Barkham
Encyclopedia
Barkham is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) south-west of the centre of Wokingham
in Berkshire
.
at and close to Barkham Street. However most of the population lives in the north-east of the parish, around the post office
, or in the Arborfield Garrison
, which is largely in Barkham, as is the REME Museum of Technology
. It is a rural parish, mostly consisting of dairy farmland and woods, despite being surrounded by the town of Wokingham
and the large villages of Winnersh
, Arborfield Cross
and Finchampstead
.
The toponym
"Barkham" is derived from the Old English bercheham meaning "birch home" referring to the birch trees on the edge of Windsor
Forest. The name evolved via forms including Berkham in the 14th century and Barcombe in the 18th century.
In King Edward III
's reign the income from Barkham Manor
helped to pay for the rebuilding of Windsor Castle
and, not long afterwards, timber from Barkham was sent to make the roof of Westminster Abbey
.
For many centuries the manor house
was a secondary home of the Bullock family. The Bull Inn public house
in Barkham is named in reference to their surname. The Bullocks had inherited the manor from the family of William Neville, a 13th century valet to Saint Thomas Cantilupe
, the Bishop of Hereford
and Chancellor of England, from whom the manor was originally bought.
The present manor house
is a late 18th century Georgian
building of two wings of differing dates. Barkham had two moat
ed farm-houses. One of these survives, having been divided into two cottages.
Another prominent farming family, that of Ball, is erroneously said to be that of George Washington
's mother, Mary Ball Washington
. They lived in the parish from the late 15th to the mid-17th century, but William Ball, the man once thought to have emigrated to Virginia
and become Mary's great grandfather, actually died in London and his family lived in the East Berkshire area for at least two more generations.
An open field system
of farming prevailed in the parish until early in the 19th century. Parliament passed the Inclosure Act
for Barkham in 1813, but it was not implemented until 1821.
of Saint James
dates from 1220. However, the present church building was built in 1860-61 or 1862. It was designed in a 13th century Gothic Revival
style by the architects J.B. Clacy
and Son of Reading. The chancel and transepts were added or rebuilt in 1887. The bell-tower has a ring
of four bells cast in 1863 by John Warner and Sons of Cripplegate
in the City of London
.
Rev. David Davies
(1741–1819) was Rector of Barkham from 1782 until his death in 1819. He studied the condition of the labouring poor, recorded statistics of their wages, cost of food, etc. in various districts of England and Scotland. He published his findings in 1785 in the form of a book called Cases of Labourers in Husbandry Stated and Considered.
Rev. Peter Ditchfield
, FSA
(1854–1930) was Rector of Barkham from 1886 until his death. He was a Freemason, historian and prolific author. With William Page
he co-edited three Berkshire volumes of the Victoria County History
, which were published in 1907, 1923 and 1924.
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Geography
The old part of Barkham is the small settlement by the parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
at and close to Barkham Street. However most of the population lives in the north-east of the parish, around the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, or in the Arborfield Garrison
Arborfield Garrison
Arborfield Garrison is a British Army garrison in the English county of Berkshire, approximately south east of the village of Arborfield Cross. The Garrison and its associated housing estates are split between the civil parishes of Arborfield and Newland and Barkham...
, which is largely in Barkham, as is the REME Museum of Technology
REME Museum of Technology
The REME Museum of Technology is located south east of Reading. The museum holds collections of various technological artifacts associated with the work of the REME, the corps of the British Army responsible for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of electrical and mechanical equipment hence...
. It is a rural parish, mostly consisting of dairy farmland and woods, despite being surrounded by the town of Wokingham
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
and the large villages of Winnersh
Winnersh
Winnersh is a village and civil parish, a part of the Borough of Wokingham, in the English county of Berkshire. The parish is roughly bounded on the north-east by the A329, to the north-west by the river Loddon, Old Forest Road and Simons Lane on the south east and Bearwood Road on the south west...
, Arborfield Cross
Arborfield Cross
Arborfield Cross is a village in the English county of Berkshire. The village is situated at a cross-roads on the A327 road some 3 miles south-east of the large town of Reading, 3 miles west of the smaller town of Wokingham, and half a mile to the east of the smaller village of Arborfield...
and Finchampstead
Finchampstead
Finchampstead is a civil parish near Wokingham in the English county of Berkshire. Its northern extremity is situated south of Wokingham, west of Bracknell, south-east of Reading, and west of Central London.-Geography:...
.
Manor
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
"Barkham" is derived from the Old English bercheham meaning "birch home" referring to the birch trees on the edge of Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
Forest. The name evolved via forms including Berkham in the 14th century and Barcombe in the 18th century.
In King Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
's reign the income from Barkham Manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
helped to pay for the rebuilding of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and, not long afterwards, timber from Barkham was sent to make the roof of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
For many centuries the manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
was a secondary home of the Bullock family. The Bull Inn public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Barkham is named in reference to their surname. The Bullocks had inherited the manor from the family of William Neville, a 13th century valet to Saint Thomas Cantilupe
Thomas Cantilupe
Thomas de Cantilupe was an English saint and prelate.-Early years:...
, the Bishop of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
and Chancellor of England, from whom the manor was originally bought.
The present manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
is a late 18th century Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
building of two wings of differing dates. Barkham had two moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed farm-houses. One of these survives, having been divided into two cottages.
Another prominent farming family, that of Ball, is erroneously said to be that of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's mother, Mary Ball Washington
Mary Ball Washington
Mary Ball Washington was the second wife to Augustine Washington, and was the mother of George Washington.-Life:...
. They lived in the parish from the late 15th to the mid-17th century, but William Ball, the man once thought to have emigrated to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and become Mary's great grandfather, actually died in London and his family lived in the East Berkshire area for at least two more generations.
An open field system
Open field system
The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places, particularly Russia and Iran. Under this system, each manor or village had several very large fields, farmed in strips by individual families...
of farming prevailed in the parish until early in the 19th century. Parliament passed the Inclosure Act
Inclosure Act
The Inclosure or Enclosure Acts were a series of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament which enclosed open fields and common land in the country. They removed previously existing rights of local people to carry out activities in these areas, such as cultivation, cutting hay, grazing animals or using...
for Barkham in 1813, but it was not implemented until 1821.
Parish church
The earliest known record of the Church of England parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint James
Saint James
-Saints:*James the Just, considered the author of the Epistle of James in the New Testament, and the first bishop of Jerusalem*James, son of Zebedee, apostle, brother of John the Apostle, sometimes called "James the Great"...
dates from 1220. However, the present church building was built in 1860-61 or 1862. It was designed in a 13th century Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style by the architects J.B. Clacy
John Clacy
John Barry Clacy was a Victorian architect whose practice was centred on Berkshire, England.-Career:Most of Clacy's significant works are Gothic Revival buildings, but the Corn Exchange in Reading that he designed with F. Hawkes is in a style that Nikolaus Pevsner described as "free, debased...
and Son of Reading. The chancel and transepts were added or rebuilt in 1887. The bell-tower has a ring
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
of four bells cast in 1863 by John Warner and Sons of Cripplegate
Cripplegate
Cripplegate was a city gate in the London Wall and a name for the region of the City of London outside the gate. The area was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in World War II and today is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Rev. David Davies
David Davies (clergyman)
David Davies was a Welsh clergyman in the Church of England. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford. He was Rector of Barkham in Berkshire from 1781 until his death....
(1741–1819) was Rector of Barkham from 1782 until his death in 1819. He studied the condition of the labouring poor, recorded statistics of their wages, cost of food, etc. in various districts of England and Scotland. He published his findings in 1785 in the form of a book called Cases of Labourers in Husbandry Stated and Considered.
Rev. Peter Ditchfield
Peter Ditchfield
Rev. Peter Hempson Ditchfield, FSA was a Church of England priest, an historian and a prolific author. He is notable for having co-edited three Berkshire volumes of the Victoria County History which were published between 1907 and 1924.-Life:...
, FSA
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
(1854–1930) was Rector of Barkham from 1886 until his death. He was a Freemason, historian and prolific author. With William Page
William Henry Page
William Henry Page was a prolific and pioneering historian and editor. For the last three decades of his life was general editor of the Victoria County History.-Life:...
he co-edited three Berkshire volumes of the Victoria County History
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of...
, which were published in 1907, 1923 and 1924.