Frilsham is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
from
Newbury, in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.
Geography
Frilsham is near the
Berkshire Downs
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in South east England split between the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The western parts of the downs ...
, with the
M4 to the north. The
nucleated village A nucleated village, or clustered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement pattern. It is one of the terms used by geographers and landscape historians to classify settlements. It is most accurate with regard to planned settlements: its c ...
is on a hill, with the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
church of St Widefride at its centre, surrounded by woods and meadows. The village overlooks the small valley formed by the upper
Pang (or Pang Bourne) which runs from north to south through the parish. One of the woods,
Coombe Wood
Coombe Wood is a small () woodland and garden area in the old village of Coombe, South Croydon near the junction of Coombe Lane and Conduit Lane. The Coombe Wood Gardens are divided into a series of rooms which together give an all-year-round di ...
is listed as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI).
History
Manor
The
manor was held of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æth ...
by two free men, two decades later on the
Domesday Survey
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
it was owned by
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England.
Origins
He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's ...
. His son was elevated to an earl,
Earl Ferrers
Earl Ferrers is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers, Robert Shirley, 14th Baron Ferrers of Chartley. The Shirley family descends from George Shirley (died 1622) of Astwell Castle ...
, and the overlordship continued in the hands of his descendants until the 13th century. it is recorded as held of the fee of the
Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...
's eldest son, Earl Ferrers. The rebel
Robert de Ferrers led an insurrection in 1263 and was three years later deprived of his earldom and estates, which were then granted to
Edmund Crouchback
Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his ch ...
, the king's son. In consequence this overlordship followed the descent of the earldom and
duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...
.
Manorial court
The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primarily ...
rolls for the year 1440–1 are in the archives of the Duchy.
[
Its various tenants include the related families of Sir Ralph Peche; such as in 1173, Walter de Rideware, in the 13th century, Sir Oliver d'Eincourt, Walter de Rideware, Sir Thomas Rideware, John Falconer of ]Thurcaston
Thurcaston is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thurcaston and Cropston, in the Borough of Charnwood, Charnwood district, in Leicestershire, England. It was the home of Bishop Hugh Latimer.
It borders the villages of Anst ...
, and William Cotton.[ From 1372 this descent included: Hugh de Berwyk, Ralph Boteler, William Haute, John le Boteler, then by sale: Sir Edmund Hungerford, kt., and others purchasing land in this neighbourhood for '']John Norreys John Norreys may refer to:
*Sir John Norris (soldier) or Norreys (c. 1547–1597), the son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys, a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth
*Sir John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe) for Henry VI of England (c. 1400–1466) ...
''.[ He was the eldest son of ]William Norreys
Sir William Norreys (c. 1441 – before 10 January 1507) was a famous Lancastrian soldier, and later an Esquire of the Body to King Edward IV.
Probably born at Yattendon Castle, William was the eldest son of Sir John Norreys of Ockwells and ...
of Bray. His later namesake seems to have attached to his adjoining manor of Yattendon
Yattendon is a small village and civil parish northeast of Newbury in the county of Berkshire. The M4 motorway passes through the fields of the village which lie south and below the elevations of its cluster. The village is privately owned ...
with which manor it afterwards passed until 1623, when, on the death of the Earl of Berkshire
Earl of Berkshire is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. It was created for the first time in 1621 for Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire. For more information on this creation (which became extinct on his death in ...
, Frilsham passed to his daughter, Elizabeth wife of Edward Wray
Edward Wray (1589 - 21 March 1658) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625.
Early life
Wray was the third son of Sir William Wray, 1st Baronet, of Glentworth and was baptised at Louth, Lincolnshire on 9 Nov ...
. It passed to her second husband, the Earl of Lindsey
Earl of Lindsey is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1626 for the 14th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (see Baron Willoughby de Eresby for earlier history of the family). He was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1635 to 1636 a ...
then to James Bertie
James Bertie (13 March 1674 – 18 October 1735) of Stanwell and Westminster, Middlesex, was a British Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons for 34 years between 1695 and 1734.
Early life and marriage
Bertie was bor ...
, her eldest son by her second husband, who was created Baron Norreys of Rycote in 1675 and Earl of Abingdon in 1682.
It remained in this line until sold to 'Sir George Cornewall
Sir George Cornewall, 2nd Baronet (8 November 1748 – 26 August 1819) of Moccas Court, Herefordshire, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807.
Origins
Born George Amyand, he was the eldest son and heir o ...
', born Sir George Amyand
Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet (26 September 1720 – 16 August 1766) was a British Whig politician, physician and merchant.
Origins
He was the second son of Claudius Amyand, Surgeon-in-Ordinary to King George II, by his wife Mary Rabache, a ...
a leading Whig of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In 1800 Sir George sold this manor to Mr. Hayward who left it to a relation Robert Floyd on his 1818 death. His family long after were the official patrons of the parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
. His daughter-in-law sold it, in 1903, to Henry Frederick George Weber, previously of Bucklebury, It was then sold, in 1907, to Sir Cameron Gull, of Frilsham House, the other major home and estate in the parish, who thus enhanced his local monopoly on the parish's agriculture land.[
]
Economic history
The chief crops in the 1920s were wheat, barley and oats. The soil is chalk near the river, but there are beds of clay and sand at the eastern side of the parish. Frilsham Common was inclosed in 1857. The population was at that time purely agricultural. Aside from the varied elevations an aesthetic point made was of the chestnut trees in the north of the church yard by gazetteer compilers in the 1920s.
The presence of a watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. The current mill building is now converted into private accommodation.
Landmarks
* St Frideswide church dates back to the 12th century with additions in the 15th and 17th century. The tower was added in 1837. The church is a Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
* St Frideswide
Frithuswith, commonly Frideswide (c. 65019 October 727; ang, Friðuswīþ), was an English princess and abbess. She is credited as the foundress of a monastery later incorporated into Christ Church, Oxford. She was the daughter of a sub-ki ...
's Well. Just off one of the footpaths in the woods, formerly the common.
* The Club Room with a football pitch and children's playground.
* Telephone box, now housing the village defibrillator
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...
.
* Three farmhouses in the parish are Grade II listed buildings, Birch Farm, which dates to the late 16th century; Parsonage Farm, which dates to the 17th century; and Magpie Farm, which dates to the early 16th century.
Demography
Nearest places
References
External links
Village website
{{authority control
Villages in Berkshire
West Berkshire District
Civil parishes in Berkshire