7 May 2009
The Domesday book shows that Thatcham is the centre of a royal estate of a number of manors; Thatcham, Midgham, Greenham and Crookham. As a royal estate it pays no taxes. The Domesday entry for Thatcham records demesne lands as two hides and land for 25 ploughs, 35 villeins and 12 cottagers, with 25 ploughs …
6 May 2009
St. Mary’s Church is believed to have originally been built on the site of a Saxon Church dating from the mid seventh century. This would have been a wooden structure, probably pulled down before being rebuilt in stone by the Normans. Largely restored in the nineteenth century, the main archway in to the church is …
5 May 2009
In more recent times the people of Thatcham have been justly proud of three men of the village, two of them brothers, who won the Victoria Cross for gallantry in action. In 1900AD, William House received the award for rescuing a wounded soldier while under enemy fire during the Boer War. In 1915AD, Alexander Buller …
4 May 2009
One of Thatcham’s best known celebrities is the world famous astronomer Francis Baily, who was born on the 28th April 1774 in Newbury, but having strong ties with Thatcham. He braved many hazards charting huge tracks of unexplored land in America, later returning home to become a successful stockbroker. His interest in astronomy led him …
3 May 2009
The people of Thatcham suffered terribly during the period of the bubonic plague, better known as the Black Death, which struck between 1348 and 1350AD. Almost the total population of the Manors of Greenham and Crookham perished. In Crookham the customary tenants (tenants of land held by custom and not by the will of the …
