Drayton, Berkshire
Historical Description
Drayton, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands near the Berks and Wilts Canal, 1½ mile W of the river Thames, 1¼ N from Steventon station on the G.W.R., and 2¼ miles SW of Abingdon, and has a post and money order office under Abingdon; telegraph office, Steventon. The parish comprises 1851 acres; population, 585. The Manor House is a chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net yearly value, £132 with residence. Patron, Lord Wantage. The church is ancient, and has a curious Norman font. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Hundred | Ock | |
| Poor Law union | Abingdon |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The earliest existing register dates from 1754, the earlier ones having been destroyed at the great fire of Drayton in the year 1780.
Churches
Church of England
St. Peter (parish church)
The church of St. Peter is a building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, north aisle, south porch and an embattled western tower containing 8 bells and a clock: the chancel was erected in 1872, chiefly at the cost of the late vicar, and has a stained window representing The Crucifixion: the south porch, added in 1879, is furnished with gargoyles of carved stone, and in the pavement is the following inscription inlaid in lead, "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God I"; these improvements were effected under the superintendence of the late Mr. E. Dolby, architect, of Abingdon: the font is a plain cylindrical work of Norman date: in the north wall of the lady chapel there is an aumbry, and in the south wall a credence and piscina: there are also two other piscinæ in the church: in digging a vault in the church in the year 1814 the workmen came upon some elaborate and beautiful old carvings in alabaster, representing The Betrayal, The Scourging, The Crucifixion (now missing) and The Entombment of Our Saviour, The Adoration and The Annunciation: there are 200 sittings: the churchyard cross was restored in 1871.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
There is a Baptist chapel.
Methodist
Wesleyan Chapel
There is a Wesleyan chapel here.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Drayton was in Abingdon Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Drayton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Drayton)
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Drayton are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
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.