Longworth, Berkshire
Historical Description
Longworth, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands 1 mile S of the river Isis, at the boundary with Oxfordshire, 6 miles N by W of Wantage Road station on the G.W.R., and 7 ENE of Faringdon, and has a post and money order office under Faringdon; telegraph office, Kingston Bagpuze. The parish contains also the chapelry of Charney Basset and the township of Draycott Moor. Acreage, 4553; population, 957. The manor belonged once to Sir H. Marten, the father of the regicide, and belongs now to the Puseys. A Roman camp and the reputed site of a palace of Canute are at Cherbury. The living is a rectory, united with thechapelry of Charney, in the diocese of Oxford; gross value, £662. Patron, Jesus College, Oxford. The church is a building of stone in the Early and Transition Norman and Decorated styles, contains several old brasses, and stands on an eminence commanding a fine view over the rich outspread basin of the Isis. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels and a few charities. Bishop Fell was a native, and his father was rector. Charney Basset and Draycott Moor are noticed separately.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Longworth St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Ganfield | |
| Poor Law union | Farringdon |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1558, and contains the entry of the baptism of John Fell, dean of Christ Church and Bishop of Oxford, 1676-86.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary, an edifice of stone, is partly Early Norman and partly of the succeeding Transition Norman and Decorated styles, and consists of chancel, nave with clerestory, separated from the aisles by arcades of Transition, Norman, and Early English arches, three on either side, a small chapel north of the chancel, used as a vestry, south porch and an embattled western tower containing 5 bells and a clock: some of the windows are Decorated, others Perpendicular: the tower appears to have been added early in the latter style, the east, north and south piers being inside the church: the sanctuary rails and reredos exhibit good oak carving of the same period: both aisles are Decorated: the font is Early English and circular: on the south Early English porch is a sun dial, dated 1621; in the chancel are brasses to John Hinde, a former rector, ob. 1422, with half-length effigy; Richard Yate, ob. 1498, and Johanna, his wife, ob. 1500, with effigies; and Eleanor Godolphin, ob. 1565, also with effigy: in the chapel or Marten's aisle is a mural monument to Sir Henry Marten knt. LL.D. judge of the High Court of Admiralty and of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Dean of Arches, ob. 1641: there are 200 sittings.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
There is a Congregational chapel, erected in 1848, with 200 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Longworth was in Faringdon Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Wantage Registration District from 1937 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Longworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Longworth (St. Mary))
- 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 Longworth 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.