This book tells the story of the Catholics of the Thames Valley from Henry VIII's break with Rome until Catholic Emancipation nearly three hundred years later.

The area covered consists of pre-1974 Berkshire, southern Oxfordshire and part of south Buckinghamshire. It includes the valleys of Thames tributaries such as the Kennet, Pang, Loddon and Thame, the former great forests of Windsor and Bernwood, the southern Chiltern Hills, the Berkshire Downs, the Vale of White Horse and Ot Moor.

Before the Reformation virtually all English people were Catholics. Although most eventually abandoned Catholicism, a tiny minority remained loyal to the old faith, despite social pressures and the attempts of the authorities to make them conform to Anglicanism. In the Thames Valley the proportion that remained Catholic eventually dropped to about one in a hundred. However, among the gentry the proportion was very much higher. Indeed, it is said that in the south Oxfordshire Chilterns almost one in three of the gentry remained Catholic.

After the Reformation the Thames Valley was neither one of the strongest nor weakest areas of Catholic survival. There were generally too few Catholics to have much influence on their Protestant neighbours. But in some locations there were enough Catholics with good leadership to constitute effective communities. That leadership was usually provided by a Catholic squire, from whose manor house a Catholic priest could exercise his ministry, sometimes at great personal risk.

In Tudor times, just as today, the Thames Valley straddled the great routes from London to the West. It was already becoming a commuter area. Merchants and professionals from London and other parts of the country found the many small estates ideal as country residences, within easy reach of the capital. But the Thames Valley was also home to families who had lived there for centuries.

The people who remained loyal to Catholicism were drawn from both groups. Their little-known story is full of interest and often closely mirrors events of national significance. Many of the places they knew still exist.

The first three chapters of this book set the scene by explaining how Christianity came to the Thames Valley, by briefly examining the Lollard legacy, and by describing the importance of the Thames as a transport route. The remainder of the book tells the story of the Thames Valley Catholics chronologically from 1534 to 1829.

The book is based primarily on published sources, a full list being provided in Appendix B . The research began in earnest in June 1988 and the final draft was completed in July 1991.

The principal libraries used were the Guildhall Library in the City of London, the Local Studies Section of Reading Central Library, and the monastic library of Douai Abbey at Upper Woolhampton, Berkshire. Many of the houses and sites referred to in the book were visited, including a number not normally open to the public.

All the illustrations are by the author. Most show the buildings as they are today, but those of Shiplake Court, Swyncombe House, Hendred House, Greys Court and Shirburn Castle are based on old engravings. The author also researched and drew the location maps.

Although the author is a Catholic much of the impetus for the book came from his wife Rosemary Hadland, a member of the Church of England. The book is therefore dedicated to her in gratitude for her support.

The author also wishes to thank the many people acknowledged in Appendix A , who aided his research in ways great and small.

Conventions Adopted

• England did not adopt the modern calendar until 1 January 1752. Until then the new year began on Lady Day, 25 March. Hence what we would call 13 February 1690 was known to the people of the time as 13 February 1689. That date can therefore be described as 13 February 1689/90, or 13 February 1689 Old Style, or 13 February 1690 New Style. For the sake of simplicity all dates quoted in this book are New Style.
• The county boundaries observed are those that existed at the time. Hence Wantage is referred to as a Berkshire town, Caversham as an Oxfordshire village.
• All spellings have been modernised. Different spellings of the same surname have been standardised where this avoids confusion. For example, Hildesley is the standard form adopted for the many 16th century variants of that name.
• Where the same Christian name was used by successive generations of a family, a suffix has sometimes been added, e.g. William Wollascott IV. Such suffixes are merely devices used by historians for the sake of clarity and were not used by the individuals themselves.
• Approximate present-day equivalents have been quoted for all monetary values referred to in this book. These equivalents are derived from 1989 data supplied by the Bank of England.
• Distances quoted are approximate and 'as the crow flies', unless otherwise indicated.
• The dates in parentheses under chapter titles identify the principal periods covered. Therefore, for example, the dates under the heading 'Charles I' do not cover his whole reign, his latter years being covered by the next chapter.
• The expression 'parish church', when describing a building after 1558, refers to a church used for Anglican worship. The term 'Catholic' is used in its commonly understood sense of Roman Catholic.

Chapter 1 | Small map | Large map in separate window | Contents