Mapledurham is a small village,

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 ...

and

country estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

beside the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in southern

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

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 ...

. Historic buildings in the area include the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

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, ...

of St. Margaret,

Mapledurham Watermill Mapledurham Watermill is a historic watermill in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is driven by the head of water created by Mapledurham Lock and Weir, on the River Thames. The mill was built in the 15th ce ...

and

Mapledurham House Mapledurham House is an Elizabethan stately home located in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, first listed on 24 October 1951. History and architecture The manor of Mapledurham ...

Village

The village is on the north bank of the

about northwest of

. Road access is by a narrow and steep lane from

Trench Green A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

on the rural road from Caversham to

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 ...

Goring-on-Thames Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about south of Wallingford and northwest of Reading. It had a population of 3,187 in the 2011 census, put at 3,335 in 2019. Goring ...

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

of St. Margaret was mainly built in the 14th and 15th century, and was restored in 1863 by the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architect

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

dates from the 16th and 17th century and is the last operational watermill on the

river Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, the

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

that is the headquarters of the Mapledurham estate, is one of the largest

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

houses in

. On the village street inland from these three buildings can be found the Mapledurham Almshouses, a group of six

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 ...

s built as a memorial to Sir Charles Lister who died in 1613, and now converted into two cottages.

Mapledurham Lock Mapledurham Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England, about 4 miles upstream of Reading. The lock was first built in 1777 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners and the present lock dates from 1908. Despite its name, the ...

is on the opposite bank of the river, by the

village of

Purley-on-Thames Purley on Thames (known locally as Purley) is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Purley is centred north-west of Reading, east of Pangbourne, and south-east of Oxford. Consequently, Reading is the principal social, economic ...

. Although the weir stretches across the river between the two villages, no access is possible across it and, in the absence of a boat, journeys between the two villages require a lengthy detour via Caversham or

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 Pangbour ...

. Because of its scenic location, and lack of through traffic, Mapledurham has been used as a set for several films, including the 1976 thriller '' The Eagle Has Landed''. The village, house and mill are a tourist attraction, and on summer weekends a large tour boat runs from Reading. The mill location is used on the cover of English rock band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

's self-titled debut album ''

''.

Civil parish

The civil parish of Mapledurham covers a considerably larger area than the village itself, and includes the even smaller settlements of

and

Chazey Heath Chazey Heath is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, England, about north of Reading, Berkshire. It is situated on the A4074 road, between Caversham and Oxford, at its junction with the rural road to Goring Heath and Goring-on-Thames. For local governme ...

in the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

above the village. It is bordered to the west by the parishes of

and

, to the north by the parish of

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 ...

, to the east by the

suburb of Caversham, and to the south by the

. In the 2011 census, Mapledurham civil parish had a population of 317, an increase of 37 over the previous census in 2001. For local government purposes the civil parish forms part of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

within the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. It is in the Henley constituency of the

United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

. Adjacent to the parish is the Mapledurham ward of the

Borough of Reading Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east of ...

, which is a subdivision of that town's suburb of Caversham and in the county of

Estate

By the time of 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 ...

, what is now the Mapledurham estate comprised two separate manors, Mapledurham Gurney and Mapledurham Chazey. Mapledurham Gurney was purchased by Richard Blount in 1490, and has remained in the ownership of his descendents ever since. Richard Blount's grandson, Sir Michael Blount, bought Mapledurham Chazey in 1582 and merged the two estates. Sir Michael was also responsible for the building of the current

on the site of the manor house of Mapledurham Gurney. The manorial seat of Mapledurham Chazey no longer exists, but is believed to have been on or near the site now occupied by Chazey Court Barn. The Mapledurham estate owns much of the village and parish. It also includes the

, a historic and still operational

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 ...

on the

, and

, an

stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

. The estate currently belongs to the family of John "Jack" Eyston. At one time the estate included several farms, but farming has now been consolidated on a single farm. The estate has strongly diversified into leisure activities, and includes two

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s and several

holiday cottage A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottag ...

s. Additionally the house, watermill and surrounding grounds are opened to the public on weekend and

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

afternoons from April to September.

Gallery

File:Mapledurham Village (geograph 4673265).jpg, The entrance to the village heading towards the river File:The Old Manor House at Mapledurham.jpg, The old manor house with the Elizabethan Mapledurham House in the background File:The Almshouses, Mapledurham - geograph.org.uk - 1234329.jpg, The Almshouses on the village street File:Mapledurham Watermill 3.JPG, Mapledurham Watermill from the lawns of the house File:MapledurhamHouse01.JPG, Mapledurham House seen from the lawns File:River Thames above Mapledurham Lock.JPG, The River Thames, looking upstream from the village

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Aerial video tour of MapledurhamMapledurham Estate web siteSt Margaret's church web site

{{authority control Villages in Oxfordshire Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Populated places on the River Thames Churches on the Thames