68 Facts relating to Wokingham. 



Ashmole in his Antiquities of Berkshire, published 1723, had 

 omitted Wokingham, because, as his editor suspects [vol. i., p. xxx.], 

 the church was in Wiltshire : but (says his editor) " the town itself 

 being in this county, I shall not judge it improper to give the 

 following account of it : — 



OCKINGHAM. 



" Called also Wokingham, is pleasantly situate on an eminence, a large and 

 handsome market Town ; the parish is in eii'cumference twelve, and in length, 

 five miles; in breadth, three, and distant from London, thirty miles. It is 

 bounded on the east by Easthamstead, on the west by Finchamstead, on the 

 north by Barkham, and southward by Hurst. Most of the land in this parish 

 is common, little arable land, the soil generally sandy, some parts clayey and 

 swampy, the profits arising to the Farmers, chiefly fi-om pasturage. Here are 

 three Fairs kept annually, 1., on All-Saints day. 2., the Thursday after Shrove 

 Tuesday. 3., on .June lltb, St. Barnabas. Market day is weekly, on Tuesday. 

 Lord of the manor is Sir Rohert Rich, of Sunning, Kt., and Bart., impropriator 

 Scory Barker, of Chiswick, in 3Iiddlesex, Esq. ; the present Yicar is the Rev. 

 Mr. Benjamin Moody. 



It is also said in Gough's edition of Camden, I. 238, " Oakingham is a large 

 freq[uented Market Town, and corporation, and has a Free School and Hospital, 

 and a Silk Manufacture. 



It gave birth 1517, to Dr. Thomas Godwin, Bishop of Bath and Wells, father 

 of the Bishop of Hereford ; and title of Baron to Prince George of Denmark, 

 1689. Oakingham Church is in "Wiltshire. At Luckley Green in this parish is 

 an Hospital, founded by Henry Lucas, Esq., temp. Charles II. 



The Chapel of this Hospital is supposed to be dedicated to St. Luke. 



A great portion of Wokingham parish was heretofore common. 



believe I have in a brief manner referred to the principal facts in the history of 

 your town, except one, and that is that you had a mint and a coinage here in 

 the reign of Charles II. ; when a great many tradesmen in various towns 



struck copper tokens ; and here is one, 

 which Mr. Prince of Reading gave me. I 

 showed it to parties in Wokingham, but 

 nobody knew anything of its being struck 

 here. However, a clergyman discovered 

 the name in a grave yard, and found that 

 this Mr. William Anderson had been 

 buried in 1691 ; also that he was a person of great consideration, by the register 

 of death. I have given you credit for ha-sdng a mint, beyond mentioning other 

 particulars. The old hall stood for 250 years, and I hope the career of this hall 

 will not be so brief, because I have been in many halls of double the antiquity, that 

 are in as good a condition as when erected. I congratulate you on having now 

 a very handsome building, not only for municipal, but for a great many other 

 good purposes. (Applause.)" 



