Description
Wallingford, an ancient market-town, municipal borough, and four parishes, in Berks. The town stands on the river Thames at the terminus of a short branch of the G.W.R., 15 miles NW by N of Reading, 11 NW from Henley, and 46 from London. It was known to the ancient Britons as Gualhen, signifying "the old fort;" had defensive earthworks constructed by the Romans, forming three sides of a parallelogram down to the Thames, of which there are still considerable remains. It was called by the Saxons Wealingaford, by corruption of the ancient British name and by allusion to a ford on the river; was burnt by the Danes in 1006, but rose speedily from its ashes, and was the birthplace of the Danish king Sweyn in 1013. It acquired from William the Conqueror a, reconstructed strong castle, which figured prominently in the subsequent stormy ages, and is noticed in the following article, and had 276 houses at Domesday. It sent two members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. till 1832, when the number was reduced to one, and it continued to send one until 1885, when its representation was merged in that of the county. In the time of Henry VIII. it had fourteen churches, but now has only four. It received its first charter from Henry II., and is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors, who also act as the urban sanitary authority; gave birth to the monkish historian John of Wal-lingford of the 12th century and to Abbot Richard of Wallingford, who died in 1335, and gave the title of Viscount to the Earl of Banbury. The town presents a well-built and pleasant appearance, is well paved, and has a good supply of water derived from an artesian well The principal business centre is the market-place, where is the corn exchange and town-hall. The Corn Exchange, erected in 1856, is a spacious building of brick in the Italian style. The Town-Hall was built in 1670, was repaired in 1822, and was greatly restored and improved in 1887. It has a large hall and council chamber, and contains a good collection of portraits. There is a free library and public institute in St Mary Street which was founded in 1871, and there is a temperance hall which was erected in 1887. The market-day is Friday, weekly for corn and fortnightly for cattle. A fair for pleasure and the hiring of servants is held on 29 Sept. The town is the head of a petty sessional division and county court district, has two banks, a head post office, some good hotels, and publishes two weekly newspapers. The headquarters of the Royal Berks Horticultural Society, established in 1831 under the patronage of William IV., are at Wallingford. The four parishes are All Hallows, St Leonard, St Mary Ie More, and St Peter. The parish of All Hallows is a sinecure attached to St Mary Ie More; it has no church. The living of St Leonard is a rectory of the gross value of £165 with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Oxford, within whose diocese the town stands. The church of St Leonard, which is the handsomest of the churches of Wallingford, was restored and partly rebuilt in 1849-50, is a building of rubble and flint, consisting of apsidal chancel, nave, S aisle, and western tower, and contains some interesting Norman remains. The living of St Mary Ie More with All Hallows is a rectory of the net value of £200, in the gift of the Bishop of Oxford. The church of St Mary stands in the market-place, and is a very ancient structure, dating probably from Saxon times. It is built of flint with dressings of stone, consists of chancel, nave, aisles, and an embattled western tower, and contains some ancient and interesting tombs and monuments, and a marble pulpit with bronzes by Onslow Ford, R.A. The living of St Peter is a vicarage of the net value of £90, in the gift of the Bishop of Oxford. The church, which stands in Thames Street near the bridge, is an inelegant structure, consisting of nave only, without aisles, and a square flint tower with a lofty spire. It contains the tomb of Sir William Blackstone the distinguished judge and author of the Commentary, who died 14 Feb. 1780. There are also two Baptist, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels, and a place of meeting for the Brethren. There are numerous charities, which are distributed in money, clothing, blankets, and in the payment of apprenticeship fees and marriage portions for poor maids, and there are six endowed almshouses. A cottage hospital with eight beds stands in the Reading Road. The grammar school enjoys an endowment bequeathed by Walter Bigg, paid through the Merchant Taylors Company, and occupies a fine block of buildings. The scholars comprise sixty boys and thirty-five girls. The General Cemetery has an area of 2 1/4 acres, and contains two mortuary chapels. The workhouse stands in the parish of St Mary, and is a building of brick capable of holding 882 inmates.
Villages, Hamlets, &c.
Clapcot, a liberty in Allhallows parish, Berks, 1 mile from Wallingford.
