![]() House was to be let furnished or unfurnished, and that the occupier at that Journal dated 29 th September 1798, provides the information that the To rent for 40 guineas per annum with immediate possession. AnĪdvertisement in the Reading Mercury dated 2nd October 1786, offered the house Tablets and from the newspaper archive it is possible to deduce that upon theĭeath of Ann Blagrave in 1784, aged 95, the house was put up for rent. ![]() Memorial tablets that lie over their crypt within Shrivenham Church. That they were a wealthy family is made obvious by the size and quality of the The Blagrave name features very frequently inĭocuments throughout the 16 th to the early 19 th centuries. Occupation of John Blagrave deceased afterwards Charles Blagrave, afterwards of Nearly adjoining unto the Mansion House, and buildings formerly in the Part of another paragraph within the same document includes ‘ And alsoĪll that barn, granary, cart house and cow house situate at Watchfield and Untenanted are now in the occupation of the said John Blagrave hereto.’ And All which said Mansion House closes afterwards That other close formerly two closes and now called the Little Orchard and PewĪcre containing 2a 3r 36p. ![]() Ground called the Great Close containing by statute measure 4a 3r 32p. Plantations and pleasure ground thereto belonging containing by measureģacres 2roods 8perches. AnotherĬonclusive source is from a mortgage document dated 7 June, 1847 (BROĭ/EX310/35) whereby Anthony Blagrave and Colonel John Blagrave make anĪssignment to borrow the sum of £5000 against property in Watchfield describedĪs ‘ All that Mansion House with the buildings stables gardens (Theĭifference in spelling of names is common throughout the centuries). The Willington map of 1758 labels the estateĪs No 3 and the reference box notes that it belongs to Mrs Blagrove. Property at certain points in time, but it’s frustratingly difficult to findĬonclusive documentary proof. (b.1750) and Frances Blagrave of Calcot (b.1761) when they married in 1779,īrought the two families together. It is possible to confirmĬircumstantially from various sources that the Blagraves did indeed own the But the union of John Blagrave of Watchfield In the early period the Watchfield family were not related to theīlagraves at Calcot, Reading. So to whom did the house belong? T he most influential family residing in Watchfieldįrom the 16 th to the 18 th centuries was theīlagraves. The site now lies under the modern houses at the top end of It’s an impressive Georgian House and must have looked very grand to passers-by The house in the early part of the 19th century and is buried at Shrivenham. One of his relatives, Richard Smith, had lived in Who had been in contact with Mrs Arline Fisher of Bourton End near Shrivenham,Ĭoncerning family geneology. TheseĬame to light through David Ferrand of Clifton, near Ashbourne in Derbyshire, Must have been an impressive sight from the HighĬopies of original water colour paintings, probably from the same date. Part of the gardens of the house that I played on, and also the spot where the Part of a Black and White photo taken by the RAF in 1946. Knowledge increased I realised this could not be the case. ’ That answer satisfied me at the time but as I matured and my Local elders just what the walls were once part of and was always told, ‘just In various games me and my pals would play. I can rememberĬlambering over the walls just on the edge of the woods and using them as cover Helped spark my interest in the history of the village. It was the remains of this house, known as Watchfield House, that From this it would be reasonable to assume that the house Richard Franklyn occupied was taken down to be replaced by this house. The Georgian design of this house would suggest that it was erected in the early part of the 18th century, but Richard Franklyn was much earlier in 1663. What isĪlso clear is that the 8 hearths that Richard Franklyn was paying for in tax,Ĭould only have belonged to a house of considerable size. Know that by the 18th century it was the grandest house in the village. Its southern side by ornamental gardens and grounds.Īlthough it is not cert ain when the first house was built here, we do It clearly depicts a huge building surrounded on At the front of this book on the ‘Key Page’ shows, by comparison to the rest of the village, whatĪppears to be a large private estate at its southern end (where Barrington RoadĪnd Shute Avenue now stand).
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