Padworth: Difference between revisions

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'''Padworth''' is a [[dispersed settlement]] and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[England|English]] county of [[Berkshire]], with the nearest town being [[Tadley]]. Padworth is in the [[unitary authority]] of [[West Berkshire]], and its main settlement is at [[Aldermaston Wharf]] or Lower Padworth, where itthere hasis {{rws|Aldermaston}} [[railway station]]. It has its southern boundary with [[Mortimer West End]], [[Hampshire]]. The south of the [[parish]] is wooded towards its edges and the north of the parish is agricultural with a [[hotel]] beside the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]]. In the centre of the parish is a school, [[Padworth College]], which is [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] and a later incarnation of its [[manor house]].

Padworth is built around the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] church and the [[manor house]], which from 1748 was the home of the Darby-Griffith family but in the 20th century was converted into [[Padworth College]], an independent co-educational day and [[boarding school]] for students aged 13–19. The two halves of the [[parish]] can be separated and namedthus:

A '[[fishery]] in the Kenette' was among the possessions of the [[Manor house|manor]] in 1586, and a fishery is mentioned as early as 1378. There is a [[Scheduled Ancient Monument]] fish-[[pond]] north of the [[independent school]] (former manor) house. In 1870 its real property was valued at £1,839 ({{Inflation|UK|1839|1870|fmt=eq|cursign=£}} in general expenditure) while its population was much smaller than today, 298, living in 59 houses.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5683 Imperial Gazetteer of Great Britain] (1870–72, London) [[John Marius Wilson]] from visionofbritain.org.uk – [[University of Portsmouth]] and others. Accessed 10 December 2014</ref>

The whole [[parish]] is noted by the 1920s to be very well watered, and the north-eastern part draws on the natural advantage of a fairly flat landscape and water close to the surface from the [[River Kennet]]. The soil retains a strength from its inorganic layers being "[[gravel]] and the subsoil impermeable [[clay]]".<ref name=bh/> The local economy in the 1920s centred on the chief crops: [[wheat]], [[barley]], [[oats]] and rootsroot vegetables.<ref name=bh/> These remain regular crops in Padworth alongside hay [[meadow]]smeadows for livestock, [[horses]] and [[donkeys]].

[[Gravel extraction]], education, agriculture, transport and tourism all provide jobs in Padworth itself. {{rws|Aldermaston}} [[railway station]] at [[Aldermaston Wharf]] serves two of these sectors. Commuting to towns, industrial, logistic and trading business centres is the most common source of employment as at the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]], with for instance [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] and [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]] about 20–30 minutes away whether by rail or by access to the [[M4 motorway]].<ref name=ons/> [[Tadley]], the nearest town, also provides a major source of retail, leisure and general high street service employment.

A full descent of the [[Manorialism|manor]], including its earliest known grant of 956, and during the [[Black Death]], is provided by the fully referenced text of the [[Victoria County History]] for this [[parish]], compiled here in 1923.<ref name=bh/> A secondary [[Manor house|manor]] of Padworth, (Hussey's), existed under John de la Husse in the 13th century, after whom it was named. In the [[Domesday Book]], 2½ [[hide (unit)|hides]] were farmed; which was held by William de Ow and a man named 'Gozelin'. In this instance, its [[Saxon]] era owner was recorded as 'Ælfstan', with its nominal dues going to King [[Edward the Confessor]].

The period of titled bearers owning either [[Manorialism|manor]] was when the main manor was held by the [[Tichborne baronets]] and the [[Forster baronets]] (1629–1681). The [[manor house]] is a [[listed building|Grade II*]] listed building.<ref name=eh>{{NHLE|num=1117314|access-date=10 December 2014}} [[Padworth College]] (former manor house). Citing:<br />BOE, Berkshire, p. 191; Berkshire Architectural Guide, [[John Betjeman|Betjeman, John]] and [[John Piper (artist)|Piper, John]];<br />[[Country Life (books)|Country Life]], Vol. 52, pp. 342–348, 372–378, 414–417</ref> It was built afresh in 1769 by the designs of John Hobcraft, and has plasterwork by [[Joseph Rose (plasterer)|Joseph Rose]]. Its entrance is a double-height space, and has a staircase with a wrought iron [[balustrade]] to three sides. It has a vaulted 3-[[bay (architecture)|bay]] arched [[arcade (architecture)|arcadesarcade]] on each floor to one side with [[Doric columns]] on the ground floor and columns with [[Adamesque]] capitals on the floor above.<ref name=eh/>

The [[Church of England]] [[parish church]] of [[St John the Baptist]], is aisleless and built about 1130 with two three-light [[Tudor periodarchitecture|Tudor]] styled ornately carved windows, and with its [[vestry]] and porch having been added in 1890. A smaller [[Tudor architecture|Tudor]] window is pictured above, with two lights on the south-east square [[bell tower|tower]] façade, above the [[baptismal font|font]], which does not have the entrance. The roof of the [[nave]] was largely replaced in the 19th century.<ref name=bh/> Rare features include the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] [[chancel]] arch and north and south doorways, the semi-domed [[apse]] and the 18th-century [[monuments]].<ref>[[John Betjeman|Betjeman, John]], ed. (1968) ''Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South''. London: Collins; p. 114</ref> It is [[listed building|Grade I]] listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1155386|access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref>

The church's [[advowson]] was from [[Pamber Priory]] in 1291 when various [[tithes]] and donations provided the [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|Prior]]'s pension.<ref name=bh/> Upon the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], the advowson was exercised by [[the Crown]] until the 19th century. A [[parish]] [[rentcharge]], totalling £250 in 1848, was received by the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]], the parishioners having commutated the tithes. The parish [[glebe]] stood at {{convert|28|acres|km2}}.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp525-530 'Padfield'] A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. [[Samuel Lewis (publisher)]] (London, 1848), pp. 525–530. Accessed 10 December 2014.</ref> By 1923 the rector's patron was the [[Lord Chancellor]].<ref name=bh/> The parish is united as part of the [[benefice#Church of England|benefice]] of [[Stratfield Mortimer]], [[Mortimer West End]] and Padworth which has four churches and two [[church schools]]. The church alternates its Sunday service between 9&nbsp;am [[Eucharist]] and 6.30 [[Evensong]]<ref>[http://www.achurchnearyou.com/padworth-st-john-the-baptist/ Stratfield Mortimer and Mortimer West End Benefice: Parish of Padworth (St John the Baptist)] [[The Church of England]] Accessed 10 December 2014.]</ref>

Land use statistics are not available for this [[civil parish]]. These figures under the census heading 'Physical Environment' can be obtained for the broader [[wards of the United Kingdom|ward]] of '[[Stratfield Mortimer]]' from the data pages of the last census from the 2005 [[Office for National Statistics]] survey.<ref name=ons/>