Sulhampstead Bannister, Berkshire
Historical Description
Sulhampstead Banister, a village and a parish in Berks, 7 miles SW from Reading, and 2 SW from Theale station on the G.W.R. There is a post office under Reading, money order and telegraph office, Theale. Acreage, 1132; population of the civil parish, 202; of Sulhampstead Banister Lower End, 110. The river Kennet passes through the parish on the NW. The manor belongs to the Thoyts family. The living is a rectory, consolidated with Sulhampstead Abbots. The church is a building of flint and stone in the Early English style.
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 | Sulhampstead-Bannister St. Michael | |
| Hundred | Theale | |
| Poor Law union | Bradfield |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1654, but there are earlier transcripts in the Diocesan Registry at Salisbury.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (new) (parish church)
The new church of St. Michael, erected in 1913-14 at a cost of £3,130, was an edifice of flint with stone dressings, in a transitional style between Early English and Decorated, consisting of nave of four bays with south porch, chancel of two bays and turret for 2 bells: there were five stained memorial windows: there were 156 sittings, and the church closed in 1966. The parishioners have the right of marriage in Sulhamstead-Abbots church, and burial in its churchyard.
St. Michael (old) (parish church)
The old church of St. Michael, built in 1815, was an edifice of shingle, consisting of chancel, with aisle, nave, west porch and a western tower of wood, containing 2 bells: in 1897, the church was reseated with open benches, and afforded 220 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Sulhamstead Bannister was in Bradfield Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Wokingham Registration District from 1937 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Sulhampstead Bannister from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Sulhampstead-Bannister (St. Michael))
- 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 Sulhampstead Bannister 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.