BEENHAM
Beneham (xiii cent.); Beyham (xvi cent.).
The parish of Beenham lies to the south-west of
Reading. The parish was commonly miscalled Beenham Valence (fn. 1) in the 18th century, and, although the
confusion was pointed out and corrected by Lysons,
the mistake is still made, particularly in reference to
the vicarage. (fn. 2)
The parish contains 1,816½ acres, of which over
1,000 are arable land. Of the remainder 204 acres
are woods and plantations. (fn. 3) The subsoil is mainly
Woolwich and Reading Beds and London Clay. The
land lies more than 300 ft. above the ordnance
datum near the village of Beenham, but is considerably
lower near the Kennet and Avon Canal, which forms
part of its southern boundary. The Bourne stream
flows north-east, forming part of the parish boundary,
and another small stream flows in the same direction
further south. The Reading road from Newbury,
the only main road in the parish, for a short distance
forms one of the boundaries. The little village lies
some distance from the church of St. Mary and the
vicarage. Beenham Stocks, to the north-east of the
church, contains a few houses, the chief being Stocks
Farm, so called from the village stocks, of which the
remains lately existed. Further south is Hall Place
Farm, formerly in the possession of the Hildesley (or
Ilsley) family and mentioned in 1591. (fn. 4) Beenham
Grange, now the residence of Mrs. Henry Waring,
widow of the late Henry Waring of Beenham House,
was known in the 17th century as Beenham Farm, (fn. 5) the
manorial court being then held there. (fn. 6) It was, however, separated from the manor with part of the
demesne lands in the first half of that century. The
farm was converted into a residence by the late Henry
Waring. Beenham House was built by Sir Charles
Rich on the site of an older house, probably the
residence of the Perkins family who held the second
manor. It is now the residence of Lieut.-Colonel
William Wheat Waring, the lord of the manor. It
is surrounded by a park containing about 150 acres,
laid to grass by his father, the late Henry Waring.
Aldermaston station, on the Hungerford branch
of the Great Western railway, is in the south-east of
Beenham parish not far from the canal. A bronze
palstave dug up in the parish is now in Reading
Museum. (fn. 7)
Thomas Stackhouse (1677–1752) was vicar of
Beenham from 1733 to the time of his death. He
was the author of various religious works, of which
his New History of the Holy Bible from the Beginning of
the World to the Establishment of Christianity, published
in its final form in 1737, was the most important.
It is said to have been written in the bar parlour of
'Jack's Booth.' He also published a life of Bishop
Atterbury and an abridgement of Burnet's History of
His Own Times. Stackhouse died at Beenham, where
there is a monument to his memory in the church. (fn. 8)
There is a Methodist chapel here.
MANORS
BEENHAM is not mentioned in the
Domesday Survey, but it seems probable
that in 1086 it was attached to the
extensive royal manor of Reading and that the greater
part of the parish was included in the grant of that
place to Reading Abbey by Henry I. In the 13th
century Beenham belonged to the monastery, (fn. 9) and in
1276 the abbot had free warren in Beenham, (fn. 10) 'in
the manor of Reading.' In 1291 it was described
as a hamlet attached to Reading. (fn. 11) This property
remained in the possession of the abbey (fn. 12) until the
Dissolution, when its annual value amounted to
£25 7s. 8d., (fn. 13) but no manor of Beenham is mentioned
until after the Dissolution. The tenants had
probably always hitherto owed suit at the manor court
of Reading, but in the 17th century a court was
undoubtedly held at Beenham. (fn. 14) In 1544 Henry VIII
granted the manor of Beenham, together with 37
acres of wood lying to the east of Beenham Manor
and the woods called Cowhill Grove, Shrub Wood
and High Grove, to Henry Norreys, afterwards Lord
Norreys of Rycote and his wife Margery in tailmale. (fn. 15) On the death of Lord Norreys in 1601 (fn. 16)
the manor descended to his grandson and heir Francis,
who was created Earl of Berkshire in 1620–1, (fn. 17) and
sold the manor and woods in 1622, shortly before
his death, to Sir Peter Vanlore, a Dutch merchant. (fn. 18)
The history of Vanlore's property is difficult to trace,
since after his death in 1627 (fn. 19) it was divided between
his son Sir Peter Vanlore the younger and his four
daughters or their heirs. In the list of his property
only a capital messuage and farm of Beenham are
mentioned, (fn. 20) but in 1638 an estate described as the
manor of Beenham was assigned to the younger Sir
Peter as his son and heir. (fn. 21) Beenham Farm, where
the courts were held, with part of the demesne
lands and the woods mentioned in the grant of
Henry VIII, passed on the death of the second Sir
Peter in 1644–5 to Mary the wife of the Earl of
Stirling, one of his daughters and co-heirs. (fn. 22) This
property belonged in the early 19th century to the
Marquess of Downshire and others, from whom it
was bought by Sir Charles Rich. (fn. 23) The remaining
property of the Vanlores in Beenham was still called
the manor of Beenham, but its possession was disputed
by the descendants of Anne and Elizabeth, two of the
daughters of the elder Sir Peter Vanlore. (fn. 24) Elizabeth
married John Vanden Bempde, but died before her
father (fn. 25) and her share in the property afterwards passed
to her son John. Anne was the wife of Sir Charles
Adelmar alias Caesar, (fn. 26) and
her share was inherited by her
daughters, Jacobina the wife
of Sir Henry Anderson and
Anne the wife of Thomas
Levingston. There are a large
number of documents referring to the division of the
Vanlore property and dealing
with shares in the manor of
Beenham. (fn. 27) John Vanden
Bempde died before 1635,
having failed to get possession
of the manor before his death,
but in 1659 (fn. 28) his brother
Abraham obtained a release of
half the manor from Sir Richard
(son of Jacobina) Anderson. (fn. 29)
In 1661 Abraham Vanden
Bempde petitioned the House of Lords for relief against
Thomas Levingston and his wife respecting the possession of the manor of Beenham. (fn. 30) Perhaps in consequence of this petition he obtained the whole
estate, (fn. 31) although his position cannot have been fully
secured, since in some depositions of 1695–6 he was
called 'the reputed lord of the manor' and the
'reputed owner' of various woods in the parish. (fn. 32)
The manor passed to John Vanden Bempde of Pall
Mall, probably the son of Abraham. (fn. 33) He and his
wife Temperance owned the manor in 1710, (fn. 34) and
were succeeded by their only daughter and heir
Charlotte Vanlore, who married first the first Marquess
of Annandale and secondly Colonel Johnstone. (fn. 35) On
her death in 1762 Beenham passed to her son George,
the third marquess, (fn. 36) who died unmarried in 1792. (fn. 37)
His property in Beenham passed to his half-brother
Richard (fn. 38) and was sold in the following year to Sir
Charles Rich, bart. (fn. 39) The latter was the son of the
Rev. John Bostock, D.D., who had married the
daughter and heir of John Hopson of Beenham, but
he took the name of Rich in 1790. (fn. 40) Sir Charles
Rich died in 1824, (fn. 41) and Beenham Manor passed
to his son and heir Sir Charles Henry Rich, (fn. 42) who
sold it in 1834 (fn. 43) to Maj.-Gen. Dickson. It passed
to his son Col. Samuel Dickson and to the latter's
brother Capt. William Thomas Dickson. (fn. 44) The latter,
then lieutenant-general, was lord of the manor in
1883. It was bought from him in 1885 by Mr. Henry
Waring, whose only son Lieut.-Colonel W.W. Waring
is lord of the manor.
Vanden Bempde. Party gules and vert a chief or with a demieagle having two heads sable therein and a castle or in the gules and five like castles set saltirewise in the vert.
Lands were held under Reading Abbey by a family
taking their surname from the parish. In 1240, after
the death of Robert of Beenham, son of Robert son
of Robert, the possession of 2 hides of land here was
disputed between his uncle Master Richard of Beenham
and the latter's sister-in-law Alice widow of the second
Robert. (fn. 45) William son of William Beenham held
lands there in 1289, (fn. 46) and John Beenham died seised
of tenements in Beenham and Bradfield in 1338. (fn. 47)
The whole parish was not granted to Reading
Abbey, for in the 16th century a manor of BEENHAM was held of the lords of Bradfield.
In 1348 Thomas Colle had free warren in Beenham. (fn. 48)
His lands here apparently descended to the Perkins
family. In 1524 Thomas Perkins died seised of lands
in Beenham held as above. (fn. 49)
His son and heir Richard probably inherited his lands, (fn. 50) but
they afterwards passed to a
younger branch of the family.
In 1571 Henry Perkins, presumably the nephew of
Richard, held property described as the manor of Beenham. (fn. 51) He died in 1589–90,
his heir being his son Richard. (fn. 52)
The Perkins family were noted
for their adherence to the old
religion, and Richard was fined
as a recusant, his Beenham
lands being his chief property. (fn. 53) He died in 1605,
and they passed to his brother John, (fn. 54) who held the
manor in 1634. (fn. 55) John Perkins was probably the
first of his family to conform, and in 1606 (fn. 56) he
claimed freedom from the recusancy fines on this
account. That he afterwards reverted to Roman
Catholicism seems probable, since in 1654 John
Perkins of Beenham compounded for his estates as a
recusant. (fn. 57) His son John (fn. 58) succeeded him, and may
perhaps be identified with the John Perkins of Beenham who was churchwarden there in 1658, (fn. 59) so that
he also had conformed. He died in 1665. (fn. 60) His
son John had presumably predeceased him, since the
manor of Beenham came into the possession of his
brother Richard in that year. (fn. 61) Richard was in seisin
in 1671–2 (fn. 62) and may be the 'Mr. Perkins' who was
buried at Beenham in 1676. (fn. 63) His son Richard, who
died in 1700, (fn. 64) left four daughters. It was sold in
1703 to Sir Charles Hopson, whose granddaughter
and ultimate heir Mary married the Rev. John Bostock.
Their younger son Charles took the name of Rich
(see above). (fn. 65)
Perkins. Or billety and a fesse dancetty erminees.
The family of Englefield had an estate in Beenham
in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, (fn. 66) which was
bought by Elizabeth (widow of Thomas) Englefield,
who died in 1544, from Thomas Toony. (fn. 67) In 1726
it was in the possession of Francis Hawes and his
wife Susan. (fn. 68) It followed the descent of an estate in
Bucklebury and presumably lay near the boundary of
Bucklebury parish where there is now a farm called
Beenham Hatch Farm.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN is a small modern building
consisting of a chancel with a north vestry
and organ chamber, a nave of five bays with north
and south aisles, a south porch and a west tower.
An old print of the former church on this site shows
some 13th-century lancets and a 16th-century window.
This building was struck by lightning in 1794 and
burnt to the ground. Another was then erected, of
which the present tower is a part. The nave being
considered plain and ugly was in 1859 pulled down to
make room for the present one, which is in the 14thcentury style. The walls are of flint with stone
dressings. The tower is of brick in three stages with
a plain parapet and small angle pinnacles and the roofs
throughout are tiled. All the internal fittings are
modern except a Jacobean table in the vestry.
There was until recently a brass to William Carter,
who died in 1586, but this is now lost. A sketch in
the vicar's possession shows the upper half of the
figure of a man in a robe with the inscription
below.
There is a ring of six modern bells.
The plate consists of a silver cup of 1817 and a
stand paten of 1805, a second paten of 1824, a silver
flagon of 1856 and a second chalice of 1905. There
is also a pewter flagon said to have been made in
1610. The lid is marked with a lion passant, leopard's
head, a small bell in a shield and the initials TC in
another shield.
The first register begins in 1562, but contains a
few entries for 1544, the second contains baptisms
and burials from 1778 to 1812, and the third has
marriages from 1754 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The church of Beenham probably
was granted to Reading Abbey at
the same time as the manor. It
appears in the list of churches confirmed to the
monastery by Archbishop Hubert (1193–1205). (fn. 69)
In another confirmatory charter granted by Robert
Bishop of Salisbury, probably Robert Bingham (1229–46), a vicarage is mentioned. (fn. 70) At the time of the
Dissolution the value of the rectory was £3 6s. 8d.
a year. (fn. 71) The vicarage was then valued at £7 17s. (fn. 72)
The rectory and the advowson of the vicarage
were granted by Henry VIII to Lord Norreys, with
the manor, (fn. 73) and until the middle of the 17th century
they followed the same descent. (fn. 74) In 1660 Constantine Skinner presented, (fn. 75) but both the rectory and
advowson seem to have finally come to the Vanden
Bempde family. In 1677 Abraham Vanden Bempde
and his wife Mary, possibly reserving certain rights
in the advowson to themselves, sold it to Alexander
Blagrave, (fn. 76) who is mentioned as the patron of the
living by Elias Ashmole, (fn. 77) but it does not appear at
what date they sold the rectory. In three documents (fn. 78) relating to the manor of Beenham the rectory
and advowson are mentioned as the property of the
lord of the manor, but neither was in the possession
of the Marquess of Annandale or of his successor when
the manor was purchased by Sir Charles Rich. (fn. 79)
The tithes came by marriage to Philip Lybbe Powys,
who sold them in 1802 to Sir Charles Rich. (fn. 80)
The advowson passed from Alexander Blagrave to
Nathaniel Knight, who presented in 1686, 1688
and 1690. (fn. 81) It then came into the possession successively of Thomas Goddard and Mary Forster, of
whom the latter presented in 1733. (fn. 82) In 1753 and
1757 presentation was made by the Rev. Thomas
Horton. (fn. 83) It passed to his daughter Mary, the wife
of the Rev. Thomas Stevens, vicar of Beenham, (fn. 84) who
presented to the living in 1788, 1808 and 1810. (fn. 85)
Mrs. Bushnell owned the advowson in 1847, and was
later succeeded by the Rev. T. H. Bushnell, the present
patron.
A pension of 1s. yearly, paid by the vicar of
Beenham to Reading Abbey, was assigned to the
sacrist. The grant of the rectory to Lord Norreys
in 1544 included the pension, (fn. 86) and it passed to
Sir Peter Vanlore with the rectory. (fn. 87)
CHARITY
Church Lands.
— The vicar and
churchwardens are in possession of
three cottages and 3 r. 39 p. of land,
producing £12 10s., applied for the repairs of the
church.