1037 



BERKSHIRE. 



BERKSHIRE. 



1038 



ill the parishes of Old and New Windsor, Clewer, and Bray, there 

 are excellent meadows, and some very good arable land, consisting of 

 loam and gravel. To the south, along the hills, which extend at the 

 distance of two or three miles from the river, the soil is a very tena- 

 cious clay, better adapted for grass than for corn. The waters found 

 in the land-springs, and within a certain depth in this soil, are more 

 or less impregnated with sulphates and muriates of soda and magnesia ; 

 BO that in many places mineral wells have been discovered, and 

 occasionally much frequented by invalids for their purgative qualities. 

 Beyond these clay hills, as we go south from the river, the soil becomes 

 lighter, and gradually changes into a poor light loam, then a sand 

 and gravel, which diminishes in fertility till it becomes the poor thin 

 soil of Bagshot Heath, in which the impregnation of carbonate of 

 iron is BO strong as to deposit the iron in the brooks in the form of a 

 rusty powder. 



The old inclosures in the forest were chiefly pastures. The arable 

 land was confined to common fields, which were of inferior value, 

 owing to the right of pasture over them after a certain time of the 

 year. Since the inclosure of the forest, arable land has improved, 

 and pastures have decreased in value. 



Near Iteading there are considerable garden-grounds, the soil being 

 deep and good, and the produce coming earlier to maturity than in 

 any other part of the county. The onions, and still more the 

 asparagus of Reading, arc remarkably fine, and in great demand in 

 the season. Orchards are not numerous. The apples which grow 

 in the Vale, where there are a few good orchards, are mostly sent to 

 London. About Wantage are some cherry orchards, the produce of 

 which in good years is of considerable amount, but it is a very 

 precarious crop. 



Woodt and Coppice. Woods and coppice are scattered over the 

 county, and afford a beautiful feature in its landscapes as viewed 

 from eminences. Considerable quantities of timber are annually 

 felled. The high prices given for good timber during the war have 

 considerably diminished the number of old oaks, but very fine trees 

 may be found in some of the gentlemen's parks, and occasionally in 

 the hedge-rows. 



The coppices in general are valuable ; most of the produce is sent 

 to London in the shape of hoops, broomsticks, and other rough 

 manufactures. They are usually cut every 10 years, and when well 

 managed produce from 10J. to 151. per acre, at every cutting. 



Along the Thames, and in the low islands which are frequently 

 covered with water, there are numerous osier beds, which are cut 

 every year to make baskets, and are generally a valuable property. 



Cattle. The cattle generally met with in Berkshire are imported 

 from Devonshire, Herefordshire, and Yorkshire. The Glamorganshire 

 cows are in considerable repute in some districte, but the breeds are 

 much mixed and crossed, and not always with the greatest attention 

 fr judgment. Alderney cows are annually imported, being preferred 

 for the supply of butter and cream in gentlemen's families. 



A considerable number of horses is bred in Berkshire, chiefly of 

 the cart kind. Many colts are brought young from Northampton- 

 shire, and after being kept for two or three years at light work, are 

 sent to London as dray horses, where in general they bring good 

 prices. In this manner horses used in husbandry, instead of losing 

 in value, are often a source of greater profit than oxen worked two 

 or three years, and then fatted off. 



No great quantity of fat cattle is sent from Berkshire to London. 

 In the eastern part of the county a good many calves are reared, and 

 arc found on the whole more profitable than butter and cheese, and 

 attended with much less trouble ; but the chief advantage of calves 

 is the addition which they make to the dung of the yard, when they 

 have a liberal allowance of straw often renewed. This also consti- 

 tutes the chief profit of keeping pigs. 



Pigi. The breed of pigs in Berkshire is one of the best in 

 England. They are not of a very large size, although many fattened 

 at two years old weigh 20 score when killed, and some even more. 

 The most common weight is from 12 to 15 score : the bone is small, 

 and they fatten at an early age %pd on little food two important 

 qualities. The true Berkshire breed is black with white spots, but 

 some are quite white : their snouts are short, jowls thick, and their 

 ears stand up. A mixed breed, produced by crossing the Berkshire 

 with the Chinese and Neapolitan breeds, possesses improved qualities, 

 although rather susceptible of cold from being nearly without hair ; 

 but they are superior to most breeds for getting rapidly fat, and 

 keeping in excellent condition on pasture, with very little additional 



Prince Albert has some choice breeds of pigs on his Flemish Farm ; 

 as alao have some of the gentry who farm, as well as many farmers. 

 Most of f he cottagers' pigs in the Forest district are of a superior 

 description. Bacon is the principal animal food of the labourers, and 

 they are good judges of its qualities. 



/'. The Berkshire sheep called the 'not' was a large polled 

 sheep, with coarse wool, useful for the fold on cold clay soils, but 

 coarse in the carcass. It is now almost superseded by an improved 

 breed produced by crosses from the old sheep and the Leicesters, 

 and by the South Down, which are now the favourite breeds. Merinos 

 were introduced by George III., who had a flock from Spain ; they 

 were at first in much request on account of the fineness of their 



wool ; but they have not proved a profitable stock. Before the 

 inclosure of Windsor Forest there was a breed of small ragged- 

 looking sheep, with a light fleece of tolerably good short wool, called 

 the heath sheep, which, when fatted at three or four years old, pro- 

 duced the fine-flavoured Bagshot mutton much prized by gourmands. 

 These sheep were bred and kept in the wastes of the forests, and 

 sent annually in large flocks into Buckinghamshire to be folded ou 

 the fallows. Not being well attended to, many of them 'died, and 

 sometimes, in a wet spring, whole flocks were swept off by the rot ; 

 they cost the proprietor little, and produced in general but small 

 profit. 



There are numerous fairs and markets in the county of Berks, 

 some of which are very ancient. The fairs at Reading are noted, 

 especially that for horses on the 25th of July, and for cheese ou the 

 21st of September. Ilsley sheep fairs are some of the largest after 

 the great fairs on the Wiltshire Downs : one is held on the 26th of 

 March, but the largest, called Lamb Fair, is on the 26th of August. 

 On the market days, which are on Wednesdays, a sheep fair is held 

 every fortnight, from Easter till shearing time, where large quantities 

 of sheep are penned. 



Divitions, Towm, &c. When the Domesday Survey was made, 

 Berkshire was divided into 22 hundreds. Wallingford and Windsor 

 were assessed separately. The hundreds have since been reduced to 

 20, of which 11 retain their ancient names under a somewhat 

 modernised form. The hundreds are as follows : Beynhurst, Sonning, 

 Wargrave, Bray, and Ripplesmere in the east ; Faircross, Kentbury- 

 Eagle, Compton, Wantage, and Charlton in the centre and south ; 

 Moreton, Reading, Cookham, Theale, Ock, and Hormer in the north- 

 east and north ; and Ganfield, Shrivenham, Faringdon, and Lambourn 

 in the north-west. 



The number of parishes in the county is about 150, some of which 

 extend into the adjoining counties. 



Berkshire is divided by the Poor-Law Commissioners into 12 

 Unions : Abingdon, Bradfield, Cookham, Easthampstead, Faringdou, 

 Hungerford, Newbury, Reading, Wallingford, Wantage, Windsor, and 

 Wokingham. These Unions contain 236 parishes and townships, 

 with an area of 575,867 acres, and a population in 1851 of 198,386 ; 

 but the boundaries of the Unions are not strictly coextensive with 

 those of the county. There are 12 market-towns : ABINQDON, 

 FAIUXGDON, HDNGERFORD, EAST ILSLEY, LAMBOURN, MAIDENHEAD, 

 NEWBUKT, READING, WALLINGFORD, WANTAGE, WINDSOR, and 

 WoKisfiHAM. Of these, Reading and Abingdon are the assize-towns, 

 and Abingdon is the chief place of election for the county. These 

 towns will be found described under their respective heads. 



Besides the 12 existing market-towns, there are several places in 

 Berkshire which formerly had markets. A list of them is subjoined, 

 with the population in 1851, and such other particulars as seem to 

 require notice. 



Balking, or Baulking, a hamlet of Uffington, 3 or 4 miles S.E. from 

 Faringdon, 34 miles N.W. from Reading : population of the chapelry 

 208. It has a small but interesting church chiefly of the early 

 English style. The Great Western railway passes through Balking. 

 Basilden, on the Thames, 8 miles W.N.W. from Reading, and about 

 midway between Reading and Wallingford : population of the parish 

 798. The church is partly of the early English style, but has been 

 much modernised. It was thoroughly repaired in 1826. In it are 

 some ancient monuments and some stained glass windows. The 

 scenery of the Thames at Basildeii is very beautiful. Basilden 

 House, the seat of J. Morrison, Esq., and some other good 

 mansions, are in the parish. Catmore, about 20 miles W. from 

 Reading: population of the parish 123. The church, a small building 

 of Norman date, has been recently restored. CboTdutin, on the 

 Thames, a little to the north of Maidenhead, part of which is in the 

 parish: the population of the entire parish was 3914 in 1851 ; but!901 

 belonged to Maidenhead. In the article COOKHAM, the particulars of 

 Cookham Poor-Law Union will be given. The church is chiefly of 

 early English date, with a perpendicular tower. A Wesleyau Methodist 

 chapel is in the parish. A wooden bridge was constructed over the 

 Thames at Cookham a few years back, to serve instead of the old 

 ferry which connected the Maidenhead and Wycombe roads. There 

 are paper-mills and a boot and shoe factory. Fairs are held in May 

 and October. East Hendred, or Great Hendred, 7 miles S. by K. 

 from Abingdon : population, 949. The church is small, of the 

 transition style from decorated to perpendicular. Within it are 

 some old brasses. In the village are two ancient chapels ; one which 

 belonged to the monastery of Sheen, is now employed as a granary. 

 East Hendred was formerly one of the seats of the cloth manufacture. 

 The stewardship of one of the manors in this parish is n, nominal 

 office in the gift of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and is one of 

 the places given for the purpose of vacating a seat in the House of 

 Commons. Hinton Waldndrje, about 9 miles W. from Abingdon ; 

 near the Thames : population, 389. It has a small cruciform church 

 with a tower at the west end. The chancel is of the early English 

 style; the nave and tower are decorated. Jfentbury, or Kintbury, 

 anciently Cheneteberie and Kennetbury, about 22 miles W.S.W. from 

 Reading and 3 miles S.E. from Huugerford, on the banks of the 

 Kennet ; it gives name to the hundred of Kentbury-Eagle : popu- 

 lation, 1899. The church is of small size, cruciform, and of various 



