Kelly's Directory of 1848 stated that "East and West Hagbourne comprise two villages and one parish,
6 miles south-west of Wallingford, in the diocese of Oxford and Hundred
of Moreton. They are situated on a stream having no name, which rises
from a spring called Shovel Spring ; it was never known to be dry.
... The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is principally a Gothic structure,
with a portion of the florid and an intermixture of the perpendicular
... The entire population amounts to 820. ... There is a fine old
cross at the top of the village, near the church"[1].
By 1899 the population was, in East Hagbourne 1,297, West Hagbourne 157"[2].
It was only a little less in 1915 [3]. Almost
100 years later, in 2011, the census revealed an increase - 1,882 persons.
There has been a settlement at Hagbourne since early Saxon times.
Margaret Gelling provides the very early dates of 6th - 10th century
for Haccabburna ("The Place Names of Berkshire"[4])
and the former West Hagbourne Village History Group found East and West Hagbourne
were being were tithed and taxed as two separate holdings as far back
as the reign of Edward the Confessor[5].
East Hagbourne is considered to be one of many beautiful villages in Berkshire
and Oxfordshire. Its ancient church, St. Andrew's, with a carved mediaeval
roof is now Grade 1 listed. But by the middle of the nineteenth century it
was not in a good state and needed major repairs.
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"Berkshire Chronicle", 25 July 1863.
Re-Opening of Hagbourne Church, near Didcot.[p.5]
"—The noble parish church of Hagbourne was re-opened by the Lord Bishop
of the Diocese, on Friday, the 17th instant, after entire restoration, which had lasted
over five years, and commenced with new roofing the side aisle and nave. Few parish churches
possess finer architectural proportions, or had been more cruelly disfigured in the good old
days of high pews and plentiful whitewash, blocked up windows, and hide and seek galleries,
dilapidated chancels, and green, damp walls. It is to the infinite credit of the excellent
vicar, the Rev. R. Meredith, who had laboured for nearly forty years in Hagbourne, that he had
the courage to enter upon such a work as church restoration at a comparatively late period of
life, and with small resources ; and that after years of uphill work he has accomplished it.
The chancel, we understand, was restored at the expense of the lay improprietor, Lord Craven,
the whole work being under the superintendence of Mr. Hopkins, the architect."
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A few years later Reverend Richard Meredith left East Hagbourne, where he had served the parish for forty-four years.
He died at Grantham, aged 90, on 3 September 1886. An obituary recorded that he'd served chaplain to the late Marquis
of Cholmondley and for sixteen years had been Rector of Westborough cum Dry Doddington[6].
The church was used by many of Andy's ancestors who lived in the village and were baptised, married
and were buried here over several centuries. In the churchyard you can still see headstones commemorating
Andrews, Dearloves, Nappers and Taylors —although some memorials are now very difficult to read and
others can no longer be found[7]. Members of the Hobbis family
were also buried here in the first half of the nineteenth century, but no stone survives for them. Family
gravestones can also be found in the Old Cemetery, Main Street, on the outskirts of the village and was opened
on 3 July 1896[8].
The east end of the church.
St. Andrew's was described in 1891 as "a building of stone and rubble
in mixed styles, consisting of a chancel and nave of six bays, both
clerestoried, aisles, north and south porches, and an embattled western
Perpendicular tower. We can see in the image below that on the northern
side of the tower is a stair turret and on the southern side of the roof
is a belcot with a canopy and pinnacles. It contains a small bell.
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In the belfry are a peal of eight bells[3],
one dating from 1602[9]. In 1883 the bells
"were opened after being re-hung and turned"[10].
Expert opinion deemed them to be the second best peal of bells in the country, but by 1909 they
were said to be "showing signs of insecurity, and some of the chamber containing the bells has fallen".
It was estimated that the necessary work of restoration, if properly and securely done, would cost £80.
The second bell also appeared to have something wrong with her. Earlier that year she became badly
cracked needed to be taken down and re-cast. The work would cost £25.[11]
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There is a story, which has persisted for many years, about how Hagbourne
became divided into East and West, with fields in between. The story
stems from a tragic event.
In 1659, just before the Restoration of Charles II to the British
throne, there was a terrible fire in Hagbourne. It destroyed many
of the cottages but got no further than the church. In 1661 Charles
II issued a proclamation, drawing attention to the terrible plight
of the people; money was collected in London for their relief. A few
years later, after the Great Fire of London in 1666, the villagers
repaid the charity and sent money to help the Londoners.
The myth that has grown up is that the 1659 fire followed the course of
a stream and several cottages beside the stream were destroyed; according
to the tale these cottages were never rebuilt, thus creating the gap
between east and west. The West Hagbourne Village History Group carefully
examined this part of the story over a number of years, using both
documentary evidence and aerial photography, and found it to be untrue[5].
Daniel Lysons, writing in 1806, says that "the Parliamentary
army, under the command of the Earl of Essex, were quartered in this
village on the 24th of May, 1644, on their route from Reading to Abingdon".
He also mentions the two manors - East and West Hagbourne - and describes
West Hagbourne as a hamlet in the parish of East Hagbourne, which
"appears to have formerly been a chapel of ease" ("Magna
Britannica of Berkshire"[12]).
Whilst Lyson's informant was most likely to have been the vicar of
the time it was slightly misleading to describe West Hagbourne as
a hamlet.
In more recent times the railway line (now dismantled) added an extra
division between the two communities.
This view of the interior of the church shows part of the chancel arch which was built between 1222 and 1250.
Behind the altar is a beautiful carved reredos, erected in 1885, that was gifted to the church by Sir
Robert Lloyd Lindsey[13]). Although we cannot see all of it,
the large Perpendicular altar window is made up of five lights and rises up to the roof from just above the altar,
filling the whole width of the wall. Other parts of the church date from the 11th century when the church was in
the custody of Walter de Otherius. Rainbald de Circestre, a Norman priest (1042 - 1066), also held land here
of the king[3]. Rainbald is said to have died in 1133—though,
if so, he would have been extremely old.
A large royal coat of arms, thought to be the arms of William III, which once hung in a dark corner and
had been cut down to fill the space, was cleaned in 1958. During the cleaning it was discovered to have been
overpainted twice. The second overpaint was for one of the Georgian monarchs. However, underneath were
Stuart arms, probably painted for Charles II at the Restoration of the monarchy[14].
These magnificent restored arms now hang on the wall of the north aisle.
By 1992 three memorials were no longer visible inside the church. The one for John Hardwood (1639?) was
covered by the organ in 1939; the second, to two members of the Tirrell family was hidden by the organ that
year; the third, to a member of The family of Rev. Meredith was probably covered by the floor of the new
church room[7].
The octagonal stone font is from the Perpendicular era (15th century). It stands on an octagonal stone base.
Around the bowl are quatrefoil carvings with a rose or a shield in the centre of each one.
Some non-MI images on the internal walls.
Two were likely to have been craftsmen who worked on the early church.
War Memorial, in the wall by the North door
Death is swallowed up in Victory.
[Below which is]
"We who returned from Service & Overseas
& we who served the common cause at home
have placed this tablet here in
gratitude to God Almighty & In memory
of the men from East and West Hagbourne
who gave their lives in the wars of
1914 - 1918 and 1939 - 1945".
One former resident, James Ethelbert Berry, (b.1894 and baptised here on 25 Aug 1895)
was killed at Gallipoli in 1915 and the Helles Memorial is the only place where he is commemorated.
See next page.
This final image is of a headstone in the churchyard's South Portion. It commemorates Joseph and
Sarah Napper who were of the Boot Inn. There is a fleur de lis decoration above their names and there
used to be a kerb, though this has gone. Joseph's daughter, Mira Andrews, was buried nearby in the plot
next to the grave of Frederick and Elizabeth Napper (Frederick was Joseph's brother). She was Andy's
great grandmother.
Although for many centuries East Hagbourne was in Berkshire, as a result of boundary changes the
village is now in Oxfordshire. However, the parish registers are held by the Berkshire Record Office.
The parish also includes Coscote and West Hagbourne.
There is more onsite information:
 Our Genealogy
Or visit the GENUKI site:
What's
in a name - The Surname Andrews (opens in a new window)
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References and notes on the text:
[1] "Kelly's Berkshire Directory " (1848), Kelly and Co., London, p1988
[2] "Kelly's Directory of Berkshire", (1899), Kelly's Directories Limited,
London - High Holborn, WC, pp81-2. The population of North Hagbourne (Didcot New Town) was included with that of East Hagbourne.
[3] "Kelly's Directory of Berkshire", (1915). North Hagbourne,
or New Town, was still included under East Hagbourne.
[4] Gelling, Margaret, "The Place Names of Berkshire, Part II" (1974) English
Place Names Society, p.519
[5] With grateful thanks to the former West Hagbourne Village History Group and Sheila Taylor
in particular for help with this. For more information see the history of West Hagbourne: "Windsor Hakeborne:
the Story of West Hagbourne" (2000) pub. West Hagbourne Village History Group.
[6] "Grantham Journal", 4 Sept 1886 and
"Berkshire Chronicle", 11 Sept 1886. Berkshire obituaries for for Reverend Richard Meredith.
[7] Kersey, Dr. Hugh A. (1992) "In the churchyard, many stones readable in 1939,
were unreadable, in poor condition or had disappeared by 1992." From "MIs from Church & Churchyard"
Recorded by Chas. Girling and M. Goodey (1939). Retyped & Updated by Dr. Hugh A. Kersey.
[8] Kersey (see reference above) wrote that many of the older memorials in the old cemetery
on Main Road, mainly the kerbs, were removed in the 1970s without recording. When we revisited the old cemetery in 2015 the Council
were no longer carrying out maintenance and it was very overgrown. Today they are leaving much to nature, but mowing walkways to
give a degree of access.
[9] "Reading Mercury", 24 July 1886.
[10] "Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette", 20 Oct 1883.
[11] "Berks and Oxon Advertiser", 10 Sept, 1909
[12] Lysons Daniel, "Magna Britannica of Berkshire", reprinted 1978, EP Publishing
Ltd., East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire ISBN 0 71588 1313, p.284.
[13] "Reading Mercury", 21 March 1885. The New Reredos in the Parish Church.
[14] "Country Life", 18 September 1958.
A Coat of Arms Restored. Letter from M. C. Farrar Bell. |
