Chapel Row is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Dist ...

, England, and part of the

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 authorit ...

of Bucklebury. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 627.

History

The hamlet was first documented in 1617 as ''Chapel Rewe'' and subsequently featured on Roque's Map of Berkshire in 1761. There was a chapel in the area built sometime before the 12th century, which led to the naming of the hamlet. The chapel was in decay by the 12th century, but extant as ruins in the 18th century. It no longer exists. Since the mid 17th century, an inn has stood near to the locality's green. The site is now occupied by The Bladebone Inn.

Chapel Row Revels

In the 18th century, Chapel Row became known for its

revels ''Revels'' is a contemporary series of American seasonal stage performances, incorporating singing, dancing, recitals, and theatrics loosely organized around a central theme or narrative. The folk-tradition-based performances started in 1957, we ...

, which were held on the Monday following the

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

of Saint Anne. The revels featured events such as

backsword A backsword is a type of sword characterised by having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip. It is so called because the triangular cross section gives a flat back edge opposite the cutting edge. Later examples often have a ...

ing (described by

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richar ...

in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' as "a ring of

cudgel A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...

players who broke one another's heads in order to make some impression on their mistresses' hearts"). The sport was not featured in a number of later fayres as at least one contender was reported to have been killed. An 1812 ''Reading Mercury'' article on the fayre focusses primarily on agriculture, stating that the event was an opportunity to trade

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

and employ farmhands.

Geography

The settlement is on a minor crossroads, on the C road topping the northern escarpment between

Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...

and Theale above the

Kennet valley The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...

and is centred east north-east of Newbury. Woodland, with public access as

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

and under the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act imp ...

, occupies the land immediatedly west and south-west of the clustered centre,

Bucklebury Common Bucklebury Common is an elevated common consisting of woodland with a few relatively small clearings in the English county of Berkshire, within the civil parish of Bucklebury centred northeast of Thatcham and encircling the settled localiti ...

Notable people

Chapel Row was the home of the Princess of Wales before her marriage in April 2011.

References

Sources

* {{West Berkshire Hamlets in Berkshire Bucklebury