{"id":97,"date":"2015-04-15T21:07:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T21:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/?page_id=97"},"modified":"2018-09-28T22:04:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-28T22:04:30","slug":"places","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/places\/","title":{"rendered":"Places"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Geography:…Click here for AREA MAP<\/a>……<\/em>or here for tour map<\/em><\/a><\/h6>\n

This page takes us on a tour of our ancestral lands in Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire) and makes no attempt to highlight places of interest beyond those which relate to our family and its branches.\u00a0 However, as you travel, you will pass or come near to a large number of intensely beautiful villages, churches, farm and hill lndscapes and countless historical sights.\u00a0 You should allow at least a full day, but more would be better.\u00a0 If you have extra time, avail yourself of one of the many \u201ccircular walks\u201d (country paths) throughout the district.\u00a0 They are clearly signposted and are a wonderful escape from the road. Enjoy! It is adviseable to supplement this amateur tour guide with good maps.\u00a0 The Landranger Ordinance Survey Maps are available at any bookstore in the area.\u00a0 You will need #164 and #174.<\/p>\n

Click for details of Venn Mill<\/a>, for\u00a0other family mills<\/a> and for\u00a0Mill research<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The West family as millers go back at least to Daniel & James in the Blewbury, East Hagbourne & Aston Tirrold area.\u00a0 At one point\u00a0 Daniel was at Hine\u2019s Mill in Grove, William Westell West (p4-heretofore referred to as WWW), at Venn Mill,\u00a0 WWW\u2019s\u00a0 brother Daniel at Hanney Mill, and his son Will at Marcham Mill.\u00a0 The same stream (Letcombe or Childrey Brook)\u00a0 runs through all.\u00a0 The road which runs through \u201cWest country\u201d between Venn Mill and Wantage\/Grove is straight and true, built directly upon what many historians believe was the original Roman Road.<\/p>\n

The places are what make our visit so very special.\u00a0 This fact was brought home to me in 1995,\u00a0back in Victoria, when Connie and I were awakened by a telephone call at 5am.\u00a0 It was David Rogers from the Blewbury Mill wanting to let us know that the Mill was for sale.\u00a0 Lacking the million dollars plus, I politely declined.\u00a0 After you\u2019ve seen it, you might think differently.<\/p>\n

STEVENTON<\/strong><\/p>\n

For reasons of driving convenience, the tour begins at Steventon.\u00a0 To reach it from Oxford, take the A34 south past Abingdon and take the Didcot exit, and the Milton interchange toward Harwell & Wantage (A417), and the B4017 north into Steventon. \u00a0 (From Heathrow, take the M4 to the A34 (Newbury \/Oxford) exit and go north, taking the Didcot exit. \u00a0 At Steventon town centre, turn hard left, following the signs on the left to the church and \u201cthe causeway\u201d .\u00a0 Jog right with the road and crossing the railroad tracks, you will see:\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

St. Michael & All Angels Church \u2013 Steventon \u00a0<\/strong>The Causeway is a raised, cobbled pathway which runs between two roads from the churchyard to the railroad and beyond.\u00a0 Where you turned off the B4017, on the southeast corner is #1 the Causeway. This is the property, but probably not the house (too new) in which William Westell, daughter Jane, Daniel, and their children lived.\u00a0 The census of 1841 shows William in Steventon with Jane and new husband Daniel, before the birth of their first son Jabez.\u00a0 The census of 1861 shows Jane and her father with Fred at age 16, Mary at 15, Roseamelia at 8 and Daniel at 5.\u00a0 Father Daniel was working at Hine\u2019s Mill (see story of Jane and Daniel), William (WWW) and Fanny were at Lower Grove Mill and presumably Jabez had left home.\u00a0 At this time, they had a domestic servant named Sarah Higgs.\u00a0 \u00a0 Somewhere in the large churchyard are the faded grave markings of William and Jane Westell and William and Christian Westell.\u00a0 Mr. Arthur Bayliss, who lives at The Old Vicarage at #103 the Causeway, has found an old transcription of the grave markings, made by an earlier parson.\u00a0 In the transcription are the names and dates of the Westells as mentioned, but the grave stones before 1880 are generally unreadable.\u00a0 Perhaps someone can find them.\u00a0 They will most certainly be together.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t find them, the 1200 year old yew tree in the churchyard is worth the trip.\u00a0 (The yew tree is a standard feature of churchyards in England, since they live for so long and have poisonous berries to keep the animals away). Mr. Bayliss also has a directory of Steventon which lists William Westell as Saddle and Harness Maker in 1854. \u00a0 Across the railroad tracks on your way\u00a0 back, where the road jogs across the causeway, keep going straight into Stocks Lane.\u00a0 Where that road meets the railway was a plot of land known in the 19th century as Westell\u2019s Close, now a brick ruin & fence. (see above).\u00a0 This was the land of two generations of Westells and where William lived with Jane and Daniel in 1841 before moving to the Causeway by 1861.\u00a0 The land has now been largely\u00a0 usurped by the railroad.\u00a0 At the end of the 19th century, W.W.W., who was the executor of his mother\u2019s will, reportedly had somewhat vexing problems with Great Western Railway (later British Rail) over this land.<\/p>\n

Return to the B4017 and go north (left) to Drayton.\u00a0 Turn right at the village green (High Street) and left on Church Lane, just beyond Hall\u2019s Close until you reach (on the left): the Drayton Parish Church. \u00a0Behind the church, five rows from the far end of the churchyard, one grave over, you will find the grave of William (p5), Grandpa John\u2019s oldest brother, and his wife Eleanor.\u00a0 Note the beautiful specimens of yew tree.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

(Click map to enlarge)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"blewbmap2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BLEWBURY AREA\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The six gargantuan water-cooling towers of the Didcot Power station are visible from just about any vantage point in this area.\u00a0 They are coal-fired, not nuclear as they appear.<\/p>\n

Return on the same roads through Steventon, but rather than going back on the A34, continue south (right) on the A4130 and east (left) on the A417.\u00a0 Take the first left after you pass over the A34 at West Hagbourne and drive through, following the signs to East Hagbourne.\u00a0 Entering the village you will see the Parish Church on your right.\u00a0 Turn right at the town cross and park in front of the church.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

East Hagbourne<\/strong> \u2013 St. Andrews Church\u00a0 This is where James (p2) was christened in 1789 and where the family of Daniel and Mary (p1) lived for part of their lives.\u00a0 In addition to the lovely and well kept Parish Church and churchyard, this is one of the most beautiful old tudor and thatch villages I\u2019ve seen in England.<\/p>\n

Return to the town cross and continue through the village, and at the next town cross, take the 4016 south (right) toward Blewbury for about a mile. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On your left you will see a sign for West Hagbourne Mill\u00a0 still there but redeveloped.\u00a0 It is famous for the invention of blotting paper. Opposite, there was a a sign for Blewbury Mill.\u00a0 There seems to be nothing left of the latter mill from the closest vantage point I could find without alerting the current owner.\u00a0 Neither of these mills are the historical homes of the Wests, although the existence of either could explain why James West (p2) lived in Aston Tirrold and his father Daniel (p1) in West Hagbourne in the earlier part of their lives.\u00a0 A likely scenario is that at some point in the late 18th century, Daniel (p1) took over the Old Mill in Blewbury, having been at one of the two above mills and his son James worked one of these mills, while living less than a mile away in Aston Tirrold until the death of his father (approximately 1817).\u00a0 By existing footpath the three mills, \u201cHagbourne\u201d, \u201cBlewbury\u201d and \u201cOld Blewbury\u201d are less than a mile apart.<\/p>\n

Continuing on the 4016 south to the 417, turn left for 2 k and left again on Spring Lane towards Aston Tirrold. \u00a0After a hard right and left, you will\u00a0reach the\u00a0United Reformed Church on the right.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"astontirrold\"<\/a>Aston Tirrold<\/strong>\u00a0is the birthplace of Daniel (p3) in 1813 and where James West\u2019s family lived before moving to live at the old Blewbury Mill after 1817. \u00a0Nearby St. Michael\u2019s Church was the source of the records (now in Reading and Oxford) which show the baptisms of Daniel and his brother William (who died at the age of 14), but this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the Parish Church was the site of his baptism.<\/p>\n

Curiously there is another volume of church records available for Aston Tirrold from the Geneology Centre.\u00a0 The burial of one of Daniel\u2019s sisters: Ann in 1817 (probably in infancy) is recorded here.\u00a0 A long tradition of alternative churches to the Church of England in the West family makes it likely that this beautifully restored old brick church housed the congregation to which James and his family belonged.<\/p>\n

Return on this road to\u00a0the\u00a0 A417.\u00a0 At this point you can go right to Blewbury, or if you have lots of time (an extra hour), drive up to visit the village of Aldworth and the historic roots of the Aldworth family:\u00a0 Take the A417 southeast\u00a0 (left) 4 miles to Streatley .\u00a0 As you approach the \u201cT\u201d junction, (white house with bay window) turn right onto A329 and shortly when you see a sign to the left for Goring, turn right just before \u201cthe Bull\u201d pub at their carpark sign.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

It is a very narrow lane and easily missed, but this is the B4009 to:\u00a0 Aldworth.\u00a0 Gordon Hope paints a fascinating scenario of a tribe of Angles or later Saxons travelling from the flatlands of East Anglia to Stonehenge and encountering the relative safety and beauty of this hilltop location on the downs (hill country), founding the village of \u201cElleorde\u201d, later Aldworth, prospering in the subsequent centuries and \u201cspreading over much of the County of Berkshire, forming\u2026.a solid backbone of yeoman farmers, yeoman farmers, tanners and successful Bristol and London merchantmen.\u201d \u00a0 The parish church is constructed of \u201cflintstone\u201d, fist sized boulders, set in mortar and broken off to expose the black shiny inner\u00a0 material.\u00a0 The church has been refurbished with red brick in places. \u00a0 The main attraction in the church is the \u201cAldworth Giants\u201d: stone effigies of members of a prominent 14th c. Aldworth family.\u00a0 In the churchyard, there is an ancient yew tree which saw the last millenium, but is looking as if it might not see the next.\u00a0 Elsewhere the small village is constructed of what appears to be the building material of choice in this area of the downs: red brick and flintstone.\u00a0 The trip is well worth it for the excellent panoramic views of the flat lands below.\u00a0 Streatley and Goring are two very pretty towns across the Thames from each other, with locks and dam spillways in between.<\/p>\n

Return as you came, proceeding on the A417 into Blewbury.\u00a0 Just before you leave the village, turn right on Westbrook Street.\u00a0 (If you see a sign for Sebastapol Wines, you have gone too far.) At the end of Westbrook street, turn right on Church End;\u00a0 past the Post Office, bear left at the next intersection (Berry Lane), past Millbrook Close on the right and take the next left at the sign on a stone wall which says \u201cthe Beeches\u201d.\u00a0 Take the left fork and keep going until the road ends at:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"oldblewbury\"<\/a>The Old Blewbury Mill<\/strong> \u00a0 Family history has this as the place of work of millers Daniel West (p1-previously thought to have been named \u201cJames\u201d); and James (p2).\u00a0 Family tradition notwithstanding, it is not at all clear how Daniel (p1) could have travelled from East Hagbourne to operate the old Blewbury Mill. \u00a0 More likely he worked for at least part of the time at one of the previously mentioned mills and then at the Old Mill until his death. \u00a0 It is likely that James lived with his family,\u00a0 growing to five children in the cramped quarters of the mill from 1817 until the attached house was built. (see photo, left side) . \u201cJoseph Lousley, the tenant of the Manor, wrote to his landlord in 1824, \u2018I have built the House at the Mill.\u2019\u00a0 Before 1824,\u00a0 the miller had lived in the cramped quarters of the mill itself.\u201d1. \u00a0 This mill is possibly one of the mills listed in the\u00a0 Domesday Book.\u00a0 It was always leased with the Manor until its sale from the Wantage estate (to Henry Prior). \u00a0 The Priors, Henry and son John, were the millers for the later half of the 19th century\u2026.Miss Prior, John\u2019s sister, died in 1958, aged 93 years. \u00a0 \u00a0 Mary Irish\u00a0 and Percy visited Miss Prior in the 1950\u2019s and were shown a painting of a woman wearing a Dolly Varden bonnet, probably Susannah Prior. \u00a0 The owner of the mill at this time was Mr. Boumfrey, a well known author and BBC Director.\u00a0 In the 60\u2019s they visited again and the Mill had been converted to three separate dwellings. \u00a0 The previous owner was\u00a0 David Rogers, of the Rogers Sugar family, retired Head of Special Collections Division at the Bodelian Library at Oxford University.\u00a0 The current owners are Helen and Dermot Mathias who have restored it beautifully after many years of occupation by \u201csquatters\u201d.\u00a0 The Mill is in a beautiful setting which is a \u201cmust see\u201d on the tour.<\/p>\n

Return as you came, to the A 417 and go west (right) a substantial distance to Wantage.\u00a0 As you enter the outskirts of Wantage (on Charlton Road). 100 yards beyond the Lord Nelson Pub on the right hand side. \u00a0N<\/em>otice the substantial red brick house at #49, home of Herbert and Doris Smith, \u00a0 built by Herbert \u201cin his spare time\u201d. \u00a0 Continue west on the A417, following the signs to the town centre and market square.\u00a0 Park here.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

WANTAGE AREA<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Click map to enlarge)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"wantmamp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the western edge\u00a0is the Wantage Parish Church. In 1545, Alice Aldworth of West \u201cHacbourne\u201d left 16 pence for the installation of a \u201cfleur de Lys\u201d decorated bell, which still hangs on the east side of the tower. A later Aldworth grandfather became lost on the Lambourn downs in a fog.\u00a0 When he finally found his way back,\u00a0 he gave money to the Wantage Parish Church to ring a curfew every night at 8pm to guide travellers.\u00a0 Mary Irish remembers the bells playing hymns as a girl, particularly the \u201cAngel\u2019s Hymn\u201d.\u00a0 Indeed, to this day, the playing of this hymn is mentioned in the town\u2019s tourist map. \u00a0While you are in the square walk down to the right (Mill Street) and see The Baptist Church (also known as Zion Chapel) \u2013 built by William Aldworth (b.1818 ), an impressive display of masonry skills and an illustration of his prosperity in the community.<\/p>\n

Return to your car and complete the circle around the square, turning right into Newbury St. (A4494\u00a0 to Newbury), the next left (Ormond St.) and the next right on Chain Hill.\u00a0 Turn right into the cemetery, turn the car around, exit the cemetery and park at the bottom of Chain Hill next to the large brick apartment building, across the street from the bottom end of the cemetery.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Chain Hill Cemetery.<\/strong>\u00a0 Cross the street, enter the lower gate and on the left, 2 rows from the fence, you will find the sandstone, somewhat deteriorated graves of William Aldworth 1871-1909, probably the last son of William Aldworth (b. 1848) and his second wife Mary Ann 1835-1911,\u00a0 who is remembered on the same grave marking.\u00a0 The graves\u00a0 of William and Emma Aldworth (in the older, \u201cnon conformist area of the cemetery)\u00a0 are not visible but are probably one of the nearby graves that are weathered beyond readability.\u00a0 In any case, a volume of tombstone inscriptions can be found in the Oxford Library (COS) which confirms their grave in this cemetery.<\/p>\n

Return via Ormond St. and straight ahead at the junction with Newbury St. you will see:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Royal Oak Pub\u00a0<\/strong> which was run by Charles Collins, a brother of Herbert Collins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turn right on Newbu<\/em><\/span>ry St. and just before the square, note on the right:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The National Westminster Bank<\/strong>, a red-tiled, obviously re-furbished building.\u00a0 This was the house (or its replacement) on Newbury St. in which William and Emma lived until Emma died in 1857.<\/p>\n

Turn left into the square, right at the end of the square and left into\u00a0 Mill Street.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The big mill at the bottom of the street is Clark\u2019s Mill.<\/strong> Mary Irish went to Miss Bayley\u2019s School with Freda Clark. (Willoughby\u2019s Mill is in Lock\u2019s Lane).<\/p>\n

Continue past the Baptist Church and the Park, up the hill to the double round-about.\u00a0 Note the\u00a0 brick building across the intersection on the left.\u00a0 This is:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Camel a house<\/strong> now owned by the convent across the street, where William Aldworth and his family moved after the death of Emma.\u00a0 I spoke with a sister from the convent who told me that the order had purchased the property around 1870 (probably from the estate of William).<\/p>\n

Continue west toward East Challow on the 417 and drive through East Challow.\u00a0 As you leave East Challow you see on the right:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Nalder & Nalder<\/strong> (now Challow Industries), a large stone building with a fan shaped window over the front door.\u00a0 This is where Percy West (p5) apprenticed to be a pattern maker in the late 19th century and later worked until 1913.<\/p>\n

Continue on the 417 past the West Challow exit on your left, past the Denchworth (Circourt Rd.) exit on your right, up a hill, and take the next left before the brick house down a bumpy frost-heaved concrete road.\u00a0 At the end of the drive is:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"garlandsfarm\"<\/a>Garlands Farm.<\/strong> This is the farm where family history has it that William Smith, grandfather of Jane Westell lived.\u00a0 Daniel West\u00a0 moved there in later years. \u00a0 It is now owned by his son James\u2019\u00a0 wife,\u00a0 Brenda West.\u00a0 The house is an impressive two story brick building.\u00a0 Story has it that William Smith\u2019s initials are carved in a table in the house.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the present owners don\u2019t know anything about it.\u00a0 Like all the cousins, Brenda and son Joe West are most delightful and friendly people.<\/p>\n

Continue on the 417 (Faringdon Rd.) and turn left and south on B 4001 (New Rd.) through Childrey.\u00a0 As you leave town up a hill, you will notice the rather deep treed trench which the road occupies as it approaches the B4507.\u00a0 This is:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Childrey Holloway<\/strong>, where an Aldworth ancestor was murdered by highwaymen in the 17th century while returning to Wantage after buying a horse at an auction.<\/p>\n

At this point, if you have a full day or more, you might wish to travel the road on which the Venn Mill family took a once-a-year outing in a horse drawn trap to White Horse Hill.\u00a0 If so, turn right on the B4507\u00a0 for about 3.5 kilometers and turn right through Kingston Lisle.\u00a0 Three kilometers further, towards Baulking, just before the railroad tracks, you will come to Hale\u2019s Farm.\u00a0 (If you don\u2019t have the time, skip over Hale\u2019s farm and White Horse hill to the directions to Letcombe Basset.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

(Click map to enlarge)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"wantwest2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hale\u2019s Farm<\/strong> \u2013 During one of the family outings, the horse was tied up at the bottom of White Horse Hill while the family went to the top.\u00a0 Upon their return the trap was there, but the horse was gone.\u00a0 Everyone spread out to look for the horse and Fred came the amazing distance to this farm (10 miles?) to find help.\u00a0 After a few hours, the horse was found near the bottom of the hill, but Fred was lost.\u00a0 Later he showed up with a Mr. Partridge and another horse.<\/p>\n

Return to the 4507 and continure to the car park for:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"whitehorse\"<\/a>White Horse Hill<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 This is a must-see in any case, but all the more enjoyable, imagining such a family outing 100 years ago.\u00a0 The historical markers give lots of information.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you have skipped the last two attractions, continue on the 4001 from Childrey across the B4507 toward Letcombe Bassett.) Returning from the White Horse Hill on the B4507, turn right\u00a0 on the B 4001 until you come toward Letcombe Basset. When the 4001 bears to the right in town, continue right at appropriately-named \u201cGramp\u2019s Hill\u201d (sign to Downs Church) Up the hill, bearing right, you will see on the left:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

St. Michael\u2019s\u00a0 Church<\/strong> and Churchyard (Forster Lane \u2013 park here)\u00a0 There is a volume of tombstone inscriptions of this churchyard\u00a0 which shows that this is the burial place of Thomas Newton.\u00a0 The exterior of the church is not restored but the inside is very nice.\u00a0 This is also a
\nparticularly lovely village and churchyard.\u00a0 As you leave the village, note the picturesque branch of the Letcombe Brook which powered all of the \u201cWest\u201d mills further downstream.<\/p>\n

Go back to the main road and turn right toward Letcombe Regis.\u00a0 There will be lots of twists and turns but follow the signs to Letcombe Regis and after that, to Wantage.\u00a0 When you arrive back at the T junction which is the B417,\u00a0 turn right and\u00a0 take the next right on Ham Rd.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The fork to the right will take you to the beautiful manor called The Ham, or go straight ahead and on the left is the Ham Mill, another\u00a0 restored building in an equally beautiful setting, where W.W.W. and Sarah (b. 1845) lived after their wedding in 1868 until after the birth of first son Will (1869).<\/p>\n

Return on Ham road across the A417.<\/span><\/p>\n

A short distance along Ham Road on the left is a fresh water spring which both Sarah Aldworth and Doris Smith remember drinking from on a hot day as children.\u00a0 By a spring and the brook, near the corner of Lock\u2019s Lane is the location of King Alfred\u2019s Bath, an ancient brick work.\u00a0 The area north and east (where \u201cWantage\u201d is printed on the area map) is\u00a0 called \u201cthe mead\u201d and is the reputed site of King Alfred\u2019s birth. (I heard of the sites described in this paragraph from Mary Irish after I left England, so have not seen them personally.\u00a0 You could be the first!)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"knocker\"<\/a>Continue on Ham Road north to the double roundabout (Camel House corner), turn right on Mill Street (town centre) and\u00a0 just before the town square, turn left on Grove Street (Midland Bank).\u00a0 Where the road turns to the right and on the left side is:#41, Grove Street The pattern for the brass knocker was made by Percy West. \u00a0Since this is a dead-end street, return to the square, turn left and proceed more-or-less straight on to the roundabout.\u00a0 Turn north (left)\u00a0 on the A338 toward:<\/span><\/p>\n

GROVE<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"percbill\"<\/a>On the left and right (past Mably way on the left) , notice Elms\u00a0 Farm<\/strong>\u00a0 and\u00a0a new housing development called Elms Farm Close) where Herbert\u00a0 Collins (b. 1849) and his family lived. This was the centre of the Smith\u2019s large dairy farm.<\/p>\n

Take the first left to Grove (Main St.)\u00a0Continue a very short way down Main St.\u00a0 The next left, just before the gas station, is Mill Lane.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hine\u2019s Mill\u00a0<\/strong> The row house directly in front of you, is where Daniel and Jane West lived until they died in the 1880\u2019s.\u00a0 At the end of the road is\u00a0 beautifully restored Hine\u2019s Mill, where Daniel worked.\u00a0 Gordon and Joyce Entwhistle are the current delightful owners.\u00a0 They are real \u201cMill Buffs\u201d and well worth meeting.<\/p>\n

The next left up Main street is Cane Lane.\u00a0 The third cottage on the right is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Venbrook<\/strong>, (named by Mary Irish), the cottage where Percy lived with his second wife Miriam until their deaths\u00a0 in 1975 and 1989.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Click map to enlarge)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"grovemap\"<\/a>\u00a0Continuing up Main Street, you will pass Mandhill close on the left and an equal distance further will bring you to a black iron fence on left.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the Strict Baptist Chapel<\/strong> and Churchyard.\u00a0 For me, it is the most impressive sight, since it holds the quite readable grave marking of at least three generations of Daniel\u2019s (b. 1720) descendants.\u00a0 Much of the history of this congregation is the history of this branch of the Wests and Aldworths.\u00a0 The grave stones you will find are: Daniel (b. 1813) and Jane, Daniel (B. 1856) and Catherine, Roseamelia and Martin Shepherd (B. 1841), Harriet and Herbert Collins (B. 1849), Miriam and John Smith,\u00a0 Mercy Smith (B. 1857), Lydia Smith, John and Miriam Collins, Joseph and Eunice CollinS, Ann Collins,\u00a0 Stanley Pinnell, Percy West and Miriam, Ruth Collins SmitH,\u00a0 Arthur and Daisy Smith, Billy and Joan Smith, Herbert and Doris Smith, Harry PococK and James West (B. 1856), \u00a0 Mr. Tugwell, a\u00a0 Deacon of this congregation, was a good friend of Percy West and has many stories to tell about Percy and the congregation.\u00a0 He also seems to know a fair amount about the West family.<\/p>\n

Contiinue upMain Street, turning right at the next roundabout (Oxford St.) to the A338, and go north (left) toward East Hanney.\u00a0 Don\u2019t take the first road to West Hanney, take the second left (blind corner).\u00a0 Stay all the way left & the first building on the right will be a: white building which was the bakery and house of Philip and Harriet Long, and the birthplace of Grandma and Uncle Jack. \u00a0 Turn\u00a0 around and take the village road left, past the red phone box turning left on Halls Lane.\u00a0 Follow the road left and then right.\u00a0 At the end of the road take the left fork and you will come to:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

(Click map to enlarge)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"hanneymap\"<\/a>the\u00a0Lower Hanney Mill<\/strong>\u00a0where Daniel West worked for a time and later his son Daniel. \u00a0 Jack\u00a0 Ireson remembers a sign on the mill saying WEST\u2019s MILL although it is likely that this was removed in recent years by some history buff. (Well, really!!!)\u00a0 It is a tall thin building; quite \"hanneymill\"<\/a>unusual, now a residence \u2013 the nearby Mill Cottage is also occupied. Nigel Hammond in his book: White Horse Country (Blackwell, Oxford, 1972) refers to this mill as \u201cWest\u2019s Mill\u201d (pg. 105).\u00a0 Kelly\u2019s Trade Directory for Berkshire shows a West (no initial) at Lower Mill, East Hanney in 1868 and Daniel (W.W.W.\u2019s) brother at the same mill in 1869,77,83,87,91,95,99 & 1903.\u00a0 In the early century, Jack\u2019s father Allan Ireson was a landowner who owned Morlands farm which you pass on your way to the mill.<\/p>\n

Return to the Long\u2019s bakery and continue down that street, following the signs to West Hanney. \u00a0At the town cross, turn left, go past the manor house on the right and straight ahead is:<\/span><\/p>\n

The West Hanney Parish Church<\/strong>.\u00a0 Prominently placed near the front door of the church are the graves of Philip and Harriet Long.\u00a0 To the left of the Church (as you come down the road) is a stone building which was Martin Shepherd\u2019s bakery.\u00a0 To the right is Prior\u2019s Court.\u00a0 An Aldworth relative (?) \u201cWilliam Aldworth took leases on this property in 1840,47,54 & 61.\u00a0 In 1847, New College Oxford (the manor having been granted to them\u00a0 by Henry VI), obtained a valuation (an inventory describing rather large and elaborate house and farm estate. \u00a0 Elsewhere in Hanney, there was a house and farm called \u2018Aldworth\u2019s\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to the A338 and continue north to:<\/span><\/p>\n

(Click map to enlarge)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"garfordmap\"<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Venn Mill \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>(You can\u2019t miss it, and in fact if you don\u2019t slow down, you\u2019ll hit it!)\u00a0 It is thought that the name Venn (spelled Ven in 19th century documents) evolved from Fenn, meaning marshland.\u00a0 Very early documents refer to Fenn Mill.\u00a0 According to the Domesday Book, there was a mill here in 1086. The mill house dates to the 17th century. \u00a0 Recent excavations have uncovered foundations of the earlier house adjoining the mill itself. \u00a0 Kelly\u2019s Trade Directory for Berkshire\u00a0 shows W.W. West at Venn Mill in 1903 and J. West in 1907. \u00a0 William Westell West and Sarah\u00a0 came here first in 1870.\u00a0 The census of 1871 shows W.W.W., Sarah, William, age 1, John Aldworth,\u00a0 (brother of Sarah) at 15 and a domestic servant named Harriet at the Mill house. \u00a0 All the children except for Will were born here as well as Grandpa John and Emma\u2019s\u00a0 second born:\u00a0 Elsie. \u00a0 The census of 1881 shows W.W.W., Sarah, (Will was at Hine\u2019s Mill with Grandpa Daniel), Emma at 9, Asher at 7, Fred at 6, Percy at 3 and Elsie at 1. \u00a0 All the children of W.W.W. and Sarah went to Garford School, which was one mile north.\u00a0 They were taught by Mr. Neville\u00a0 (probably the father-in-law of George Long) and later by Mr. & Mrs. Harris, who particularly liked the Venn Mill children (well disciplined and intelligent).\u00a0 W.W.W. was a visiting inspector of the school, who checked and signed the registers.\u00a0 Betsy Fox was the itinerant nurse who came once a month and when the new babies\u00a0 came.\u00a0 By the 1891 census (the Grove report was in William Westell West\u2019s handwriting and signed by him), Will, Emma and Asher had left , Fred was 16, Percy 13, Elsie 11, John (Grandpa) 9, Mary 6, Heber 4 and Ruth 6 months with no domestic servant in residence.\u00a0 The family shared in the many tasks around the house and mill, baking the bread, making clothes for all the children and brewing the beer, (apparently an acceptable beverage to the Strict Baptist, as opposed to gin) . \u00a0 The nearest town was five miles away in Wantage and the nearest shop one mile away in Garford.\u00a0 The mill complex included meadow lands in which hay was grown.\u00a0 The family had two cows.\u00a0 See also \u201cthe lost apples\u201d story.\u00a0 In 1993, the owner of Venn Mill (not house) was Alan Stoyel, a geologist, who has restored the mill to operating status. It is a \u201cbreastshot wheel\u201d- see diagram.\u00a0 On a Sunday, once a month, June through October, he opens and operates the mill for tourists, grinding flour for the ob-servers.\u00a0 To see, hear and feel the Mill in operation is a memorable experience. (click for Venn Mill page)<\/p>\n

THE LOST APPLES:<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another family story tells of the apples which were brought into the mill house and somehow misplaced.\u00a0 The family could smell them but could never find them, even when they rotted!<\/p>\n

North again on the A338, the building on the left is the Old Schoolhouse, now three dwellings. The next sharp left will take you into:<\/span><\/p>\n

GARFORD<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"garford\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As you enter Garford, there is a manor farm (now H. Walker and Son) with large stone barns directly ahead of you.\u00a0 This was the home and livelihood of\u00a0 Mr. & Mrs. William Long (Philip\u2019s brother)\u00a0 Described as a horse and trap Manor Farm, it was one mile walk from Venn Mill over the fields.\u00a0 It was here on Queen Victoria\u2019s Jubilee in June of 1877 where Mr. Long cleared out a barn and a nearby meadow for a lavish dinner (lots of beer, which Percy remembers \u201csuited some and not others\u201d) and a day of games and merriment. \u00a0 Stop here and walk between the Manor House and the barn and you will come to the St. Luke’s Chapel<\/a>.\u00a0 There is a huge key to the church:\u00a0 as you enter the yard, on the right side of the door of the house, (knock first) on a hook behind a vine.\u00a0 The tiny church houses a grand piano an electric organ and a pump organ.\u00a0 There are short pews in the front, seemingly for choir boys or children.\u00a0 In the Churchyard, in the far right-hand corner away from the church,\u00a0 you will find the graves of Philip Long, William and Eliza Long, and daughter Mary Eliza in addition to the graves of Peter and Emma Hatton.\u00a0 Continuing down the road through the village, you will come to the town hall, a curiously out-of-place wood-frame building and the next building opposite on the right, now called \u201csundial cottage\u201d was Peter Hatton\u2019s shop \u2013 the closest store to Venn Mill.\u00a0 Percy said whenever they had a ha\u2019penny to spend, he went to Mr. Hatton\u2019s shop to buy sweets.\u00a0 Hatton used to chase them because they would taunt him: \u201cPeter Hatton, Peter Hatton had a pig and couldn\u2019t fatten\u2019m.\u201d \u00a0 Mr. Powell was a well-to-do man in the village.\u00a0 His son Claude went to the very upper class \u201cAbingdon School\u201d.\u00a0 Claude came home and told many exaggerated stories and the boys (and Peter Hatton) laughed at him, getting them in much trouble with the wealthy Mr. Powell.<\/p>\n

An alternate and much more \u201catmospheric\u201d approach to Garford, is to follow the route\u00a0used by decades of our ancestors. \u00a0Take the footpath which angles off to the left just north of Venn Mill and intersects with the incredibly narrow road to Garford. \u00a0 Walk all the way through the village toward distant farm buildings and turn left before the buildings on the footpath which goes by an \u201coasis\u201d of trees (the bronze-age burial mound) and intersects with the original path.\u00a0 Turn right to return to your starting point.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leaving Garford, (or Venn Mill) go north on the A338 again and take the\u00a0 right on A 415 to Marcham.\u00a0 At the town centre, turn right (south) on Mill Road (sign to Manor Farm) and go to the end of the road.\u00a0 You will find:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"pigarticles\"<\/a>Marcham Mill,<\/strong> where Grandpa John\u2019s brother Will lived and worked.\u00a0 Since the census of 1881 puts him with Daniel and Jane (at Hine\u2019s Mill (apprenticing),\u00a0 and we know he visited Canada in the mid 1880s, we can estimate that he lived at Marcham Mill from some time in the 1890\u2019s.\u00a0 Letters in the Berkshire Record Office document an Offer of Tenancy by the\u00a0 owner of Marcham Mill, subsequently guaranteed by W.W.W. in 1901.\u00a0 Another offer by the landlord to Will, and Will\u2019s letter of acceptance of 1909 is also there.<\/p>\n

ABINGDON<\/strong><\/p>\n

Continuing east (right) on A 415 (to Dorchester), go through Abingdon.\u00a0 On the left 1-2 blocks, after the clock tower until\u00a0 just before the bridge, turn left and park.\u00a0 At the end of that lane, near the \u201cUnicorn Theatre\u201d sign, you will find a very narrow passage up a stairway to your left.\u00a0 Up the stairs and across a parking lot slightly to your right is a non-descript cement block building which is:<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbey Baptist Chapel (1832) \u2013 This is the chapel where Jane Westell and Daniel West met (previous anecdote) and where William Westell West was baptised. \u00a0 In the years after 1830, a very popular minister, Mr. William Tiptaft, attracted great numbers of people from a large surrounding area to his Sunday sermons.\u00a0 This could explain why William Westell and his family would come all the way from Steventon by horse and trap to attend services.\u00a0 Nearby is a pub which amusingly is the only place church-goers could \u201cpark\u201d their horse and trap; the same was true in Grove. \u00a0 Billy Smith and his family still come from Grove and are a back-bone of the present congregation.\u00a0 The Chapel was externally renovated in the 1950s, but it is the original building.<\/p>\n

Thus ends our tour.\u00a0 There are far too few Wests in England now, so I\u2019m not going to tell you how to get out of here!!\u00a0 Actually, before you leave England, be sure to take another day to drive to:<\/p>\n

OPTIONAL TRIPS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stowford, Trowbridge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take the a338 south to the M4, go east into Wiltshire and south on the A350,\u00a0and Bath Rd.\/A4 to Corsham. \u00a0Then take Bradford Rd.\/B3109 and Frome Rd. to Stowford.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The impressive manor farm and mill of two generations of Bryants.\u00a0 In 1969, Jack and Phil Bryant took me to Farleigh\u2019s Pub at the Farleigh Castle Ruin just up the road, another fascinating place (the ruin, that is).\u00a0 Stowford is now owned and operated by Phil Bryant (junior).\u00a0 The run a B&B and caravan park here.\u00a0 Check their website at: http:\/\/www.stowfordmanorfarm.co.uk\/<\/p>\n

Heathfield, Sussex<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take the M4, west to the M25 (London Orbital), south and east to exit 5 and south on the A21 and B265.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here you will find Steventon, Broak Oak,<\/strong> the house where Auntie Ruth and John Cook lived and Laurel House (just up the street) where William Westell West and Sarah lived\u00a0 after Venn Mill, and the Ebeneezer Strict Baptist Chapel where W.W.W. preached and is buried, along with Sarah and the four daughters.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Geography:…Click here for AREA MAP……or here for tour map This page takes us on a tour of our ancestral lands in Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire) and makes no attempt to highlight places of interest beyond those which relate to our family and its branches.\u00a0 However, as you travel, you will pass or come near to … Continue reading Places<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-97","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1986,"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97\/revisions\/1986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucemore.ca\/west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}