History of Church LaneThe centre of Thatcham has developed over a thousand years or more. It is almost certain that The Broadway and The High Street have been present for much of that time. Additionally, it is known that St. Mary's Church was originally built in Norman Times. It therefore seems likely that Church Lane has existed for much of the time as a road joining The High Street to the back entrance to the church. There are records showing that Church Lane existed in 1327, when it was called la Cherchelane. It would probably always have had buildings present at the High Street end, with the church end being meadow land until relatively recently. Interestingly, in the 19th century the road was also known as Front Lane as it was on the opposite side of the high street to Back Lane. References have been found to three major meadows in the area. 'Great Meadow' use to be to the west of Monks Chambers. 'Church Meadow' was to the south of St. Mary's Church. The final meadow was 'Little Meadow' which was the land associated with Monks Chambers. The meadow stretched from the house right down to St. Mary's Church. Around 1795, much of the land in Church Lane was purchased by John Barfield. This purchase included 'Church Meadow', 'Little Meadow', Monks Chambers and much of the land opposite Monks Chambers which separated Church Lane from The Broadway. On this land John Barfield constructed a home for his family, The Priory, as well as the United Reformed Church. Later in the mid-19th century the British School was also built on this land. The earliest map that we have been able to obtain is the 1841 Tithe Map showing the plots, owners, residents and amounts payable in Tithe duty to the church. A sketch of this map is shown below with details of each of the plots in the following table. Of possibly the most interest is that at this time there are three extra cottages in Church Lane, very close to where the British School now stands. It is quite likely that these cottages were purchased by John Barfield and demolished shortly after this map was produced. Also, the listing of residents proves that Monks Chambers was originally divided into four separate cottages.
The layout of Church Lane has changed very little from the 1800s. By 1911 the three cottages (1213, 1214 and 1215) had been demolished and replaced by the British School. Also, The Priory had had an extension added to its rear. The expansion of Thatcham to the west had also commenced with new buildings on the meadow adjoining Crown Inn. Also, the rear of Crown Inn had been demolished. These can all be seen on the map below, which is based on a 1911 O/S map.
This slow pace of change can be confirmed in the 1920s land registry map below.
During the 1960s and 70s there was a great amount of house building in Thatcham and many new houses were built on the meadow land surrounding Church Lane. The 'Great Meadow' was used to build Meadow Close in 1966. 'Church Meadow' was used to build various houses that now form part of Church Gate. The 'Little Meadow' was sold off in three pieces between 1969 and 1987 with each piece used to build an additional house. The final house was built by a previous owner of Monks Chambers, Denise Cochrane. She then moved into this house and sold Monks Chambers at the end of 1986. The current map of Church Lane shows the properties built on the 'Little Meadow' plus two fitted in between The Priory and the United Reformed Church and a new No 1, along with all of the older properties that still exist in Church Lane.
The remainder of this page will provide history for each of the individual properties in Church Lane. The listings are arranged based on the age of the property. St. Mary's ChurchSt. Mary's Church was originally built in Norman times, but was rebuilt extensively in the 13th, 15th and 19th centuries.
Monks ChambersMonks Chambers was build in approximately 1540. Please explore the rest of this site for more information. Monks Chambers is Grade II listed by English Heritage. The PrioryThe Priory was the home of the Barfield family. It was built in approximately 1795 for John Barfield. The Barfields lived in the house until the late 1800s. The Priory is currently owned by West Berkshire Council and is used as an education establishment. This property is Grade II listed by English Heritage.
Nos 2 & 3These two cottaged were built in approximately 1804. They were attached to the northern wall of Monks Chambers and as flush against Chuch Lane. The properties are primarily of brick construction with a variety of different bonds. There are some timbers present in the walls, although these are almost certainly timbers taken from older buildings or possibly decomissioned ships. During their life these houses have seen a variety of roles, including being used as residences for the various caretakers of the British School. Other interesting features of these houses are that they have cellars.
Independent Chapel / United Reformed ChurchThe United Reformed Church was build in 1804 by John Barfield. When it was first built there were often distrubences, marred by fruit throwing, when members of the congregation went to attend services there. The church is built from bricks which originally came from the old Dunston Manor which was demolished in 1795. The church is still in use today and services are held regularly on Sunday mornings. John Barfield is buried beneath the Curch and his wife Sarah in its grounds.
The British SchoolThe British School was built in 1846 after much effort and fund raising by Sarah Barfield. This building is now used as a hall attached to the United Reformed Church and hosts everything from amateur dramatics to brownies!
No 1No 1 is currently a bed & breakfast. It was probably built in the 1960s. We suspect that it inherits the address 1 Church Lane from the cottages that used to be opposite it and which were demolished in about 1844 to make way for the British School. Meadow LarkMeadow Lark was built on the first part of the 'Little Meadow' to be sold off. It was built in 1969. Little MeadowLittle Meadow was built on the second part of the 'Little Meadow' to be sold off. It was built in 1977. Nos 1 & 2, DorielDorial is a bungalow split into two parts. The exact date of construction is unknown, but it is extimated to be during the 1970s. BramleysBramleys is the newest house to be built in Church Lane. It was constucted on the last part of the 'Little Meadow' in 1986. Denise Cochrane, a previous owner of Monks Chambers now lives in this house. |
