UK Genealogy Archives logo
DISCLOSURE: This page may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we may receive a commission.

Wargrave, Berkshire

Historical Description

Wargrave, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands on the right bank of the Thames, in a pleasant valley, amidst beautiful scenery, 2 miles N by W of Twyford station on the G.W.R., 3 SE from Henley, and 7 NE from Reading. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Twyford (R.S.O.) Acreage of the civil parish, 4462; population, 2027; of the ecclesiastical, 1845. There is a parish council consisting of eleven members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net value, £200 with residence½ The church is an ancient building of flint, brick, and stone, in the Early Norman, Lancet, and later styles, consisting of chancel, nave, S aisle, N porch, and an embattled western tower with hexagonal turrets at the angles. There are several useful charities.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyBerkshire 
Ecclesiastical parishWargrave St. Mary 
HundredWargrave 
Poor Law unionWokingham 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

The register dates from the year 1538 and under the date October 10th, 1666, contains an entry of a collection of £2 1s. 11d, for the "poore distressed Londoners by reason of ye late lamentable fire;" under 17th February, 1793, is a record of the burial of Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore; and under December 4th, 1818, that of his brother, the Hon. and Rev. Augustus Barry.


Churches

Church of England

St. Mary (parish church)

The church of St. Mary was originally a structure of flint and brick with stone dressings in the Early Norman, Lancet and later styles, and consisted of chancel, nave of five bays, south aisle, north porch and an embattled western tower erected 1515-30, with hexagonal turrets at the angles, containing 6 bells and a clock, presented by Mrs. E. J. H. Jekyll: the church was almost entirely destroyed by fire on the morning of June 1, 1914, only the bare walls, the external Norman doorway and the tower being left standing: the church was rebuilt in 1915 at an estimated cost of £13,300: the church plate includes a chalice of the date of Charles II. a silver flagon dated 1709, chiefly the gift of Mrs. Doyley, and a paten given by Mrs. Pritchard in 1763; but a new communion service was presented by the Rev. Arthur Smith Sturges M.A. curate here 1866-71: in the churchyard is a large and ancient vessel of hewn stone, said to have once been a font.

Congregational

Congregational Chapel

There is a Congregational chapel, with a square western tower.


Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Wargrave was in Wokingham Registration District from 1837 to 1974


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Wargrave from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.


Maps

Online maps of Wargrave are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Berkshire papers online:


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitations of Berkshire 1532, 1566, and 1665-6 is available online.

CountyWokingham
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Postal districtRG10
Post TownReading

Advertisement

Advertisement