Tudor Thatcham

The Tudor period, 1485 to 1603, was a time of great change for the country with not only the Reformation but also the Renaissance, the arrival of tobacco and tomatoes.

Here in Thatcham the landscape was changing too. In 1487 Sir William Danvers of Chamberhouse Castle is made King’s Justice. After his death his wife had a chapel and tomb erected on the south-east side of the parish church, both are still there today.

The lower part of the church tower was erected in the 14th century, the top half was erected around 1500. If you stand at the bottom of the tower and look up you can see the change in materials used.

Towards the end of the Tudor period, the late 1500s, the timber framed New Inn was erected. It was constructed in at least three phases with the central part being the earliest. Presumably it was constructed as an Inn. The Inn hosted the Thatcham and Midgham Friendly Society as well as being home to some of the first meetings of the Thatcham Cricket Club. The Inn was renamed the Prancing Horse in 1968 and remained serving the community until 1997 when it closed the doors for the last time.

References

• Barfield, S., Thatcham Berks and its Manors, 1901
• Thatcham over 2000 years, Thatcham Historical Society