A Potted History of Chadd

The area/manor of Chaddleworth was given by William the conqueror in 1066 to Robert D’oilly who held it for just a little while and it changed hands many many times over the centuries until in the eighteenth century it was acquired by the Nelson family. If you get the chance to look at Manor Farm you will see that the ‘rainwater goods’ a posh term for the ‘gutters and down pipes’ are franked with the Nelson name as is a goodly part of Chaddleworth House. In 1837 the estate was sold to the Wroughton family (namely Bartolomew Wroughton of Woolley Park).

Moving swiftly to the church it will be noted that there is a very handsome ‘zig zag’ Saxon doorway. There was a building here that dated from 908 so this is a very ancient site. The Nelsons who are mentioned above spent so much money on Manor Farm that they had to fell a great quantity of oak trees to defray the expense. Many sawpits were sunk around the area and the planks were provided for the British Navy. Going back to Saxon times the name Chaddleworth refers to ‘oak woods’ and that is where the name Chaddleworth originates.

We are a very fortunate village in having 3 philanthropic people living here in the past, 1) William Saunders, 2) Sussana Wynne and 3) Ruth Coventry who left appreciable amounts of money to help educate local children of the less well endowed. Chaddleworth was one of the first village schools to be established in the county of Berkshire. They (the above named) have for over 300 years continued to support local children up to the age of 25 to get educated. William Saunders is buried along with his wife Susan in St Andrews church, a memorial stone is inscribed ‘pauperes sunt mundi heredes’ latin for the poor shall inherit the earth.

Expanding on that during the second world war many school children were living in the village as evacuees, your author personally knew a chap called Don Stephenson who was billeted at Lime Tree Cottage, Upper End with a family called Bradley. St Andrews School was simply not big enough to accommodate these extra children and so the ‘Iron Room’ (Village Hall) was used to provide additional classroom accommodation. The last time the Village Hall was used for this purpose was in 1960/61 when St Andrews received a major modernisation at the cost of £13,000 ( £248,300 in today’s money)! To the existing school were added 2 classrooms, a library, activity space, a kitchen, office and cloakroom facilities for the children and staff. 

George Boxford

A collection of historical facts about the village of Chaddleworth

The 1851 census recorded 513 people living in the Parish. This is very similar to the number we have today and although there are slightly more buildings they are less occupied than they would have been in those days. Regarding the Church Register book, it is one of the oldest in England and was started in 1538, the year in which an Act of Parliament directed Parish Registers to be kept. The Parish of Chaddleworth, together with the Manor of Poughley (now inside RAF Welford), was bequeathed to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster by Henry VIII in exchange for 100 acres of land at what is now St. James’s Park.

Chaddleworth currently has two charities that benefit the poor of the Parish. However, I have discovered another one that has lapsed. John Blandy, William Barker and others left the sum of one pound and six shillings and eight pence in 1717 to be divided amongst the poor of Chaddleworth for ever. This was called The Lambourne Dole as it was charged against an acreage in Lambourn in 1850 and was to be spent on coals for the benefit of the poor. Another means of raising funds for the Parish was by charging a toll on road users through the Parish. A Turn Pike house was erected in 1843 close by what is now Henley Farm on the main road (now the A338). The Toll Keeper was a Mr. Goodlake and the land on which the house was built was taken from Mr Head’s farm.

Head’s Farm itself was first occupied by Ralph Head who died in 1768 and at his funeral in St. Andrew’s Church the old custom of “dead cake” was given to all the people at the Church gate after the funeral. Henry Head succeeded his father and he died in 1829. His son, also Henry, succeeded him and he died in 1850 leaving Mrs. Head and sons to run the farm from that date up to 1914. Sometime after 1914, Mr AT Carter took ownership of the farm until 1938 when the Mars Family (chocolate manufacturers) bought the farm and had a new house built. The Egerton family then bought the farm in 1951. Thomas Egerton ran a stud, breeding racehorses, as well as running the farm. After he died in 1998 his son Charles ran a successful racehorse training establishment he had 2 really notable racehorses in Mysylv and Shadow Leader. He also ran the farm. The next people to own Heads Farm are the Hambro family who bought it in 2010. They set about extensive renovations of the whole estate. This included a walled garden with an impressive greenhouse and a lake. The old (1938) farmhouse was demolished but all the character buildings were completely renovated including very tasteful extensions to what was the original farmhouse.

Grahame Murphy

With thanks and recognition to Dianne Taylor who contributed to the Chaddleworth in Colour album on Facebook, the gallery above includes older images from Chaddleworth.

• The Post Office, which is now Spray Cottage, was run by the Hadlands – who are remembered in the Memorial Garden
• Looking over the pond (now the Hadland Memorial Garden) towards the War Memorial and onwards up Main Street (west)
• Looking from the War Memorial south down Sheephouse Way. The thatched cottage on the left is now superseded by Lamorna and Simonds House
• Looking from the War Memorial up Main Street (east) towards The Ibex
• The exterior and interior of St Andrew’s Church and the War Memorial.