Marcham, Berkshire
Historical Description
Marcham or Marsham, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands near the river Ock, 1½ mile NW of the Berks and Wilts Canal, and 2½ miles W of Abingdon station on the G.W.R. It has a post and money order office under Abingdon; telegraph office, Abingdon. The parish contains also the township of Frilford and the chapelry of Garford. Acreage, 2424; population of the civil parish, 707; of the ecclesiastical, with Garford, 874. The manor, with Marcbam Park-a mansion of stone standing in a well-timbered park of 40 acres-belongs to the Duffield family. Sheepstead House and Oakley House are chief residences. The living is a vicarage, united with the perpetual curacy of Garford, in the diocese of Oxford; net value, £243 with residence. Patron, Christ Church, Oxford. The church was rebuilt in 1837; is a large building of stone in the Perpendicular style; and comprises nave and chancel, with a western Early English tower. The chapelry of Garford is about 2 miles W by S of Marcham. Acreage, 1058; population, 167. It has a small chapel, dedicated to St Luke, which is a building of stone in the Early English style. The township of Frilford is 1 mile NW. Area, 1238 acres; population, 150. There is a Baptist chapel at Marcham and a Wesleyan chapel at Frilford. Some Roman remains were discovered at Frilford in 1883.
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 | Marcham All Saints | |
| Hundred | Ock | |
| Poor Law union | Abingdon |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Cemeteries
A cemetery of one acre was consecrated 4th February, 1899.
Church Records
The register, including Garford, dates from the year 1658.
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The church of All Saints, rebuilt in 1837 and opened on Easter day, 1838, is a spacious edifice of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a western Early English tower containing a clock and 6 bells: there are 400 sittings: the church was re-seated in 1901, when a new organ was presented, the total cost, including gifts, was about £1,100.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
There is a small Baptist chapel.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Marcham was in Abingdon Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Marcham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Marcham (All Saints))
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
Upwood Park, situated about 3 miles north-west, stands in a well-wooded park of 87 acres.
Marcham Park is a stone mansion in the Classic style, standing in a small, well-wooded park of 47 acres.
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Marcham 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:
Villages, Hamlets, &c
GarfordVisitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Berkshire 1532, 1566, and 1665-6 is available online.