6 Jun 2014

More memories of the area

by simonkempadmin | posted in: Spencers Wood Village | 0

Last month we had an enquiry about the Basingstoke Road which prompted some research in the area and the following two businesses were recorded from our memories file.

Ash Cottage on the Basingstoke Road was occupied by the Belcher family. Leonard Belcher suffered a severe disability as a child and could only walk with a walking stick. However on completing his schooling, he was trained to repair boots and shoes and eventually set up his own successful business with a workshop ably assisted by his mother to begin with. Later on his wife looked after the shop. This remained for many years from the 1920s to the mid 1960s and perhaps the 70s when he retired.

Janet Bunch remembered him with a pipe and his stick. He sold second hand shoes and Janet coveted a pair of red boots which probably wouldn’t fit her and was dismayed when they were sold to someone else. In 1957, Ron Holyday, whose grandfather lived almost next door, can remember buying some leather boot laces from Leonard. They were sliced from a long, strip of leather. The boot repair business was a shop at the rear of Ash Cottage and part of Leonard’s home.

There was another boot repairer in the village called Arthur Thorne. Whether he was at the same premises is not clear.

Spencers Wood Stores

The shop next door to Belchers, in the late 1900s, was originally a draper’s shop selling clothes, as well as drapery owned by Mr Charles Ballard. It was taken over by Mr Sant, by 1910 until the 1920s, selling similar wares. Sant would also used to sell his goods door-to-door travelling the local area. Early in the 1920s, it closed and changed to a general shop and café with net curtains half way up across the window behind which the diners would eat in an area separated from the shop by a wooden partition. Robin Drinkwater can remember his brother, Arthur, holding his wedding reception there.

There were two others who were drapers namely, Edward Hatch in the 1920s and his son and Frank Austin, in the 1930s, shown as an outfitter and draper. As far as we know, the general store was run by Miss Alice Mulgrew as a grocer and confectioner in the 1940s and then in the 1950s was owned by Brian Davey. When Mr Thomas owned it, it was a grocers and café. The next owner was Mr Hibberd and finally Mr Pandher. It has been called London House Stores.

Margaret Bampton

9 Oct 2013

The Village Hall

by simonkempadmin | posted in: Spencers Wood Village | 0

This month’s contribution is some of the snippets from an article which will appear in our new village book. It concerns the village hall which was given to the church in 1911, in memory of Mary Charlotte Hunter’s father from Beech Hill. In 1948, Mary transferred the title to all the residents of Spencers Wood and it was held in trust initially, by Maurice Magill and Ernest Mills of Highlands. Mary Hunter wished the hall to be used for recreational, educational, social, moral purposes and physical training through the media of reading and recreational rooms, a library, lectures and classes etc.

The first committee consisted of seven members who could co-opt others from the Parish Council. There were two members from the church, two from Spencers Wood Sports and Social Club, one from the British Legion, one from the Congregational Church and one from the Mothers Union. The basis changed in the 1960s when new charity rules came in and again in the 1990s. There are now thirteen possible representatives taken from the church, the parish council and various clubs.

The British Legion used to hold a carnival with a Queen every year as well as concert parties. These would go to other venues on Ted Clement’s lorry. The Congregational church would also hold concert parties in the hall. Reg Norriss can remember visiting the dentist walking up crocodile style from Lambs Lane School. The dentist would operate a foot driven mechanical drill for fillings as there was no electricity. Marion Pyke attended ballet classes there and magic lantern shows which were repeated annually. The magic lantern, powered by gas, caught fire once, adding excitement to the children. After World War I, the Women’s Social Club was formed and many whist drives took place followed by dances, accompanied by a piano. The dances were the most popular events held, particularly after the Second World War.

In latter years the hall has focussed on children’s events and the raising of funds for charities. In the 1970s, events such as shows and plays raised money for the hall’s extension. Because the hall is run by volunteers for community use, it is always in need of funds for repairs and our support.

The Group would like to thank Ron Holyday for his superb presentation of Philpotts bakery and his memories that he gave to us at the Carnival. This will feature later on.

Margaret Bampton.

19 Sep 2012

Three Mile Cross Chapel

During August we have concentrated our efforts on completing the book about Three Mile Cross Chapel and it is almost finished. It is subject to a review at present. Some research has been undertaken about non-conformity locally and the following is a short summary of those findings.

Prior to The Dissenters Act of 1852, all non-conformists from the Church of England, excluding Papists were required by law to licence any premises where more than five gathered to worship. The fee for this was 2 shillings and 6 pence (12.5p) and obtained from the diocese in which the premises stood or from the Court of Quarter Sessions. After civil registration for births, marriages and deaths came in, from 1837, the registering for licences was also made by the civil authority as per the act above. There were many churches licensed locally from 1772, in Shinfield at Lee Common, in the premises of Steven Sayer and the application was signed by William Hacker, William Church, John Hawkins, Richard Dulley (Senior and Junior), James Simmonds, and Edward Shepherd.

Another licence was issued in 1815, for premises near to the four mile stone on Spencers Wood Common and signed by George Bailey, Martha Drew, E Bailey, Sophie Drew, John Carter and Elizabeth Drew. John Carter also, requested a licence from the Salisbury Diocese, for a chapel in 1814, at Beach(sic) Hill, Wilts at Clappers Farm. There had been an earlier request, in 1794, for a chapel at Beech Hill. Between 1815 and 1817, Richard Body requested 3 licences for Shinfield.

There were many requests for chapels in Swallowfield, spelt on one occasion, Swallerfield and included Riseley. These occurred in 1798, 1799, 1812, 1817, 1821, 1832, 1833, 1835 and 1848 and most of these were in Wiltshire. There were many different religious groups such as, Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Baptists with differing branches, Independents, Congregationalists, Countess of Huntindon’s Connexion and Plymouth Brethren, also with branches. The Methodists were encouraged in using the Church of England churches as well as their own but were evangelical, particularly after Wesley’s death when they began to ordain its own clergy. The Connexion bit above also relates to being in connection with Wesley. The Primitive Methodists didn’t always register their churches as most were conducted out of doors and the Independents had the alternative name of Tent Methodists.

Margaret Bampton.

21 Feb 2012

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

by simonkempadmin | posted in: Loddon Reach Article, Spencers Wood Village | 0

Last month’s article requested items to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee this year and this prompted a memory of mine when I met Her Majesty, in 1968, in Queen’s Road, Reading. I had worked for the GPO and on marriage had to leave because they did not employ married women. I was given my insurance cards to take to Social Security. Each person would have a card for National Insurance stamps which were affixed weekly or monthly according to when you were paid and cancelled with a written date. These were returned to DHSS annually. A big change today, when national insurance contributions are taken at source.

Talking to the clerk there, I explained my position and she said that their new ADP department was looking for employees. My job initially, as Personal Assistant to the Head of the ADP Division of the Ministry of Social Security (Health was added later on) was to check and monitor the new building going up in Queen’s Road to accommodate an innovative computer. This venture was a joint project with the Ministry of Labour which would issue unemployment benefit and sick pay cheques.

Visit of the Queen to Reading — © The Reading Evening Post

The computer, when it was built, covered the whole of the ground floor, ran on tape, was kept at a certain temperature, and was a forbidden and mysterious area for most of the personnel except the programmers who were regarded with awe. Compare this with today when I wrote this article on my home computer and paid for my nephew’s wedding present all via the ether, not necessarily needing a building to house the computer.

Naturally it was a highlight for me, to liaise with Buckingham Palace and Westminster to arrange the visit of the Queen, Prince Phillip and Mrs Judith Hart, the Minister of Social Security. I didn’t actually speak to the Queen but was proud to have been the arranger of her visit and I have the picture supplement from the local paper to remind me.
Are there any other personal Royal stories out there we could use for the Parish celebrations in June? Please let us know.
Margaret Bampton

17 Oct 2011

Our Village of Spencers Wood

by simonkempadmin | posted in: Loddon Reach Article, Spencers Wood Village | 0

October 2011’s article for Loddon Reach is taken from the introduction composed by the late Barbara Debney of the Group’s first book called Our Village of Spencers Wood. The village originally lay within the boundaries of the Royal Windsor Forest. By 1300, the area of the Forest had been reduced because of a dispute between the King and the bishop of Salisbury where it was decreed “whatsoever is on the east side of the Lodona (River Loddon) in the county of Berkshire is the King’s Forest”. Roque’s map of 1761 shows Spencers Wood no longer in the Royal Forest and with the Loddon as its western boundary. Thomas Pride’s map of 1790 shows where Shinfield and Swallowfield were once partly in Wiltshire.

In the 13th century, portions of Wokingham, Hurst, Shinfield and Swallowfield were held by William Lungespe, Earl of Salisbury and were administered through his court at Amesbury in Wiltshire. In her book, Swallowfield and its Owners, Lady Russell states, “Part Lane in Swallowfield, was so called because it separated Swallowfield, Berks from Swallowfield, Wilts.” It was not until 20th October, 1844 that these areas became part of Berkshire. Until the 1860s, Spencers Wood consisted mainly of common land but in 1863 the common land was enclosed and the majority of it was acquired separately by William Merry, who lived at Highlands and Frederick Allfrey, at Stanbury.

The village evolved mainly as a ribbon development along the Basingstoke Road and some houses built in Victorian and Edwardian times can still be seen along the main road and around The Square. Most of these houses were built with bricks from the local brick kiln which was run by the Swain family.

Originally, the village lay within the boundaries of the three ecclesiastical parishes of Shinfield, Swallowfield and Grazeley. On old maps of the area, a boundary stone is shown on the main road opposite the pond and a few yards to the north of what is now Spring Gardens. This stone marked the dividing line between the ecclesiastical parishes of Shinfield and Swallowfield. In 1908, the church of St Michael and All Angels was erected and following this, in 1913, the parish boundaries were realigned and Spencers Wood became a separate ecclesiastical parish in its own right. For civil administrative purposes Spencers Wood mostly comes under Shinfield Parish although some parts come under Swallowfield, which confuses me somewhat.

In the 1880s, Spencers Wood grew rapidly; the population numbered some 600, a third of which were children, with the majority of adults working on the land or a domestic servants. A school was erected in 1890, by Frederick Allfrey, where the Library is today and closed in 1915, after the children were transferred to Lambs Lane School which had opened seven years earlier.
At the turn of the century, a new Congregational Chapel was built in 1903 on Basingstoke Road replacing the old one built in 1837, at the bottom of Chapel Lane. The Institute, no longer there, followed the next year. The village hall was erected in 1911 and celebrates its centenary this year.
The M4 arrived circa 1970 dividing the parish and was followed by the Swallowfield Bypass separating Grazeley. Since then the parish has grown extensively and there is an enquiry in October about further development which we urge residents to attend to find out what is happening to our village.
Loddon Reach October 2011.

29 Apr 2011

The Spencers Wood Royal Wedding Celebrations

by simonkempadmin | posted in: Loddon Reach Article, Spencers Wood Village | 0

A Street Party in The Square

On the day a commoner, Catherine Middleton, married into the Royal Family, the commoners in “The Square” partied in celebration!

: The Royal Couple

Louize Bovey and a group of helpers had applied for the road to be closed, and tables and chairs began to appear early on. The bunting came out the night before and before you knew it, the street was decorated! Flags were up on houses, cakes were baked, and champagne chilled.

: Royal cupcakes!

The organisation was military!
We all sat down to watch the service in our own houses and privately shed a tear. Then slowly, residents past and present, spilled onto the street to eat and be merry – a real sense of community!

The Local Spencers Wood History Group has two current residents Jackie Blow and Jeannie Brice, who are researching the history for their new book.

: The Party In Full Swing!

The Square is one of the oldest roads in Spencers Wood. The part from Hyde End Road was originally called “Headley Road” and the other end, from Basingstoke Road, “New Road”. Originally The Square had only 15 houses with only names, although there has been a lot more development since then.
The Group had also produced a display with more interesting facts and pictures of the history and houses, which drew comments, interest, and more material for the book.

: The History of The Square

Anyone for the Diamond Jubilee – 2nd-5th June 2012?