Besselsleigh, a parish in Berks, 4 miles NNW of Abingdon station on the G.W.R. Abington is the post town and telegraph office; money order office, Marcham. Acreage, 906 ; population, 101. The manor belonged anciently to the Leighs; passed by marriage to the Besils or Bessels; passed again by marriage to the Fettiplaces; was purchased by William Lenthall, Esq., Speaker of the Long Parliament; and belongs now to his descendants. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford; net yearly value, £170 with residence. The church is a small building of stone in the Late Norman style.
