Beedon (232). A scattered village or hamlet in the chalk district
south-west of Compton. The church belongs to the period of transition
between the Norman and Early English styles. The font is Early English.
Binfield (1892). A village and district three miles north-east of
Wokingham, the early home of the poet Pope. The church is largely
built of conglomerate from the gravel. The arch under the tower,
Perpendicular in style, is of chalk. In the church there is a chained
copy of the Paraphrase of Erasmus upon the New Testament. Billingbear,
a fine Elizabethan house with a large park, lies to the north-west
of the village. (pp. 101, 116, 142, 143.)
Bisham (594). A parish on the Thames a little above Cookham. The
church and abbey have been already referred to. (pp. 57, 73, 76, 77,
106, 107, 116, 141.)
Boxford (461). A village with a railway station on the Lambourn line
four miles north-west of Newbury. Many Roman remains have been found
in the parish.
Bradfield (1526). A village seven miles to the west of
Reading. Bradfield College is a well-known public school. (pp. 21,
132.)
Bray (1722). A village on the Thames between Maidenhead and
Windsor. The well-known vicar, Simon Aleyn (died 1588) succeeded in
retaining his living during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary,
and Elizabeth. The song wrongly gives him a later date. The church
is partly Early English; the tower is Perpendicular. Bray gives its
name to the Hundred, which includes most of Maidenhead. (pp. 20, 62,
100, 134, 138.)
Buckland (665). A large village four miles north-east of Faringdon. The
large cruciform church is mostly Early English. The central tower is
low and massive with fine Early English tower arches. The tracery has
in modern times been removed from most of the windows. The population
of the parish has diminished in recent years. (pp. 88, 98.)
Bucklebury (1066). A village in a large parish six miles north-east
of Newbury. Swift visited Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke, at
Bucklebury in 1711. (p. 21.)
Burghfield (1352). A village in the clay district five miles south-west
of Reading. A curious wooden effigy of the fourteenth century is
preserved in the church. (p. 57.)
Chieveley (1204). A village four miles north of Newbury. The church
is partly in the Early English style, the chancel with good lancet
windows. The south doorway is round-headed and late Norman. Cromwell
is said to have slept at the Old Blue Boar Inn the night before the
second battle of Newbury.
Cholsey (1826). A large village with a railway station 48-1/2 miles
from Paddington, the junction for Wallingford, distant 2-1/2 miles to
the north-east. The large cruciform church has a fine Early English
chancel. The arches of the central tower are massive and early Norman,
and there are good Norman doors and windows in the church. The upper
part of the tower belongs to the Decorated period. (p. 91.)
Clewer (6171) on the river Thames is practically a suburb of Windsor,
with numerous orphanages, homes, and other charitable institutions.
Coleshill (342). A village three and a half miles west-south-west of
Faringdon on the Berkshire side of the river Cole. Coleshill House
was built from designs by Inigo Jones. There are late Norman and also
Early English arches in the church and the tower with its parapet and
pinnacles is a good example of the Perpendicular style. The base and
shaft of a village cross remain in the churchyard. (p. 117.)
Cookham (3007). A village with a railway station on the Thames a little
above Maidenhead. The church is largely Early English in style, the
solid square tower is Perpendicular and is a prominent object from
the river. (p. 17.)