Padworth, Berkshire
Historical Description
Padworth, a parish, with a village, in Berks, on the river Kennet, 1½ mile SE of Aldermaston station on the Hungerford branch of the G.W.R., and 9 miles SW by W of Reading. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Reading. Acreage, 1166 of land and 22 of water. The manor belonged anciently to the Courdrays; passed to the Fosters; and, with Padworth House, a fine mansion standing in its own grounds, belongs to the Griffith family. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford; gross value, £290 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is rich Early Norman, and has a fine Norman arch. It was restored in 1890.
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 | Padworth St. John the Baptist | |
| 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 1607.
Churches
Church of England
St. John the Baptist (parish church)
The church of St. John the Baptist is a very ancient building of flint and rubble of Norman date, consisting of apsidal chancel, nave, south porch and a wooden tower over the western gable containing 6 bells, dated respectively 1654, 1660, 1816, 1597 and 1900: the other is simply inscribed = "SANCTA+MARIA+ORA+PRO+NOBIS:" the walls are all of Norman work, with inserted Perpendicular windows, and the Norman chancel arch has sculptured caps: the north and south doorways are recessed and have ornamented arches: the church was restored in 1890, at a cost of £1,500, the chancel by the rector, and the nave by Mrs. Darby-Griffith, the tower and belfry by Mr. Benyon and local subscribers: there are 100 sittings.
Civil Registration
Padworth 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 Padworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Padworth (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 Padworth 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.