Moulsford, Berkshire
Historical Description
Moulsford, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands amidst beautiful scenery, on the river Thames, on the London Road, 2 miles from Cholsey station on the G.W.R., 3½ S by W of Wallingford, and 11 NW of Reading, and has a post office under Wallingford; money order and telegraph office, Cholsey. The parish comprises 1430 acres of land and 11 of water; population, 150. The railway bridge of two brick arches, each 62 feet in span, here crosses the Thames. The village is a favourite resort of artists, anglers, and boating men, and the trial eights of the Oxford University are rowed on the stretch of water here. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; gross value, £54 with residence. The church, which stands immediately on the right bank of the river, is a building of stone and flint of the 14th century. It was restored under the direction of the late Sir G. Gilbert Scott, R.A., in 1847.
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 | Moulsford St. John the Baptist | |
| Hundred | Moreton | |
| Poor Law union | Wallingford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1773; marriages only, from 1754.
Churches
Church of England
St. John the Baptist (parish church)
The church of St. John the Baptist is a small building of stone and flint of the 14th century, charmingly situated on the right bank of the river Thames, and consists of chancel and nave, with a small north aisle, added in 1847, south porch and a low western belfry of wood, with short spire, containing 3 bells; in the west end are monuments to the Gifford family; William Gifford, who died in 1694, was the first president of Fort St. George, in Africa: the east window is a memorial to Hopewell Morrell esq: the church was restored by the late Sir G. Gilbert Scott R.A. in 1647, and has 120 sittings. In the churchyard is a memorial cross of white marble, inscribed to the Rev. George Kidd Morrell D.C.L. vicar here 1846-77, who died April 18, 1881, and to his daughter, M. A. Morrell, d. June 24, 1880.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Moulsford was in Wallingford Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Moulsford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Moulsford (St. John the Baptist))
- 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 Moulsford 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.