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Goring Heath
Goring Heath is a hamlet and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. The civil parish includes the villages of Whitchurch Hill and Crays Pond and some small hamlets. Goring Heath is centred southeast of Goring-on-Thames and about northwest of Reading, Berkshire. In 1724 Henry Alnutt, a lawyer of the Middle Temple in London, established a set of almshouses at Goring Heath. They form three sides of a courtyard, flanking a chapel of the same date.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pages 616-617 In the 1880s a school was built beside the almshouses in what was intended to be the same architectural style.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pages 617 A post office was added in 1900. Alnutt also left a continuing income from his estate at Goring Heath to teach, clothe and apprentice boys from five parishes.Crossley & Elrington, 1990, page 53 One of the parishes was Cassington in West Oxfordshire, where Alnutt's charity established a small school for boys. In 1833 the Alnutt school was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and at elderly people who could no longer pay rent, and are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest (alms are, in the Christian tradition, money or services donated to support the poor and indigent). Almshouses were originally formed as extensions of the church system and were later adapted by local officials and authorities. History Many almshouses are European Christian institutions though some are secular. Almshouses provide subsidised accommodation, often integrated with social care resources such as wardens. England Almshouses were established from the 10th century in Britain, to provide a place of residence for poor, old and distressed people. They were someti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional services, which vary by country. These include providing and accepting government forms (such as passport applications), and processing government services and fees (such as road tax, postal savings, or bank fees). The chief administrator of a post office is called a postmaster. Before the advent of postal codes and the post office, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. During the 19th century in the United States, this often led to smaller communities being renamed after their post offices, particularly after the Post Office Department began to require that post office names not be duplicated within a state. Name The term "post-office" has been in use since the 1650s, shortly after the legali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basildon, Berkshire
Basildon is a civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon, named for their respective heights above the River Thames. Geography Basildon is from Reading, from London and from Oxford. The parish is bordered to the north by the River Thames and the Oxfordshire parishes of Goring and Whitchurch-on-Thames on the other side of the river. To the south of the river it is bordered by the parishes of Pangbourne, Bradfield, Ashampstead and Streatley. The parish forms part of the unitary authority of West Berkshire. It is within the Newbury parliamentary constituency. History Ancient flint axes have been found in Basildon but the earliest physical remains to be seen today are two Bronze Age ditch sections called Grim's Ditch (circa 2,400 BC). The Romans built a road through the parish between Silchester to Dorchester-on-Thames and a wealthy Romano-Briton erected a farm and villa alongside this. It was des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitchurch-on-Thames
Whitchurch-on-Thames is a village and civil parish on the Oxfordshire bank of the River Thames, about northwest of Reading, Berkshire, in close proximity to Whitchurch Hill. Opposite Whitchurch on the Berkshire bank is the village of Pangbourne. History The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary was originally Norman, and was altered in the 15th century. In 1858 the Gothic Revival architect Henry Woodyer completely rebuilt the church, retaining only the Norman south door, Perpendicular Gothic south porch and a few other items. The parish is now a member of the Langtree Team Ministry: a Church of England benefice that also includes the parishes of Checkendon, Ipsden, North Stoke, Stoke Row and Woodcote. Since the 16th century Whitchurch has had a weir and flash lock on the Thames to manage water levels for navigation. In 1787 the flash lock was replaced with a pound lock, Whitchurch Lock. The original Whitchurch Toll Bridge between Whitchurch and Pangbourne was bui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mapledurham
Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of Reading, Berkshire. Historic buildings in the area include the Church of England parish church of St. Margaret, Mapledurham Watermill and Mapledurham House. Village The village is on the north bank of the River Thames about northwest of Reading. Road access is by a narrow and steep lane from Trench Green on the rural road from Caversham to Goring Heath, Goring-on-Thames and other places. The village is closer geodesically (as the crow flies) to Reading's centre than some parts of its districts but it is highly conserved, traffic-calm and rural. The access lane becomes the main street of the village and terminates on the bank of the River Thames, where it is surrounded by a cluster of three significant buildings. The Church of England parish church of St. Margaret was mainly built in the 14th an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kidmore End
Kidmore End is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, centred NNW of Reading, Berkshire, an important regional centre of commerce, research and engineering. It is in the low Chiltern Hills, partly in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The A4074 from Reading towards Oxford passes through the west of the parish and it is located 6 miles from Henley on Thames. Amenities and geography The village is dispersed into four built-up streets or small clusters of homes and has half-timbered cottages, housing ranging from early Georgian to a few late 20th century and early 21st century homes and a public house, the New Inn. The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist, designed by Arthur Billing, was built in 1852. The village school was opened in 1856 and is now a Church of England primary school. Kidmore End Cricket Club plays in the Thames Valley Cricket League. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodcote, Oxfordshire
Woodcote is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Wallingford and about northwest of Reading, Berkshire. It is in the Chiltern Hills, and the highest part of the village is above sea level. Woodcote lies between the Goring Road and the A4074. It is centred on the village green and Church Farm, with the village hall centred on the crossroads. History Prehistoric artefacts have been found in the area, including a polished hand-axe from about 3000 BC found in the nearby hamlet of Exlade Street and on show in Reading Museum and a 28 cm carved stone head Romano-Celtic, probably 1st–2nd century, with typical protruding eyes, exaggerated lips and flattened nose. The folds of skin on the neck and musculature at the back of the head have been carefully detailed. It is of white oolite limestone, and was found at Wayside Green, Woodcote, and is now in Reading Museum (Ref 401-78). The toponym Woodcote means "cottage in the wood".Lobel, 1962, pages 9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1974. The series was then extended to Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the late 1970s. Most of the English volumes have had subsequent revised and expanded editions, chiefly by other authors. The final Scottish volume, ''Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire'', was published in autumn 2016. This completed the series' coverage of Great Britain, in the 65th anniversary year of its inception. The Irish series remains incomplete. Origin and research methods After moving to the United Kingdom from his native Germany as a refugee in the 1930s, Nikolaus Pevsner found that the study of architectural history had little status in academic circles, and that the amount of information available, especially to travellers wanting to inform themselv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of England, and was dedicated to Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria. In 2012 the project was rededicated to Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee year. Since 1933 the project has been coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London. History The history of the VCH falls into three main phases, defined by different funding regimes: an early phase, 1899–1914, when the project was conceived as a commercial enterprise, and progress was rapid; a second more desultory phase, 1914–1947, when relatively little progress was made; and the third phase beginning in 1947, when, under the auspices of the Institute of Historical Research, a high academic standard was set, and pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voluntary Controlled School
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than voluntary aided schools, in which the foundation pays part of any building costs. Characteristics Voluntary controlled schools are a kind of "maintained school", meaning that they are funded by central government via the local authority, and do not charge fees to students. The majority are also faith schools. The land and buildings are typically owned by a charitable foundation, which also appoints about a quarter of the school governors. However, the local authority employs the school's staff and has primary responsibility for the school's admission arrangements. Specific exemptions from Section 85 of the Equality Act 2010 enables VC faith schools to use faith criteria in prioritising pupils for admission to the schools. Pupils at vol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Oxfordshire
West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland and forest, the main activities being farming and associated trades. The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of Chipping Norton Municipal Borough, Woodstock Municipal Borough, Witney Urban District, Chipping Norton Rural District and Witney Rural District. West Oxfordshire lies within the River Thames catchment area, with the Thames itself and its tributaries including the River Evenlode and River Windrush running through the area. Parts of the district suffered severe flooding during the 2007 floods in the UK. Governance Elections to West Oxfordshire District Council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats on the council being elected at each electio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassington
Cassington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northwest of Oxford. The village lies on gravel strata about from the confluence of the River Evenlode with the River Thames. The parish includes the hamlet of Worton northeast of the village and the site of the former hamlet of Somerford to the south. Somerford seems to have been abandoned early in the 14th century. Cassington is formed of two parts, "upper" and "lower", each with its own village green. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 750. Archaeology Evidence has been found of Neolithic occupation. Traces have been found of a Saxon settlement with buildings, a village boundary and a field system. Toponym Cassington's toponym is derived from the Old English ''Caersentun'' meaning "tun where cress grows". The Domesday Book of 1086 records the village as ''Cersetone'' in the Oxfordshire hundred of Wootton. Manors In 1086 William the Conqueror's half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux was the fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
