Buckingham

                                                                        The Old Gaol

We have just been to Milton Keynes to see an excellent exhibition of works by Dame Laura Knight and decided to have a walk around Buckingham on our way back home. We parked in the main car park and headed towards the Old Gaol. It was built in 1748 in the style of a castle with later additions in 1839 by George Gilbert Scott. It is now a tourist information centre, gift shop and venue.

We doubled back to see a bit of London Road, which we had come in on. These cottages were quite picturesque.

 

Retracing our steps, we passed the Gaol on our right and paused to look at Christ's Hospital.  The original site goes back to the 15th century and Christ's Hospital was founded in 1597 by Queen Elizabeth I to house maimed soldiers. It was rebuilt in 1897 and was heavily refurbished and modernised in 2013, marked by a plaque from the Queen.

 

 

We continued passed this cryptic message over a shop ... 

 

... to reach the Old Town Hall, crowned by its Golden Swan. It was rebuilt in the 18th century. The ground floor was originally open and housed the market. The light unfortunately was coming from behind: never a good idea for photography.

We continued to the right of the Town Hall and walked up Castle Street, passing Barton's Chantry and Hospital on the right. Originally six almshouses founded by John Barton in 1431, they were rebuilt in 1701 and in the late 19th century. There are now only three.

We continued onward passing a house with delightful sunflowers in the gable end, originally done in 1875. It looks as though they were renewed in 1987.

We continued towards the Church of St Peter and St Paul on Castle Hill (long ago there was a Norman castle here). The church was consecrated in 1780. It is quite an imposing building from the outside - we didn't have time to view the interior. The combination of a long nave and tall tower weren't ideal either!

Going on past the church we came on the Manor House. It dates from the 16th century and was originally built as a prebendal house but soon (during the dissolution of the monasteries) in became privately owned.

I have often (OK, once or twice) wondered what exactly a prebendary was. The answer is (courtesy of Wikipedia): "a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of  canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegaite church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir stalls, known as prebendal stalls.

A prebend is the form of benefice held by a prebendary: historically, the stipend attached to it was usually drawn from specific sources in the income of a cathedral's estates. In the 21st century, many remaining prebendaries hold an honorary position which does not carry an income with it."

After this, we headed back towards the town centre, making sure we saw the Chantry chapel on Market Hill. 

 

 

It is the oldest building in Buckingham. It was originally St John's Hospital, dating in part to the 12th century. It has had a range of roles across the years. It was rebuilt in 1475 with the Norman doorway you see today, but dissolved as chapel in 1536 by Henry VIII. For almost 400 years it was the Royal School for Latin. It was restored in the 19th century, bought by public subscription and passed to the National Trust in 1912. Perhaps rather sadly, it is now a second-hand bookshop and coffee shop.

Conditions: bright but cold.

Rating: four stars

Almshouses of East Berkshire

This post covers the Almshouses to be seen between Reading and the Easternmost parts of Berkshire. It starts with the Robert Palmer's Cottages (above) in Pearson Street, Sonning, founded in 1850. The post finishes in Langley.

Next we have Barker's Almshouses, in Church Hill, St Nicholas, Hurst. The Inscription over the door reads: "The hospital for the Maintenance of eight poor persons each at 6d per diem for ever was Erected and Founded in ye year 1664 at the sole charge of WILLIAM BARKER of Hurst in the county of Wilts. Esq, who died on ye 25th March, 1685 and lyes buried in... this parish". Henry Fairfax Esq. His Newphew and Heire (sic) M.P."

In Twyford we find the Harrison Almshouses, prominently situated on the A4 London Road. They were founded in 1640. Almshouses were built by Sir Richard Harrison in 1640, for six poor people of either sex.  They were not endowed until 1700 when his granddaughter, Lady Francis Winchcombe, gave the rents from a house and 80 acres of land. Each person was to receive 40 shillings annually and a gown every other year.                                 

 

                             

Not far away on the outskirts of Wokingham in Holme Green is the Lucas Hospital, founded in 1665.

The Lucas Hospital was founded by Henry Lucas Esq. In his will dated 1663 he requested that his executors establish an almshouse for poor, elderly men who were inhabitants of Windsor Forest. By early 1667 a master was installed and the first 16 residents “of not less than 50 years of age, of sober life and conversation, poor and impotent by sickness or other infirmity” were given a furnished room, a £2 fuel
allowance and a pension of £10 per annum. 

In 1675 the Drapers Company took over the trusteeship of the charity. The Henry Lucas Charity was perpetuated until 2001, when the Charity Commission allowed the building to be sold for use as a private residence. Lucas Hospital is Wokingham’s only Grade 1 listed building.

In Maidenhead, on the London Road, there are the James Smyth Almshouses, founded in 1659. James was a Citizen and Salter of London. The plaque over the main door gives a full picture. It was established in 1661 to house “eight poor ancient men and their wives, inhabitants of Maidenhead or Cookham, each of them to be 50 years at least."

 

A little further along the road is the Haven of Rest Almshouse which was built in 1895. The central gable is a very effective decoration.

Maidenhead's third Almshouse is the small All Saints Almshouse in Boyn Hill Road,  now a private dwelling. It was funded by donations by the Misses Lamotte and G E Street (the architect of the nearby church).

The imposing Jesus Hospital in Bray is a fine sight. It was built in 1627 and run by the Guild of Fishmongers until 2010 when they decided to sell it. After a vigorous local campaign it was transferred  to the Donnington Hospital Trust and continues to carry out its work.

Continuing eastwards we reach the Windsor Almshouses, Victoria Street, Windsor. It is now known as  Ellison House.

Moving from Windsor to Old Windsor we reach the Penny Farthing Almshouses in Crimp Hill Road.

This picture above shows the original Almshouses which were founded in 1787 and renovated 1969-70. The details are to be found on the three plaques. Additional Almshouses were built in 1970 between the old almshouses and the road. They are also also single storey, but much less picturesque in style.

In Langley we find two sets of old Almshouses close to each other in St Mary's Road.

First are the Sir John Kedermister's Almshouses, above, founded in 1617.

To the right are the Sir Edward Seymour's Almshouses. These Almshouses are a little later: 1679-88. Sir Edward was the Speaker at the time.

 

Note: I believe this is a full set of Almshouses in East Berkshire. Additional information or errors to be corrected would be most welcome. Wikipedia mentions Almshouses founded in 1839 by William Wild in Horsemoor Green, but I can find no trace of them.

Almshouses of West Berkshire (excluding Newbury, which has its own page already published) will follow shortly.

Oxford - University buildings

The former Indian Institute

The new year has set us thinking about things do and and an early idea was to do a guided tour of Oxford. Oxford is not far away, but we have only a sketchy idea of what it is like. So we signed up for a tour organised by the Bodleian Library. Luckily enough there were no other participants and we had the guide all to ourselves. We started from the steps of the Weston Library and were introduced to three fine buildings left, centre and right of where we met.

The Indian Institute was set up to encourage and support greater research into Indian literature and culture. It was completed in 1893. Unfortunately there were few Indian students and the Institute become almost entirely a training ground for future members of the Indian Civil Service. After what seems to have been a long period of decline the site was taken over by the Oxford Martin School, founded by James Martin.

Moving our gaze to the right we see the Clarendon Building (above), built for the University Press in 1711-15 and designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The portico with four Tuscan giant columns. Pevsner describes the building as an "excessively grave and pretentious building for its purpose", which seems a bit harsh.

The next grand building is the Sheldonian Theatre of 1663-9, Wren's first work of architecture. Our guide pointed out a small carving of a wren which we would never have noticed. The carved heads on the pillars surrounding the building are not of anyone in particular.

Behind the Sheldonian is the entrance to the Divinity School, which Pevsner says was begun about 1420.

The courtyard has a wonderful towered gateway on one side displaying  Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite columns - al part of showing off.

... and a rather Gothick (Pevsner) facade opposite.

Inside the vault is "one of the marvels of Oxford", but Pevsner insists that it should be described as a lierne vault rather than a fan vault.

Emerging from the Divinity School, we made a short detour to see the Bridge of Sighs (or Hertford Bridge), which joins two parts of Hertford College). It was completed as recently as 1913-14. I can't resist observing that it is not a patch on the Bridge of Sighs in St John's College Cambridge (1831) or indeed the original in Venice.

We doubled back to see the famous Radcliffe Camera, a library and reading room, which was funded by a legacy of £40,000 from John Radcliffe. It is a magnificent sight. It was the earliest example in England of a circular library.

Standing back from the Radcliffe Camera, there is a fine view of All Souls College, a College which is primarily an academic research institution, with no undergraduate students.

From here we passed the University church and the facades of a number of Colleges. Then in Kybald Street I spotted the former Parsons Almshouse (one of my special interests). In 1959 the building became part of University College through the gift of American donors who built a new Parsons’ Almshouse in St. Clements. It seems now to be integrated into College accommodation and is indeed where Bill Clinton stayed when he was a Rhodes scholar.

Finally, we walked along Broad Street we spotted one of Antony Gormley's figures on top of a nearby roof. Perched on top of Blackwell's Art and Poster Shop on Oxford's Exeter College, the seven-foot-tall statue is one of a series of sculptures called “Another Time II,”  The bronze nude in Oxford weighs half a ton and was the gift of an anonymous benefactor in 2009. I rather liked the almost symmetrical arrangement of my photo.

We didn't see the interiors of any of the Colleges and hopefully that will be an outing for another day.

Conditions: grey and bitterly cold.

Rating: five stars, a most interesting and enjoyable tour.

Little Bedwyn and the Long Walk

                                                     St Michael's Church, Little Bedwyn

My first walk of the 2022! Merv and I start our walk in Little Bedwyn, which I thought was just in Berkshire, but turns out to be in Wiltshire. Pevsner's entry on Little Bedwyn  is succinct: "A lane with estate housing of 1860, brick with diapers of blue brick and or without gables, leads to the church."

The church seems to date back as far as the 12th century, although with various alterations. We liked the square tower and the clock.

We cross a footbridge and head north along the frosty Kennet and Avon Canal.

 

At the next bridge we head away from the Canal, skirting Jugg's Wood to reach the start of the Long Walk through Stype Wood, which once led to Stype Grange. This is the view looking back at the end of the Walk. We saw various buildings as we tramped through the Stype Estate, but nothing that resembled a Grange.

We carried on in the same direction to reach a road and then turn sharp right, passing this handsome tree in a field on the right.

Now we entered the large Polesden Estate - where again the big house was carefully out of site. We had a bit of a struggle with the route through the estate. There were a lot of paths, many of which had No entry signs. After frequent reference to the map and some swearing we reached Baverstock's Copse and headed east along clearly marked paths towards Great Bedwyn.

We turned right at Jockey Green to reach the tow path beside the Kennet and Avon Canal again. We were struck by one unusual craft on the right in the picture below.

It remained only to tramp the mile or so along the tow path to return to Little Bedwyn.

Map: Explorer 158 (Newbury & Hungerford)

Distance: about 7 miles, but actually walked nearer to 8.

Conditions: muddy, clear, cool.

Rating: three stars.