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Swallowfield
Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Wokingham district, in Berkshire, England, about south of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire. The civil parish of Swallowfield also includes the nearby villages of Riseley, Berkshire, Riseley and Farley Hill, Berkshire, Farley Hill. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1971. Geography Swallowfield has a Site of Special Scientific Interest, site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the south western edge of the village, called Stanford End Mill and River Loddon The village has a local nature reserve called Swallowfield Meadow. Swallowfield Park is a stately home situated in an estate (house), estate half a mile north east of the village. The current mansion has been converted into exclusive apartments. Notable residents Swallowfield has been the home of a number of famous persons including Thomas Pitt, Thomas 'Diamond' Pitt, the Governor of Fort St. George; Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Backhouse
William Backhouse (17 January 1593 – 30 May 1662) was an England, English philosopher, Alchemy, alchemist, astrologer, translator, and the esoteric mentor of Elias Ashmole. Born into the wealthy Backhouse family, Backhouse enjoyed an education at Oxford, and was likely exposed to alchemical teachings and the Rosicrucianism, Rosicrucian manifestos of the 1610s. He married Anne Richards in 1637/8, and had three children. By 1651, he had become the mentor of Elias Ashmole, taking him as his "spiritual son and heir", the role for which his is best remembered. The following exchange of alchemical knowledge and manuscripts has been described as having an effect on Ashmole that "cannot be overstated". This relationship flourished in an intense exchange of alchemical documents and information, unaffected by Backhouse's poor health and fear of identification in Ashmole's publications. Backhouse, predeceased by all his siblings and children, but one, died in 1662, leaving all his possess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swallowfield Park
Swallowfield Park is a Grade II* listed building, listed stately home and Estate (house), estate in the England, English county of Berkshire. The house is near the village of Swallowfield, some 4 miles south of the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. The House Swallowfield Park was the home of the Backhouse family from the late 16th century, who had lived in a now demolished Tudor style architecture, Tudor mansion. The most famous member of this family was of William Backhouse, the Rosicrucian philosopher. The present house at Swallowfield Park was erected in 1689 by Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, when he acquired the estate on his marriage to William Backhouse's daughter Flower Backhouse, Flower. The architect was William Talman (architect), William Talman, "comptroller of the works" to William III of England, William III.From: 'Parishes: Swallowfield', A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3 (1923), pp. 267-274. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swallowfield
Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Wokingham district, in Berkshire, England, about south of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire. The civil parish of Swallowfield also includes the nearby villages of Riseley, Berkshire, Riseley and Farley Hill, Berkshire, Farley Hill. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1971. Geography Swallowfield has a Site of Special Scientific Interest, site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the south western edge of the village, called Stanford End Mill and River Loddon The village has a local nature reserve called Swallowfield Meadow. Swallowfield Park is a stately home situated in an estate (house), estate half a mile north east of the village. The current mansion has been converted into exclusive apartments. Notable residents Swallowfield has been the home of a number of famous persons including Thomas Pitt, Thomas 'Diamond' Pitt, the Governor of Fort St. George; Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swallowfield Meadow
Swallowfield Meadow is a Local Nature Reserve in Swallowfield, south of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Swallowfield Parish Council. Geography and site The reserve features meadows, native hedgerows, a small copse, ditches, and seasonal ponds as well as the meadows themselves. History The area that is now the meadow was transferred to the Parish Council in the mid-1990s when houses were being built in the village. Before then the area had been a coal yard. On 15 July 2003, the area was officially designated as a Local Nature Reserve. Fauna The site has the following fauna: Mammals *European water vole Flora The site has the following flora: Trees *''Betula pendula'' *''Acer campestre'' *''Corylus avellana'' Plants *''Leucanthemum vulgare ''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the tempera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wokingham (UK Parliament Constituency)
Wokingham is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in the English county of Berkshire. From its creation in 1950 until 2024, it was represented solely by Conservatives, most notably, John Redwood, who held his position from 1987 until 2024 when he stepped down following the dissolution of parliament. Since 4 July 2024, Wokingham has been represented by Clive Jones, a Liberal Democrat. Constituency profile The seat covers the prosperous town of Wokingham, the southern suburbs of Reading, and a rural area to the west. Residents are significantly wealthier than the UK average, reflected in high property prices. In 2019 the area was ranked as the least deprived constituency in the UK. History Originally, Wokingham was part of a larger constituency of Berkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), increased to three in the Reform Act 1832. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 Berkshire was divided into three county constituencies, No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Pitt
Thomas Pitt (5 July 1653 – 28 April 1726) was an English merchant, colonial administrator and politician who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1698 to 1709. Born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, he eventually went to the Indian subcontinent in the service of the English East India Company (EIC) and rose to a senior position in the Presidency of Fort St. George, administering the EIC's affairs within the region. After a lucrative career in India, Pitt returned to England and entered into a political career, being elected six times to the Parliament of Great Britain. His descendants would go on to found a political dynasty, with Pitt's grandson and great-grandson both serving as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Early life Pitt was born at Blandford Forum, Dorset, the second son of Rev. John Pitt (1610–1672), Rector of Blandford St Mary (whose mural monument survives in that church), by his wife Sarah Jay. His second cousin was the poet Rev. Christopher Pitt ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl Of Clarendon
Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, PC (2 June 163831 October 1709) was an English aristocrat and politician. He held high office at the beginning of the reign of his brother-in-law, King James II. Early life He was the eldest son of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, and his second wife, Frances Aylesbury. He was thus a brother of Anne Hyde, and maternal uncle to both Queen Mary II and Queen Anne. Both he and his brother Laurence Hyde were brought up partly at Antwerp and Breda, by their mother. Clarendon before 1660 made use of Henry as copyist, decipherer, and confidential secretary, in his correspondence with distant royalists. Under Charles II Soon after the return of his family to England, in 1660, Hyde married Theodosia Capell, daughter of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham, and Elizabeth Morrison, and sister of Mary Capell, Duchess of Beaufort. She died in 1661, and in 1670, he married secondly to Flower Backhouse, daughter of William Backhouse and Anne Ric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farley Hill, Berkshire
Farley Hill is a village in the county of Berkshire, England. For local government purposes, the village is within the civil parish of Swallowfield, which in turn is within the unitary authority of Wokingham. Notable buildings The village has three fine country houses: Farley Court, Farley Hall and Farley Castle. The red brick church of St John the Evangelist, Farley Hill, was designed by George Truefitt and built in 1890-92. It closed at the end of 2012 after draft closure scheme was set in motion by the Church Commissioners. After a community use for the church could not be found, it was sold and converted to become private housing in 2016. Amenities Farley Hill has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. Farley Hill also has a village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Russell Mitford
Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English essayist, novelist, poet and dramatist. She was born at Alresford in Hampshire, England. She is best known for '' Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes and vividly drawn characters based upon her life in Three Mile Cross near Reading in Berkshire. Childhood She was the only daughter of George Mitford (or Midford), who apparently trained as a medical doctor, and Mary Russell, a descendant of the aristocratic Russell family. She grew up near Jane Austen and was an acquaintance of hers when young. In 1797, ten-year-old Mary won her father a lottery ticket worth £20,000, but by the 1810s the small family suffered financial difficulties. In the 1800s and 1810s they lived in large properties in Reading and then Grazeley (in Sulhamstead Abbots parish), but, when the money was all gone after 1819, they lived on a small remnant of the doctor's lost fortune and the proceeds of his daughter's l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riseley, Berkshire
Riseley is a village in the English county of Berkshire, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. It is located around south of Reading and north-east of Basingstoke, and is bypassed to the west by the A33 road. For local government purposes, the village is today within the civil parish of Swallowfield, which in turn is within the unitary authority of Wokingham. Before 1844, Riseley was part of a detached portion, or exclave, of the county of Wiltshire, some 30 miles to the west. The Counties Act of that year resulted in its transfer to Berkshire.''Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844'', 7 & 8 Vict. c. 61, London Riseley lies on the line of the Roman Road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ..., Devil's Highway Hampshire Field Club and Archeological Society, Papers and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Parishes In Berkshire
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 104 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, most of the county being parished; Borough of Reading, Reading is completely unparished; Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire and Wokingham (borough), Wokingham are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 483,882 people living in the 104 parishes, accounting for 60.5 per cent of the county's population. History Parishes arose from Church of England divisions, and were originally purely ecclesiastical divisions. Over time they acquired civil administration powers.Angus Winchester, 2000, ''Discovering Parish Boundaries''. Shire Publications. Princes Risborough, 96 pages The Highways Act 1555 made parishes responsible for the upkeep of roads. Every adult inhabitant of the parish was obliged to work four days a year on the roads, providing their own tools, carts and horses; the work was overseen by an unpaid local ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanford End Mill And River Loddon
Stanford End Mill and River Loddon is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Reading in Berkshire. It covers Stanford End Mill meadows and a stretch of the River Loddon between Stanford End and Sheep Bridge north-west of Swallowfield. The mill was built in early Victorian times on the Stratfield Saye estate. Fauna The site has the following animals Mammals *European water vole Birds *Little grebe *Moorhen *Coot *Mute swan *Common kingfisher Invertebrates * Pisidium moitessierianum * Pisidium tenuilineatum * Vertigo antivertigo * Vertigo moulinsiana Flora The site has the following Flora: Trees *Alder *Salix alba *Fraxinus *Quercus robur Plants * Fritillaria meleagris * Potamogeton nodosus *Alopecurus pratensis * Holcus lanatus *Ranunculus acris *Rumex acetosa *Plantago lanceolata * Centaurea nigra * Rhinanthus minor * Silaum silaus *Ophioglossum vulgatum * Carex disticha * Carex panicea * Cardamine pratensis * Lychnis flos-cuculi * Oenanthe fistulosa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
