Thatcham Historical Society

Written by Adrian Thornton. © Adrian Thornton, 2005

England and Wales enjoy a family of 12 National Parks; the Broads, Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, New Forest, Northumberland, North York Moors, Peak District, Pembrokeshire Coast, Snowdonia and Yorkshire Dales. It began in 1951 with the Peak District and Lake District. The 21st century saw the birth too of a Scottish family, with two National Parks so far Loch Lomond 8 the Trossachs, and the Cairngorms.

There are likenesses between the family members. But their diversity is just as striking.

Written by Peter Allen. © Thatcham Historical Society

Post Office Directory, Thatcham, 1847

Thatcham with Greenham and Midgham. Thatcham includes the chaplainries of Greenham and Midgham and is one of the largest parishes in the county, and on the high road between London and Bath, in the Hundred of Reading and the Union of Newbury, from which last place it is 3 miles east and 14 miles west of Reading.

Written by P.Allen. © Thatcham Historical Society Occasional Paper Number 6

It has been said that a churchyard possesses as much historical interest as does its church. The relationship of the stones to the graves below them is only a part of the interest they hold: they are also interesting as monuments in their own right and they are an invaluable source of historical evidence.

Written by P.Allen. © Thatcham Historical Society Occasional Paper Number 3, 1980

Written by Peter Allen. Drawings by Claire Stocker. © Peter Allen, 1983