Sulhamstead
Encyclopedia
Sulhamstead is a village
, electoral district (ward) and civil parish in Berkshire
, England
. It lies off the A4 national route between Reading
and Thatcham
, some 74 km (46 mi) west of central London
.
. Prior to 1782, the area consisted of two ecclesiastical parishes
, Sulhamstead Abbots and Sulhamstead Bannister, based on the ancient manors. It is bounded by Burghfield
Parish to the East, and Ufton Nervet
Parish to the West. It also borders Englefield
parish to the North and Stratfield Mortimer
Parish to the South
There are three centres of population in Sulhamstead. The greatest number of houses stand on Sulhamstead Hill which runs from the top of the hill by Ufton Church down to the water meadows by the Kennet and the Bath Road (A4). The other two centres are Sulhamstead Abbots and Sulhamstead Bannister with other residences scattered about the parish. Sulhamstead Abbots Church, St.Mary's, to the south, is now the parish church. Sulhamstead Bannister consists of two detached regions, "Upper End" and "Lower End". The former lies between Wokefield
and Grazeley
, although this has since been absorbed into Wokefield civil parish. The core of its village was around the old demolished church, where the inventor Samuel Morland
's father was once the vicar.
, Sulhamstead is partly in the Newbury constituency
for House of Commons
general election
s, however the Boundary Commission has recommended that it be moved completely into the Wokingham constituency
to bring the size of the electorate of Newbury closer to the national average.
Banister was the name of the Lords of the Manor from the early 12th century. They were still holding lands here three hundred years later, and had another important manor in Finchampstead. The Upper End was, however, often called Meales and Meales Farm, a reputed manor, stands next to the site of Sulhamstead Bannister’s Church of St. Michael from which its name derives.
brewer, Charles May, in 1744. His sister's descendants, the Thoyts family, resided there for many years. The house was largely rebuilt in 1800 for William Thoyts
, the High Sheriff of Berkshire
. It was the childhood home of his great granddaughter, the famous Berkshire historian
and palaeography
expert, Emma Elizabeth Thoyts
(1860–1949). In 1949, the house became the headquarters
of the Berkshire Constabulary. Since the merger of the local county forces to form the Thames Valley Police
, it has functioned as that force's training centre and houses the Thames Valley Police Museum. It is a Grade II listed building.
into a country house for H H Cochrane. It was extended, again by Lutyens, for Zachery Merton, six years later. It is one of Lutyens' best-known house designs. Lutyens collaborated with Gertrude Jekyll
in designing the very fine garden. Folly Farm is Grade I listed and is an exceptional example of the continuation of classical and Arts and Craft architecture.
The village hall for Sulhamstead and Ufton is situated halfway down Sulhamstead Hill. It was built in 1927 and has been recently refurbished.
To the North of Sulhamstead, and close to the village is Sulhamstead Lock
, Tyle Mill and Tyle Mill Lock
on the Kennet & Avon Canal, where there is a wharf
, lock
and swing bridge
. The world-renowned singer and musician Kate Bush
resides close to the mill.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, electoral district (ward) and civil parish in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies off the A4 national route between Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
and Thatcham
Thatcham
Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon...
, some 74 km (46 mi) west of central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Location
It is located at , in the district of West BerkshireWest Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...
. Prior to 1782, the area consisted of two ecclesiastical parishes
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, Sulhamstead Abbots and Sulhamstead Bannister, based on the ancient manors. It is bounded by Burghfield
Burghfield
Burghfield is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, close to the boundary with Reading.-Location:Burghfield is about southwest of Reading...
Parish to the East, and Ufton Nervet
Ufton Nervet
Ufton Nervet is a village and civil parish about southwest of Reading, Berkshire, England.-Location:Ufton Nervet village is in hills south of the River Kennet, and its parish stretches down into the valley to the north as far as the A4 road. Two narrow lanes connect the village to the A4, crossing...
Parish to the West. It also borders Englefield
Englefield
-Geography:In England:* Englefield, a village in the county of Berkshire, England.* Englefield Green, a village in the county of Surrey, England.In Wales:* Englefield, an alternative name for the Cantref of Tegeingl in north Wales.-People:...
parish to the North and Stratfield Mortimer
Stratfield Mortimer
Stratfield Mortimer is a village and civil parish, just south of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire.Strictly speaking, the village of Stratfield Mortimer sits at the foot of Mortimer Hill which rises westward from the Foudry Brook. The much larger, and better known, village of Mortimer...
Parish to the South
There are three centres of population in Sulhamstead. The greatest number of houses stand on Sulhamstead Hill which runs from the top of the hill by Ufton Church down to the water meadows by the Kennet and the Bath Road (A4). The other two centres are Sulhamstead Abbots and Sulhamstead Bannister with other residences scattered about the parish. Sulhamstead Abbots Church, St.Mary's, to the south, is now the parish church. Sulhamstead Bannister consists of two detached regions, "Upper End" and "Lower End". The former lies between Wokefield
Wokefield
Wokefield is a civil parish in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England, south of the borough of Reading. The parish includes the hamlets of Grazeley Green, Goddard's Green and Bloomfield Hatch, and the 18th century mansion of Wokefield Park...
and Grazeley
Grazeley
Grazeley is a small village and former civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It lies about four miles south of Reading at . To the East lies the Village of Spencers Wood. To the West lie the villages of Grazeley Green and Wokefield. To the South lies the village of Beech Hill.-Local...
, although this has since been absorbed into Wokefield civil parish. The core of its village was around the old demolished church, where the inventor Samuel Morland
Samuel Morland
Sir Samuel Morland, 1st Baronet , or Moreland, was a notable English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician of the 17th century, a polymath credited with early developments in relation to computing, hydraulics and steam power.-Education:The son of Thomas Morland, the rector of...
's father was once the vicar.
, Sulhamstead is partly in the Newbury constituency
Newbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Newbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returns one Member of Parliament , elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
for House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
s, however the Boundary Commission has recommended that it be moved completely into the Wokingham constituency
Wokingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Wokingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
to bring the size of the electorate of Newbury closer to the national average.
History
The name Sulhamstead (there is no 'p' in middle) means 'Narrow Valley Homestead' and was given to the area by the first Saxon settlers. There is supposed to have been a Danish Camp of some sort there during the troubled times just before and during King Alfred's reign..Banister was the name of the Lords of the Manor from the early 12th century. They were still holding lands here three hundred years later, and had another important manor in Finchampstead. The Upper End was, however, often called Meales and Meales Farm, a reputed manor, stands next to the site of Sulhamstead Bannister’s Church of St. Michael from which its name derives.
Buildings and structures
Sulhamstead House
Sulhamstead House, commonly known as the White House, was the manor house of Sulhamstead Abbots. It was built by Daniel May, son of the BasingstokeBasingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
brewer, Charles May, in 1744. His sister's descendants, the Thoyts family, resided there for many years. The house was largely rebuilt in 1800 for William Thoyts
William Thoyts
William Thoyts was High Sheriff of Berkshire.William was born in 1767 in Bishopsgate, the son of John Thoyts of Sulhamstead House in Berkshire and his wife, Mary, the daughter of Thomas Burfoot, the Treasurer of Christ's Hospital...
, the High Sheriff of Berkshire
High Sheriff of Berkshire
The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'....
. It was the childhood home of his great granddaughter, the famous Berkshire historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and palaeography
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
expert, Emma Elizabeth Thoyts
Emma Elizabeth Thoyts
Emma Elizabeth Thoyts , aka Mrs. John Hauntenville Cope, was an English palaeographer, historian and genealogist.Emma was born in Bryanston Square, Marylebone in Middlesex on 8 July 1860, the eldest daughter Maj. William Richard Mortimer Thoyts of Sulhamstead House in Berkshire and his wife, Anne...
(1860–1949). In 1949, the house became the headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of the Berkshire Constabulary. Since the merger of the local county forces to form the Thames Valley Police
Thames Valley Police
Thames Valley Police, formerly known as Thames Valley Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley area covered by the ceremonial counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire....
, it has functioned as that force's training centre and houses the Thames Valley Police Museum. It is a Grade II listed building.
Folly Farm
Sulhamstead is the location of Folly Farm.Originally the main house comprised a timber-framed cottage which is believed to date back to around 1650 which was gradually enlarged into a farm house and now survives as the north-east wing of the present house. The house was transformed, in 1906, by Edwin LutyensEdwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
into a country house for H H Cochrane. It was extended, again by Lutyens, for Zachery Merton, six years later. It is one of Lutyens' best-known house designs. Lutyens collaborated with Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
in designing the very fine garden. Folly Farm is Grade I listed and is an exceptional example of the continuation of classical and Arts and Craft architecture.
Other buildings
The church of St Mary (formerly St Bartholomew) dates from the 13th century and is Grade I listed.The village hall for Sulhamstead and Ufton is situated halfway down Sulhamstead Hill. It was built in 1927 and has been recently refurbished.
To the North of Sulhamstead, and close to the village is Sulhamstead Lock
Sulhamstead Lock
Sulhamstead Lock is a lock on the River Kennet at Sulhamstead in the English county of Berkshire.Sulhamstead Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now administered by British Waterways and known as the...
, Tyle Mill and Tyle Mill Lock
Tyle Mill Lock
Tyle Mill Lock is a lock situated near the village of Sulhamstead on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.Tyle Mill Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now administered by British Waterways and known as the...
on the Kennet & Avon Canal, where there is a wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
, lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
and swing bridge
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
. The world-renowned singer and musician Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
resides close to the mill.