| Waltham St Lawrence | |
|---|---|
| Village andcivil parish | |
 Neville Hall and the Bell Inn | |
  Waltham St Lawrence Location withinBerkshire | |
| Population | 1,232 (2001) 1,215 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU8276 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG10 |
| Dialling code | 0118 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°29′00″N0°48′18″W / 51.483333°N 0.805°W /51.483333; -0.805 | |
Waltham St Lawrence is a village andcivil parish in the English county ofBerkshire.
The name 'Waltham' is believed to be derived from theAnglo-Saxon wordsWealt andHam, meaning 'homestead or village in a forest’ (probably indicating a royal hunting estate).[2] The church is calledSt. Lawrence and thus gives the village its distinguishing affix.
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There is evidence of the existence of aRoman temple in Weycock Field in theparish. Most of thecoins found from the site are of the lower empire (except for a silver one ofAmyntas, the grandfather ofAlexander the Great) and the area was occupied until 270. The high-road toLondon formerly left the London toReading main-road at the 29th milestone and ran across Weycock Field (often referred to as Weycock Highrood). ThePriory ofHurley maintained agrange in the village on the site of what is now Church Farm (to the north-west of the present Church) and this is why the greattithes of the parish were formerly appropriated to thePrior of Hurley.
Until quite recent times a large lake separated Waltham St. Lawrence from Ruscombe (the name 'Stanlake' would seem to be a survival of this) and so the southern end of the parish was known as South Lake. Theparish church was built where the ancient high-road entered the village. The manor is mentioned as early as 940 but its continuous appearance in historical records may be said to begin with its sale byEthelred the Unready in 1006. His widow,Queen Emma, bestowed it uponÆlfwine, theBishop of Winchester. TheDomesday Book records: "The King holds Waltham indemesne" and it remained a royalmanor until 1189 whenGodfrey de Luci, Bishop of Winchester, purchased it from the Crown. It was retained by the bishops of Winchester until theReformation.
Bishop Ponet ofWinchester surrendered themanor of Waltham to KingEdward VI in 1551, and the King donated it toSir Henry Neville, one of the gentlemen of hisPrivy Chamber, butQueen Mary returned it to BishopJohn White of Winchester. King Edward's grant was confirmed (and Queen Mary'sannulled) by anAct of Parliament in the first year ofQueen Elizabeth I.Billingbear House was built by Sir Henry Neville in 1567, and thisElizabethanmansion existed as the home of the Nevilles until it was pulled down after a fire in the early 20th century. His son was the early-17th-century diplomat,Sir Henry Neville, junior. Theparish register records that:
"September 17th, 1667,King Charles 2nd, with his brother James Duke of Yorke,Prince Rupert Duke of Cumberland, James Duke of Monmouth and many more of the nobles dined at Bellingbear House in the great Parlour".[4]
At that time,Richard Neville wasLord of the Manor.Henry Neville, the last heir of this branch of the family, who had assumed the name of Grey, as heir of his maternal grandfather,Baron Grey of Werke, died in 1740. On the death of his widow, who afterwards had married as her second husband theEarl of Portsmouth, themanor of Waltham St. Lawrence was inherited byRichard Aldworth of Stanlake, whose father had married the daughter and heir of Colonel Richard Neville. Mr. Aldworth, on his accession to this property, took the name of Neville. The village school—now a County Primary School—was originally aNational School with an endowment of £35 byLord Braybrooke, a Neville descendant. The first Dame School held in theparish was held at 'Honeys'. The villagewar memorial is at Paradise Corner, which takes its name from the nearbyGeorgian manor house, Paradise House, on The Street.[5]
In 1920 Hal Taylor founded TheGolden Cockerel Press, privately printing books from a surplus army hut he had erected in the village. The press continued to operate there under the later ownership ofRobert Gibbings until, in 1933, economic circumstances forced its sale and production was relocated to London.[6]
Waltham St Lawrence is located in a rural setting in EastBerkshire, south of theA4 trunk road and north of theM4 motorway, betweenMaidenhead and Reading. The parish is bordered by those ofTwyford andHurst to the west andWhite Waltham and Maidenhead to the east. The population is around 1000 adults with an all-ages estimate of 1,500 living in approximately 550 households. Residents are mainly employed in local towns such as Reading orBracknell, although a significant number also commute toLondon. Waltham St Lawrence used to have its own village shop (with a part-timepost office), There is apublic house, theBell, whileShurlock Row, in the parish, has another, theShurlock Inn.[7] West End, between the two villages, is a residential area, where the local village school is located.
The nearest rail stations are atTwyford 4 mi (6.4 km),Maidenhead 5 mi (8.0 km),Wokingham 6 mi (9.7 km) andBracknell 7 mi (11 km). There is a local bus service toMaidenhead andBracknell.
The parish church ofSt. Lawrence, a grade II*listed building,[8] is of considerable antiquity. The original building probably ante-dates Bishop Godfrey's acquisition of themanor, for traces of pre-13th-century work can still be traced in the crudeNorman arches at the west end of thenave. The church was rebuilt in the 13th century when a newaisle in theDecorated style was thrown out on the north side, and the Norman work was broken down, thus opening the new aisle to the nave. Later thechancel, with its side aisles was begun from the east end and the north and south walls of the nave were extended to join up with the new work in the 13th century. At the end of the 14th century, the south aisle of the chancel was enlarged and a square-headed window with trifoliated lights was inserted. Between this side-chapel and the south aisle of the nave is anEarly English pointed arch. The window in the north chapel has a 14th-century window and on the south wall may be seen the remains of the ancientpiscina. Theporch on the south side of the church hides the old south door which is Norman work, set in a section of 11th-century walling.
TheEarly English Church was plastered inside and on this were commonly paintedfrescoes. A remnant of this treatment is to be found on the easternmost pillar of the northaisle. Close to this pillar and (behind the priest's stall) on the north side are to be seen traces of a pointed arch which evidently formed the doorway to therood stairs. This is now blocked up. The Church has a smallchancel withchoir stalls and apipe organ built byHenry Willis. The church building wasrestored in 1847 during the incumbency of the Revd. E. J. Parker, B.D., who gave thestained glass for the east window, which shows in its central panel theCrucifixion, with theResurrection andAscension of Our Lord on either side. The prayingangels on either side of this window are adapted from the famous fresco in theRiccardi Palace inFlorence. Thereredos is 19th-century work and shows – in three compartments—theDescent from the Cross (centre); on the right, theDescent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; and on the left,Saint Paul preaching inAthens.
At the west end of the church is a square embattledtower, with a smallturret at the south-west angle containing a staircase leading to thebelfry and the top of the tower. The ringing chamber is open to the church and contains a beautiful window which is the only good glass in the building. This window, and the square-headed doorway below it, is of thePerpendicular period in English architecture. The tower was built in two sections. The lower part dates from the 14th century and the upper from the 16th. Some of the bells date back to the time ofCharles II, but thepeal only from 1808, when the bells were recast and rehung.
Thepeal was again rehung in 1931, and by the generous aid of G. A. Monkhouse, Esq.,bells four and six were recast byGillett and Johnston ofCroydon. Extracts from the registers make it plain that the tenor and treble, together with the second bell, were broken in 1659, and these – together with the sacring bell – were recast into five bells, and a peal rung for them for the first time on Tuesday, 23 April: "the day which KingCharles the 2nd was crowned atWestminster". The sacring bell – which hangs in its ownturret at the top of thetower – bears the following inscription: "The gift of John A. Beere of the Hill Henbolt. Pray for the welfare of Robert Conisbe 1681". The A'Bear family lived at Hill Farm at Hare Hatch in the adjoining parish ofWargrave.
The parish registers its date from 25 November 1558. The originals are lodged for safekeeping with the county archivist in Reading, but the parish priest possesses a transcript (1558 to 1812) by Edmund Newbery. Apart from the usual entries of births, marriages and deaths, there are interesting memoranda, such as the following:
"Memorandum that the yewe tree at the churchyard gate on the right hand as one goeth into the churchyard up to the churchpond was planted by Thos. Wilkinson vicar of Waltham in February 1655"[4]
"Mabel modwyn widowe abact 68 years old arraigned for witch craft at Redding 29th Feb: and condemned on the 5th of March, 1655. Shee lived at ye south-wist cornr. of lower Innings in ye cornr. next to Binfield".[4]
In the 1990sBBC television seriesPie in the Sky the titular restaurant, home of DI Henry Crabbe, is located in the fictional town of 'Middleton'. According to a map shown in the 2nd series, this is supposedly located at Waltham St Lawrence (although the filming location was the old town,Hemel Hempstead). Waltham St Lawrence village and its church have also been used for recording episodes of "Rosemary and Thyme" and "Midsomer Murders".[citation needed]
Media related toWaltham St Lawrence at Wikimedia Commons