Mapledurham

Coordinates: 51°29′06″N 1°02′17″W / 51.485°N 1.038°W / 51.485; -1.038
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the village and civil parish in Oxfordshire. For the former ward in Reading, Berkshire, see Mapledurham (Reading ward).

Mapledurham
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townReading
Postcode districtRG4
Dialling code01491
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
51°29′06″N 1°02′17″W / 51.485°N 1.038°W / 51.485; -1.038

Mapledurham is a small village,

country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire, England. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of Reading, Berkshire.[citation needed] Historic buildings in the area include the Church of England parish church of St. Margaret, Mapledurham Watermill and Mapledurham House
.

Village

The village is on the north bank of the

Caversham to Goring Heath, Goring-on-Thames 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.[1]

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 Church of England parish church of St. Margaret was mainly built in the 14th and 15th century, and was restored in 1863 by the Gothic Revival architect William Butterfield.[2] Mapledurham Watermill dates from the 16th and 17th century[3] and is the last operational watermill on the river Thames. Mapledurham House, the country house that is the headquarters of the Mapledurham estate, is one of the largest Elizabethan houses in Oxfordshire.[4] On the village street inland from these three buildings can be found the Mapledurham Almshouses, a group of six almshouses built as a memorial to Sir Charles Lister who died in 1613, and now converted into two cottages.[5]

Caversham or Whitchurch-on-Thames.[1] 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.[6][7] The mill location is used on the cover of English rock band Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album Black Sabbath.[8]
In book 2 of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, In Chancery, Mapledurham is the location for Soames Forsyte's house.

Civil parish

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

Caversham, and to the south by the River Thames
.

In the

Caversham and in the county of Berkshire.[1][13]

Estate

By the time of the Domesday Book, 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 descendants 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 Mapledurham House 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.[14][15][16]

The Mapledurham estate owns much of the village and parish. It also includes the

weekend and bank holiday afternoons from April to September.[6][17]

Gallery

  • The entrance to the village heading towards the river
    The entrance to the village heading towards the river
  • The old manor house with the Elizabethan Mapledurham House in the background
    The old manor house with the Elizabethan Mapledurham House in the background
  • The Almshouses on the village street
    The Almshouses on the village street
  • Mapledurham Watermill from the lawns of the house
    Mapledurham Watermill from the lawns of the house
  • Mapledurham House seen from the lawns
    Mapledurham House seen from the lawns
  • The River Thames, looking upstream from the village
    The River Thames, looking upstream from the village

References

  1. ^ a b c d Explorer Map 159 – Reading (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2006.
  2. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 693-694
  3. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 697
  4. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 695-697
  5. ^ "St Margaret's Church". Mapledurham Estate. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Film Locations". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  7. ^ "Boat service from Reading to Mapledurham". Thames River Cruises. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  8. ^ Grow, Kory (13 February 2020). "'That Evil Kind of Feeling': The Inside Story of Black Sabbath's Iconic Cover Art". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  10. ^ "Neighbourhood Statistics – Mapledurham CP – 2001". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Usual Resident Population – Mapledurham CP – 2011". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Parishes". South Oxfordshire District Council. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  13. ^ "Reading, Mapledurham" (PDF). Reading Borough Council. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Mapledurham's History". Mapledurham Estate. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Chazey Court Farm – Reading" (PDF). Caversham and District Residents' Association. Oxford Archaeology. October 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  16. ^ "History". The Warren and District Residents Association. September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Admission". Mapledurham Estate. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mapledurham.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mapledurham&oldid=1186952927"