Purley (St. Mary)

PURLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bradfield, hundred of Theale, county of Berks, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Reading; containing 198 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 868 acres, of which 630 are arable, 165 pasture and meadow, 31 woodland, 21 in roads and waste, and 20 occupied by the line of the Great Western railway. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 17. 3½., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £300, and there is a glebe of 48 acres. The church is a very neat structure.