrooke, then to the latter's son Henry seventh Lord Braybrooke. (fn. 124)

Stanlake Park was alienated from the manor during the first half of the 19th century, and became the seat of Sir Nathaniel Duckenfield, from whom it was purchased in 1847 by George Barker. His grandson Mr. Frederick G. Barker is the present owner. (fn. 125)

Part of Stanlake Park lies in the parish of Ruscombe, and in Botany Bay Copse, near the park, is a quadrilateral moat which is thought to mark the site of the original manor-house. (fn. 126)

The right of fishery in Stanlake is mentioned in conveyances of the manor. (fn. 127) The house overlooks a tributary of the Loddon, which has here been widened to form a large sheet of water.

Hinton Hatch, which in the Court Rolls of Ashridge Hundred (see Wokingham) appears as a separate tithing, does not seem to have had manorial rights attached to it. In the latter half of the 13th century a John atte Hatch of Hinton and Scolastica his wife were dealing with the half of a messuage and 70 acres of land in Hinton. (fn. 128) Probably this was a holding within the manor of Hinton Pipard. The capital messuage called Hinton Hatch was in the reign of James I in the possession of William Hide, who died seised of it in 1624, when it descended to his son William. (fn. 129) Hinton Hatch Corner lies between Hinton Farm and Hinton Lodge to the south of Stanlake Park.

The manor of ODES probably took its name from a family of Ode or Oude (Wode ?). (fn. 130) William Ode appears in the neighbourhood in 1224, (fn. 131) and in 1327 Thomas Oude was assessed at 2s. 11¾d. to the subsidy (fn. 132) in the vill of Hinton. An Adam Ode was assessed under Winnersh in 1332. (fn. 133) In 1363 the manor of Odes was settled on Sir Peter de Montfort, lord of Beaudesert, for life, with remainder to his illegitimate son Richard de Montfort and Rose his wife and their heirs. (fn. 134) By the early 16th century Odes was in the hands of the Norreys family, (fn. 135) but when John Norreys was indicted for the murder of John Enhold of Nettlebed it formed part of the price of his pardon paid to the king. Apparently, however, it was again acquired by the Norreys family, for Henry Lord Norreys sold the manors of Mordells (fn. 136) and Odes to Henry Hawthorne, who had resided at Banisters. His daughter Judith carried them in marriage to Oliver Coxhead, and from him Sir Thomas Windebank acquired these manors about the middle of the reign of Elizabeth. (fn. 137) On the death (fn. 138) of Sir Thomas Windebank in 1607 his manors of Mordells and Odes, with the capital messuage of Banisters, passed to his son Francis, who later became Secretary of State to Charles I. In 1640 Sir Francis Windebank was arrested by order of the Parliament, but escaped and crossed to France, dying there six years later. His estates were sequestered. (fn. 139) and soon after his property in Hurst passed into the hands of Richard Bigg, a partisan of Cromwell. At Haines Hill is still preserved the pardon granted to Bigg by Charles II, permitting him to retain possession of his property in spite of his support of the Parliamentarian cause during the Commonwealth period. It is a beautifully inscribed document bearing a portrait of Charles in the left-hand top corner. Richard Bigg left four sons, of whom John succeeded his father in 1677. (fn. 140) The manors of Mordells and Odes and the Haines Hill estate remained with the Bigg family (fn. 141) till about the middle of the 18th century. The subsequent history of this property is given under Haines Hill (see above). Thomas Garth suffered a recovery of the manor in 1819. (fn. 142)

TWYFORD lay partly within the manor of Hinton Pipard. Frequent mentions of holdings there occur in the Court Rolls of that manor. In 1551 there was a croft called Tybyn Hatch in the common field of Twyford, which occurs frequently in subsequent rolls. The messuage 'Signe of the Bull' is mentioned in 1587, with 3 acres of arable land in the common fields and half an acre in Hinton. (fn. 143) In 1680 the 'Rose and Crown' is mentioned and in 1709 the 'Bell.'

Another part of Twyford was owned by the abbey of Abingdon, which at the Dissolution had besides the manor of Hurst (then granted out at farm) also rents from free and customary tenants in Twyford and Hurst, amounting to £17 12s. 9d. (fn. 144) In the surrender by the abbey to the king Twyford is mentioned as a separate manor, (fn. 145) but, as there seem to be no further records of it, it was probably afterwards included in the manor of Hurst alias Whistley.

In the 16th century there was a so-called manor of Twyford, held in 1534 by Sir John Norreys. (fn. 146) This may have been earlier part of the Montfort property, (fn. 147) for in the settlement made of Odes on Sir Peter and Richard de Montfort in 1363 (fn. 148) a watermill at Twyford (fn. 149) was included. (fn. 150) The manor is found in the Norreys family as late as 1601. (fn. 151) Twyford Mill was in the possession of William Hide at his death in 1624, (fn. 152) as was also Woodes Place in Hurst, which was part, perhaps, of the Odes estate owned earlier by the Norreys family.

One or two other so-called manors occur in the records of Hurst. In 1579 a manor of Berry was among the manors possessed by Richard Ward. (fn. 153) Lands in Hurst Berry appear later as appurtenant to the other manors of the Ward estate in Hurst. (fn. 154)

A manor of Hurst was included with Lee and Warres in the sale by Anthony Rastwold to Sir Edmund Pecham, kt., in 1550. (fn. 155) In 1516 the manors of Odes Hinton (Odes-Hinton ?) and Hurst were among those held by John Norreys when attainted of high treason. (fn. 156) Probably neither of these manors of Hurst was a genuine manor. One of them may be the manor of Hurst held by Sir William Compton and left by will of 1758 to his son Walter with remainder to his daughters. (fn. 157) In 1773 a settlement of this manor was made on Jane Compton, one of the daughters and surviving heirs of Sir William Compton, and her husband John Berkeley. (fn. 158) Jane Berkeley, widow, and Robert Berkeley were dealing with it in 1780, (fn. 159) and Catherine Berkeley, spinster, held it in 1798. (fn. 160)

CHURCHES

The church of ST. NICHOLAS consists of a chancel 31 ft. 9 in. by 17 ft., a north chapel 31 ft. by 17 ft. 7 in. with vestries on the north side, nave 53 ft. by 18 ft., north aisle 18 ft. wide, south aisle 14 ft. 10 in. wide, west tower 14 ft. 5 in. by 11 ft. 10 in. and south porch. These measurements are all internal.

The oldest part of the church is the north arcade of the nave, the easternmost bay being of 12th-century date, the next of later work in the same century, while the third marks an extension of the 14th century. The rest of the building has been so much restored and rebuilt that there is little left to tell its history, but there are corbels in the nave and north aisle which give further evidence of 12th-century work. There is a 13th-century north doorway, and the supports for the roofs of the nave and north chapel are of 15th-century date. The roofs themselves are also probably work of that century. The tower was added in 1612, but its windows are modern. The chancel and the north chapel were restored in 1855. In 1875–6 the south aisle was added and the rest of the building was restored and reseated. The porch is also of this date, but a few old timbers from its predecessor were used. The priest's vestry has only just been added.

None of the old windows are left. The east window of the chancel has three trefoiled lights with tracery of 14th-century design, and the two south windows are of the same style, the easternmost having two lights and the other one. The north arcade of the chancel is of two bays with a circular column having a moulded base and capital. The western respond is semicircular and abuts directly upon the east respond of the original nave arcade. The arches are two-centred and of two chamfered orders.

The east window of the north chapel has three trefoiled lights with tracery of decorated character. In the north wall is a doorway into the vestry, which takes the place of another one further east, now blocked. A considerable portion of this wall is occupied by tombs. There is no chancel arch, but the chancel is separated from the nave by a wooden screen, now painted and gilded, but apparently of late 15th-century date. The lower part is panelled, and above are cinquefoiled lights with traceried heads. The cornice is small and contains carved cherubs' heads, fleurs de lis, Tudor roses and foliage. The cresting is a Jacobean addition, and consists of pierced scrollwork with the royal arms as borne by the Stuarts, with supporters, in the centre. The chapel is separated from the north aisle by a similar screen and has the Prince of Wales' feathers in a garter in the place of the royal arms in the cresting.

The north arcade of the nave is of three bays; the first two, which are of the 12th century, are separated by a circular column having a scalloped capital with a square abacus and a modern moulded base. Near the top of the shaft is a projecting band, above which the diameter of the column is slightly reduced. The eastern respond is semicircular and has a chamfered base, and the capital has apparently been recut in the 14th century to stand on a clustered column. The second pier of the arcade has on the east a semicircular respond with a capital and base similar to the first pier, while the other side of the pier, which forms the respond of the 14th-century bay, has two square orders. Near the springing line of the arch these orders are brought into one by trefoiled stops with carved heads under the small canopies thus formed. The eastern arch of the arcade is segmental and of a plain square section. This arch and the masonry above are of stone, the rest of the arcade being in chalk except the modern restorations. The central arch is two-centred and also has only one square order. The third is a two-centred drop arch of two chamfered orders. The modern south arcade of the nave has three bays with circular columns, having moulded bases and capitals, and the arches are heavily moulded and have moulded labels.

The north wall of the north aisle has three modern lancet lights. Between the second and third of these is the 13th-century doorway, which has jambs and a pointed arch of two chamfered orders and a plain double-chamfered label. The moulded abaci and the base stops are modern. The west window of this aisle has three lights with tracery of 14th-century type. The south aisle has three-light east and west windows and two two-light south windows, all with tracery of 14th-century design. The south doorway is modern and has shafted jambs and a moulded twocentred arch.

The modern two-centred tower arch is moulded and is supported on semicircular shafts attached to the jambs. The tower is of brick in three stages, and is finished with an embattled parapet. In the ground stage is a west doorway with modern stone jambs and above it is a three-light window with tracery of 14th-century character in modern stonework. There are similar two-light windows in the upper stages.

All the other walls of the building are faced with modern flint and stone dressings and the roofs are tiled. The open-timber roofs have arched trusses and are all old except that of the south aisle. The nave and north aisle have large tie-beams. The chapel and nave roofs have moulded semi-octagonal corbels supported by hollow-chamfered pilasters with carved heads at the top and bottom; these are of original 15th-century date.

The hexagonal pulpit, which is painted and gilded, is Jacobean with enrichment of the usual type. Attached to the pulpit is a wrought-iron hour-glass stand formed of an oak-leaf and acorn design with the date 1636 over the initials EA. The ironwork is painted and gilded, and on a separate scroll attached to the respond of the arcade is the quotation, 'As this glasse runneth, so man's life passethe.' All the other internal fittings are modern.

On the north wall of the chancel is a large and elaborate wall monument to Henry Barker of Hurst, who married Magdalen daughter of William Cade of Essex, by whom he had four sons and one daughter. He died in 1651. The monument is of marble, and contains in an architectural frame the recumbent figure of a man in a long robe holding a book in his right hand. A child is seated at his head and a figure of Death at his feet. In the crowning pediment on a cartouche are the arms of Barker of Hurst quartering Burley and in the recess are two shields both bearing the above arms impaling Argent a fesse azure between two leopards gules each charged on the shoulder with a bezant with a castle between two fleurs de lis or upon the fesse, for Cade.

Against the north wall of the chapel is a large monument in black marble and alabaster to Margaret Lady Savile, daughter of George Dacres. She was married three times—first to George Garrard, second son of Sir William Garrard, secondly to John Smith of Essex, and thirdly to Sir Henry Savile, kt., warden of Merton College and provost of Eton, where he is buried. On the front of the base, which has a curved central projection bearing the inscription, are three black marble panels. In the centre, kneeling on the base, are the figures of Savile and his lady face to face at a desk. To the west are two kneeling female figures, and to the east the figures of a man in half armour and a woman kneeling face to face at a desk. Below the easternmost panel of the base are five kneeling figures of their children, which are now headless. The back of the monument is divided into three bays by shallow pilasters and over it is an entablature, broken forward in the centre like the base, from which hang curtains lifted by two female figures. The top is finished with a curved pediment in which is a concave recess containing a small urn, and bears a shield with the arms of Savile impaling Dacres of Cheshunt. Surmounting the entablature on the west is a cartouche in memory of Anne Viscountess Dorchester, Lady Savile's eldest daughter by her first husband, bearing the arms, Argent a bend sable with three voided lozenges argent thereon, for Carleton, impaling Argent on a fesse sable a lion passant argent with the difference of a molet gules for Garrard of Dorney. The cartouche at the other end is a memorial of Frances wife of Sir Richard Harrison, kt., youngest daughter of Lady Savile's first marriage. It has the arms of Harrison of Hurst quartered with Ward and Garrard. On the back of the monument are two shields, the west one bearing the coat Azure a fesse wavy between three goats' heads argent for Sidley impaling Savile, for Elizabeth daughter of her third marriage, who was wife of Sir John Sidley, bart. The other shield is of Harrison impaling Garrard.

To the west of this monument is the Purbeck marble altar tomb of Richard Ward. The front of the base is divided into four panels with feathered quatrefoils inclosing shields of copper, the second of which is missing. The ends of the base have each one similar panel. A black marble slab covers the top of the base and over this is a canopy supported by panelled sides faced with octagonal shafts. The front of the canopy has a quatrefoil panelled frieze, some panels containing copper shields and above this is a Tudor flower cresting. The back has several brasses let into it. One is the figure of a man in a long gown kneeling at a desk with eight sons behind him. Facing him is the figure of a lady, the head of which has gone, with nine daughters behind her. Below the figure of Richard Ward is a long black letter inscription in Latin showing him to have been cofferer in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. Over the woman and daughters on a scroll is inscribed 'Colubra Ward dyed ye xiiii daye of Aprill anno 1574.' On a shield in the middle of the back are the arms of Ward with his crest, a fox's head razed. Over the man is Ward impaling Gules a bend argent with three dolphins vert thereon for Flambert. Over the woman is a shield of the last-named arms. In the frieze there were originally three shields, but the first is now missing. The second is Ward impaling Argent six moorhens sable. The third is Ward impaling Flambert. In the base the first and fourth shields have Ward, the second one is missing, the third is Ward impaling Flambert, and the fifth is Flambert.

On the wall to the west of this tomb are two brasses, the upper one representing the figure of a woman in a bed. It has been removed from a stone slab on the floor below, which bears an inscription to Alse Harrison, the wife of Thomas Harrison, and eldest daughter of Richard Ward, cofferer to Queen Elizabeth. The other brass is about 18 in. square and has a marginal inscription to Richard Kippax, who died in 1625, examiner in the Star Chamber, with memorial verses on another plate.

On the south wall of the chapel is a marble monument to Sir Richard Harrison, d. 1683 (eldest son of Sir Richard Harrison), of Whistley and Hinton. He married Dorothy, the only daughter of William Deane of Nethercot in Oxfordshire. In the centre of the monument between Ionic columns are the figures of a man in armour kneeling opposite his wife at a desk and behind them is a man standing. On a shield in the pediment are the arms of Harrison, with the crest, a talbot's head erminois in a golden crown, and in the east spandrel below the entablature is the same coat with three bars in a border, for Deane, in pretence. The opposite spandrel has Harrison with a quartering.

On the east wall of the chapel to the north of the window is a marble tablet to John Barker, who died in 1620, and Frances (Manfield) his wife. Above it is a tablet to Thomas Septimus Dalby of Hurst Grove, who died in 1790. On the opposite side of the east window is a tablet to William son of Henry Fairfax and Ann his wife. He died in 1684. Above it is a monument dated 1694.

On the floor of the chapel are slabs to the following: Henry second son of Thomas Viscount Fairfax, 1650, (fn. 161) Francis grandson of Henry Fairfax of Burlington, co. York, who died in 1678, aged fifty-six years, William and Ann Alathea Fairfax, 1684, John Barker, 1661, and his wife Elizabeth, 1677, Elizabeth wife of James Marsh, 1634, Frances Turner, 1663, and five children of John Lewis of Coydmer, Cardigan.

At the west end of the north aisle is a brick monument with a large black marble slab to Richard Bigg, 1677. On the north wall of this aisle is a small monument to Lady Phoebe, one of the daughters of James Ley Earl of Marlborough and wife of Richard Bigg, 1653, with the arms of Bigg impaling Ley. Near this is another small monument to Thomas Bayley of Hurst, 1684, with his arms, Or three lozenges azure. In the south aisle is a wall monument to William Clark, vicar, 1675, with his arms, Argent a bend gules between three roundels sable with three swans argent on the bend.

There is a peal of six bells, the treble bearing the inscription 'Prayes the Lord 1634'; the second has 'I as trebl be gin'; the third 'Henry Knight made this bell 1613'; the fourth 'I as third will sing'; the other two both have 'Feare God,' the fifth being dated 1642 and the tenor 1639.

The plate comprises a silver-gilt cup of 1613, given in 1633. Another cup, also silver-gilt, was made out of one similar to the first, which was melted down and recast in 1852. There are also two patens and two flagons, all in modern silver-gilt.

The registers previous to 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms and marriages 1585 to 1607, burials 1585 to 1604; (ii) marriages 1633 to 1720; (iii) is an 18th-century copy, and contains baptisms and burials 1633 to 1763, marriages 1633 to 1753; (iv) marriages 1754 to 1769; (v) baptisms and burials 1764 to 1812; (vi) marriages 1769 to 1812.

The church of ST. MARY, Twyford, consists of a long chancel with a north organ chamber, south priest's and quire vestries, north and south transepts, a nave, north and south aisles, a north porch and a south-west tower, the bottom stage of which is used as a baptistery.

The church was built in 1847, chiefly at the expense of the Rev. A. A. Cameron, then vicar of Hurst, and Miss Currey. The north aisle was added in 1883, and in recent years (1908–10) the original structure has been considerably enlarged, the chancel extended eastward, the nave westward, the organ chamber and priest's vestry added, and the tower and baptistery built, the old church at the same time being thoroughly cleaned and restored. Lighting the chancel from the east is a tall three-light window, and in the east ends of both the north and south walls are six pointed windows, three in each wall; in the west end of the north wall is a pointed opening into the organ chamber, and in the wall opposite an arched opening into the vestry. An arcade of four pointed arches carried on circular piers opens into the north aisle, while to the west of a similar arcade on the south is a pointed opening into the baptistery. At the west end of the nave is a large five-light window. The aisles are lighted by small lancet windows, and at the west end of the south aisle is a pointed opening into the baptistery similar to the opening from the nave. The roofs are open and over the baptistery is a diagonal ribbed stone vault. The tower is built in three stages with diagonal buttresses at the angles and has a spire covered with tiles. Each side of the top stage is arcaded in three bays with openings between the arches into the bell-chamber. The walls are faced with flint with stone dressings and the roofs are covered with tiles.

There are eight bells, which were added in 1913.

The plate is modern.

The church of ST. CATHERINE, Bear Wood, is a small building in 14th-century style erected in 1845. It consists of a chancel with a north vestry, a wide aisleless nave and a west tower with an embattled parapet. The walls are of squared ashlar and the roofs are tiled. The building stands in the centre of a churchyard, which is bounded by yew and laurel hedges and is entered on the west side. There are two modern bells.

The plate consists of a chalice, paten, flagon and a smaller paten, all of silver, with date mark 1865.

ADVOWSON

Whistley or Hurst was part of the parish of Sonning. At the close of the 11th century, as the people found much difficulty in attending the offices at the church at Sonning on account of the fords to be crossed, Abbot Athelelm built at Whistley a church of wood, which was consecrated by Bishop Osmund of Salisbury and dedicated in honour of St. Nicholas, but when Rainald (ob. 1097) was abbot the priest of Sonning complained that his church suffered on account of the chapel at Whistley, and the bishop caused all services there to cease. However, an agreement was soon after made between the abbot and bishop that the abbot should provide his own priest for the chapel at Whistley, who should receive all the offerings, and that the abbot should give the bishop on the feast of All Saints half a mark of silver, the church of Sonning not to receive less dues than in the days of King Edward from the vill of Whistley. (fn. 162)

At the beginning of the 13th century the presentation to the chapels attached to Sonning Church seems to have been conducted most irregularly. In 1220 the Dean of Salisbury found the church served by a chaplain, John, who had been presented by the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury and was farming the chapel for 10 marks. It was then returned that the chapel had a baptistery but not a cemetery, that it received oil and chrism at Reading, that it had no lands and no house for the vicar on church ground. (fn. 163) Two years later at another visitation it appeared that the chapel was served by Richard, apparently the nominee of the former chaplain John, who was described as a young man knowing nothing. (fn. 164) Apparently notwithstanding the composition with the abbey of Abingdon, the advowson was vested normally in the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury. In the 16th century it was farmed out with the rectory. (fn. 165) It remained with the dean and chapter until 1846, when it was assigned to the Bishop of Oxford, to whose diocese it had been transferred with the other Berkshire parishes in the diocese of Salisbury in 1836. (fn. 166)

The Taxatio of 1291 enters the chapel of Hurst as appropriated to the kitchen of Abingdon, (fn. 167) but in 1535 the rectory was held by the farmer of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury (fn. 168) (parsons of Sonning). In the 17th century it was farmed by the family of Barker of Sonning. (fn. 169) At the beginning of the 18th century David eighth Earl of Buchan (fn. 170) held it with Frances his wife, a descendant of Henry Barker who died in 1651, (fn. 171) and he in 1742 sold it to Robert Palmer. (fn. 172) It remained in the Palmer family (fn. 173) until 1874, when Miss Caroline Palmer handed over the great tithes for the endowment of the church. (fn. 174)

There was in 1220 a chapel of St. Nicholas at Sindlesham of the fee of Robert de Sonning. At the visitation of that year the vicar of Sonning produced a convention made between Robert de Sonning and the Dean of Salisbury which provided that Robert de Sonning should hold the chapel and chantry of Sindlesham, and he and his wife and all his household, servants and guests should hear service there, but that his rustics should not hear service save at the mother church at Sonning. Robert was to give annually to the vicar of Sonning 2s. as a mark of the chapel's dependence. (fn. 175) In 1220, however, the chapel was unserved. (fn. 176) No further records of it have been found. In 1535 the tithes of Sindlesham were accounted part of the rectory of Sonning. (fn. 177)

The living of St. Catherine's, Bear Wood, was declared a rectory in 1866. (fn. 178) The advowson is in the hands of the Walter family. The advowson of St. Mary, Twyford, belongs to the Bishop of Oxford.

CHARITIES

The parochial charities, the trust funds of which are held by the official trustees, are administered under the provisions of a scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 2 March 1886, conveniently arranged in parts, and comprising the charities of:

Part i:—Barker's almshouses, built by William Barker in 1664 and endowed in 1682, consisting of almshouses with garden ground, opposite the church, for eight almspeople, to be selected in certain proportions from the different liberties in the parish.

Endowments.

—£3,337 9s. 10d. Metropolitan Water (B) Stock, producing £100 2s. 6d. a year, arising from redemption in 1905 by Mr. Robert Reginald Fairfax Wade Palmer of the amounts charged on the Holme Park Estate for pensions for the almspeople, gowns, repairs, &c., and £1,476 0s. 3d. consols, known as the 'Hooton and Pooley Augmentation Fund,' representing a legacy by will of George Pooley, proved 29 June 1883.

The almshouses at Twyford, erected by Sir Richard Harrison for six almspeople, and half an acre of land adjoining, let as gardens at £3 a year, endowed by Lady Frances Winchcomb, the granddaughter, by deed dated 30 June 1707, with a rent-charge of £25 a year, issuing out of the Brokenborough estate (with an additional £6 for gowns in alternate years) and with £159 15s. 9d. consols, representing a legacy by will of George William Barker of Stanlake Park, proved 21 May 1870.

Part ii:—Richard Bigg, founded by will, dated 20 July 1677, trust estate, No. 1 Clark's Buildings and No. 24 Broad Street, St. Giles, London, let respectively for £45 and £68; and £3,568 15s. 5d. consols, producing £89 4s. 4d. a year, arising from sale in 1884 of two other houses in St. Giles; also the following charities primarily applicable in limited areas of the parish, namely:—

Abraham Spoore, by deed dated 1697, gave an annuity of 20s. charged on lands in Maidenhead for the poor of Twyford.

Mary Beard, by will, 20s. a year for poor of Winnersh Liberty, now paid by Mr. John Walter of Bear Wood in respect of certain property in King Street.

Moses Sadgrove, will proved in the P.C.C. 19 July 1758, annuity of 20s. issuing out of land at Ruscombe, for bread in the liberties of Broad Hinton and Whistley.

Alice Allwright, deed 1758, now consisting of £296 consols, representing investment of moiety of proceeds of sale of real estate (with accumulations) for poor of the liberty of Newland. (For other moiety see parish of Barkham.)

William Sanbury, deed 1783, annuity of 40s. out of lands in Hinton, to be distributed in bread amongst poor families in Broad Hinton on the Sunday next before Christmas Day.

William Harman, will proved in the P.C.C. 1838, trust fund, £619 consols, income for distribution of coal among the poor in the liberty of Winnersh about Christmas.

Mrs. Sarah Glasspool, will proved at Oxford, 1881, trust fund, £199 10s. consols, income for distribution on 9 November, of blankets or flannel amongst the aged poor of the liberty of Whistley.

The Rev. Richard Ebenezer Leach, will proved at Wakefield, 1873, trust fund, £434 18s. consols, income for distribution on 8 October among the poor of Twyford.

Part iii:—Dame Dorothy Harrison's, founded by will dated 22 July 1690, consisting of a yearly sum of £18 charged on lands in Binfield and belonging to Lord Braybrooke and £160 12s. 3d. consols.

Part iv:—Barker's coal charity, founded by will of George William Barker, proved 1870, trust fund, £319 11s. 6d. consols, for distribution of coal among the poor of Hurst.

Part v:—Charity of Rev. R. E. Leach for education in Twyford, trust fund, £154 12s. 7d. consols.

Part vi:—The Barker Foundation Fund for the National school founded by deed poll 17 August 1857.

Part vii:—The church-house and land consisting of 'The Castle' public-house, near the church, formerly the 'Bunch of Grapes,' let at £30 a year, and £71 17s. 9d. consols arising from sale in 1898 of the bowling-green adjoining.

By the scheme the above-mentioned charities are consolidated, each of the eight Barker's almspeople and the six Twyford almspeople to receive out of the endowments in parts i and ii a stipend at the rate of not less than 6s. and not more than 8s. a week, and subject thereto the endowments in part ii and onethird of the net income of the endowments in part iii to be applied for the general benefit of deserving and necessitous persons resident in the parish, by way of donations to a dispensary, or any provident club or society, provision of nurses, &c., due regard, however, to be given to the wants of the poor of the districts or liberties for which the endowments were primarily given.

One-third of the income of the endowments in part iii to be applied in putting out as an apprentice a poor boy of the parish. The remaining third part of the income of the endowments in part iii and the whole income of those in part v to be applied in the advancement of the education of children attending, or who have attended, a public elementary school by way of rewards or prizes, or in tuition fees.

The net income of Barker's coal fund (part iv) to be applied in accordance with the trusts of the donor's will or for the general benefit of the poor indicated above.

The income of the Barker's Foundation Fund (part vi) to be applied in accordance with the trusts of the deed of 1857, or in the advancement of education in the manner above indicated, and the income of the endowments of the church-house (part vii) towards the maintenance and repair of the fabric of the church.

For the charity of Mrs. Sarah Yarnold, founded by will proved in the P.C.C. 1831, see under Wokingham. £20 a year is applicable for blind persons, those residing in Hurst and Ruscombe being preferred; a further £15 a year is usually availble for gifts to female servants and four married women of Hurst.

For the hospital founded by Henry Lucas by will 1663 and Letters Patent bearing date 18 January 1667 see under Wokingham. The parish of Hurst is entitled in rotation with other places to present a person to the Court of Assistants of the Drapers' Company, London, for admission as one of the poor brethren on this foundation.

Liberty of Winnersh.

—The fuel allotment originally acquired by an award, dated 23 November 1814, made under the Act for the inclosure of lands within Windsor Forest, (fn. 179) now consists of 9a. 2 r. 3 p. in Winnersh, let at £9 10s. a year, and £853 1s. 8d. consols with the official trustees, arising in part from an investment of a sum received for equality of exchange, and in part from proceeds of sale. The net income of about £30 a year is distributed by the parish council of Winnersh in the distribution of coal.

Liberty of Newland.

—The fuel allotment. The lands originally acquired by an award, dated 1 July 1817, made under the above-mentioned Act, were sold in 1861, and proceeds invested in £391 18s. 11d. consols with the official trustees, producing £9 16s. a year, which is distributed in coal just before Christmas among poor persons resident within the liberty.

A school in Twyford was founded by Edward Polehampton, will, 1721. (fn. 180) The trust estates in addition to the school buildings now consist of house, coach-house and stables, cottages and about 6 acres of land, and £7,462 3s. 10d. consols with the official trustees, producing about £300 a year. The trust was reconstituted by the Polehampton Estate Act, 1885, (fn. 181) and is regulated by a scheme established by order of court of 1 December 1886, as amended in 1890 and 1893 by the Charity Commissioners.