Shrivenham, Berkshire

Description
Shrivenham, a pleasant village and a parish in Berks. The village stands near the Wilts and Berks Canal, 1 mile N of the G.W.R., on which it has a station, and 5 1/2 miles SW of Faringdon. It was once a market-town, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.) The parish includes the tithing of Beckett and the townships of Bour-ton, Fernham, and Longcot. Acreage of civil parish, 6839 of land and 26 of water; population, 716; of the ecclesiastical parish with Watchfield, 1011. The manor with Beckett House belongs to Viscount Barrington. Beckett House is a fine mansion of stone in the Elizabethan style, standing in beautifully wooded grounds of about 150 acres in extent. There are several handsome villas. The living is a vicarage, with Watchfield chapelry, in the diocese of Oxford; joint net value, £195 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is a building of stone of the Jacobean period, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, S porch, and an embattled central tower. It contains many fine tombs and monuments. There is a Wesleyan chapel. The townships of Bourton, Fernham, and Longcot are noticed separately.