Shows
In the Shadow of the AbbeyBisham Church in 15 minutesThis track guides you round the highlights of Bisham Church in 15 minutes. All Saints Bisham sits on the banks of the River Thames by an ancient river crossing with a clunch chalk Norman tower and significant extensions from 1566, 1849 and 1870. Enjoy the peaceful churchyard.The church was always linked with Bisham Abbey after the priory was demolished and the monastery closed. Home to the Knights Templar then three great families; Salisbury, Hoby and Vansittart for over 600 years. Bisham Abbey became the first national sports centre in 1946 and was sold 60 years ago in memory of the 2 heirs (Berkeley and Guy) killed...
2023-09-0115 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyBisham Church pods- BrassesAudio description of the Creckett and Brinkhurst brasses in Bisham Church. Featuring Thomas Creckett a Fishmonger and John Brinkhurst a Merchant Venturer and local philanthropist.Part of a series of mini-pods for the church by Sheila Featherstone-Clark
2023-07-0404 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History 1885 - 1892 Edward the Co-Operative PhilanthropistUnexpected inheritance funds the co-operative movement, Henry and Florence finally marry, the opening of the Bisham institute, new road and profitable development for wealthy residents. On November 4th 1885, 200 people attended GHVN the younger’s funeral at Bisham Church. He left £52,000 pounds and the Bisham estate to his cousin Edward. Was this Abbot Corderys curse at work? Edward Ernest was born in 1810. His father, Edward, was the second son of the then Lord of the manor, George Vansittart. Edward succeeded to his wife’s estate of Allesley Park near Coventry in 1805, he had taken the name Neale on inheritin...
2022-02-2217 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History: 1825 - 1885 George Henry Vansittart the Younger, Infant to Popular LandownerThe turnpike the train and the bridge, MP for the pocket borough of Bisham, ghostly copybooks? Victorian Gothic makeover and new chapel for the Church, selling land to fund lavish lifestyles .George Henry the Younger was the first Vansittart heir to be born at Bisham, the Estate comprised 1800 acres the landscape was changing with new modes of transport. The Hatfield to Reading Turnpike came through Bisham. From 1826 to 1881, the Marlow Flier offered a twice daily coach service to London in only 3 hours. In 1832 Tierney Clark designed a new stone suspension bridge across the Thames. The Wycombe Railway Company ope...
2021-08-0619 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History 1780 - 1825 The Vansittarts and Indian MoneyDaring merchant adventurers seize the day. East India Company fortunes save Berkshire as the Nabobs arrive. Georgian lavish lifestyle contrasts with fighting in France threatening the succession The time of the Hoby family at Bisham Abbey ended in 1780 with the death of Sir John Hoby Mill the 5th Hoby baronet of Bisham. The succession had faltered and finally failed. Sir John’s widow, Lady Elizabeth Hoby Mill sold the estate to George Vansittart. The VanSittarts were originally of Dutch extraction, Peter, had migrated from Danzig to London in 1670 to found the English branch of the family. He was a remark...
2021-07-1813 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History 1609 - 1780 The Final Hobye ChapterThe shape of the village and tudor brickmaking, From parliament to the church, illegitimacy saves the day, the start and end of the Hoby Baronetcy of Bisham, the succession finally falters and fails.The Bisham estate passed to Edward and Thomas Posthumous Hobye, in 1609, a map of the estate was drawn up. The outline of the village is still similar today, on the road to Marlow and Maidenhead. Brick field identifies where bricks were be made for the new dwellings in the 1600s. Itinerant brickmakers were hired to excavate, mould, dry, fire and deliver bricks. English cross-bond was popular...
2021-06-2112 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History: 1565 - 1609 Lady Hobyes Legacy (Aka Dowager Lady Russell)Haunting the Abbey, nearly a countess, Pomp and ceremony for Queen Elizabeth in the Royal Progress, no chance for Shakespeare’s Globe and the Dowager's Magnificent monuments. Elizabeth Cooke had married Sir Thomas Hobbye on 27 June 1558. In 1565, following his death in Paris where he was the ambassador, Lady Hoby returned to Bisham to bury her husband and to give birth to a fourth child, Thomas Posthumous. The ghost of Lady Hoby is said to walk through the Great Hall at Bisham Abbey. She is rumoured to have mistreated her young son William… he was found dead in...
2021-05-1616 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History: 1553 Two worthye Knights (Hobbies both by name)The Hobbyes come to Bisham. Sir Philip, the King and the Stonor connection, Sir Thomas, the Courtier and the wedding, Princess Elizabeth under arrest. Religious turmoil. Diplomacy after death.Sir Philip Hobbye took over the Bisham estate in 1553 . In consideration of the good time and faithful service and council to us by our beloved councillor Philip Hobbye, Knight Do give and grant to the aforesaid the site of the late monastery of Bysham otherwise Bustlesham = Montague in the county of Berks.Sir Philip had been undertaking important work on behalf of Henry VIII since 1536, he married Elizabeth Sto...
2021-04-2416 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years; 1924: Farewell Squire and ParsonIn remembrance of Henry James Vansittart Neale KCB, Lord of the Manor of Bisham, lover of the river, deeply involved in his village community with a sense of duty and service, remembered by Reverend Farrer, for 25 years his parson and friend.Revd William Farrer had been appointed vicar of Bisham by Henry Vansittart Neale in June 1900. He followed Revd Powell who had been vicar there for over 51 years. However it is possible that they knew each other for longer than this as they were distantly related. William and Henry both shared a love of the river as rowers and...
2021-03-1611 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyWar Years; May 1924: Death of Sir HenryNew regime at the school, Mrs Young’s Guinea prize, wireless lessons, new houses built, the tin shed appears, Women’s Institute fete plan, Miss Phyllis steps up and Farewell to Sir HenryWriting my 25th Annual Letter reminds me that a quarter of a century has passed since I came here as Vicar. I sometimes look back at those letters, and they call to mind many events of interest in our Parish history as well as the events in the wider world during those 25 years. One event overshadows all others in our Parish story, namely the death...
2021-03-1016 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years; 1922/3: Measles EpidemicGeneral election landslide, Church heating crisis, death of old friends, sale of the cricket pavillion, monitoring the weather and the registers, early close for the school and successful inspections. (note the Bisham Parish Report from 1922 is missing)My dear friends, this is my twenty-fourth Parish Letter and report and I may for a change, begin with an expression of thanks to all who help the Church and Parish with subscriptions and in other ways. Perhaps some will read the beginning of the letter and thus see that their help is appreciated, who may not find the letter s...
2021-02-2113 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History; Episode Zero (Bondig to Bisham)The Abbots curse, Margaret’s dovecote, the spring bird, the Brinkhurst brasses. Why Anne of Cleves did not want to live at Bisham and Sir Philip Hobbye did.Bisham Abbey is well known as a National Sports Centre ; however its historical importance is more impressive. It was originally part of the Bisham Estate which was dismantled in 1965. This included the Abbey, the village and land situated around a shallow crossing point on the River Thames; now known as Bondig’s Bank, named after the Saxon lord who owned the land. In the Domesday Book of 1086, this ar...
2021-02-0708 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years; 1921: War Memorial Tablet 'Eternal Honour to their Names'Burial of the unknown soldier, Bisham Memorial Tablet unveiled, start of the school bus from Hurley, carving class delivers, no bathing in July.Life was taking longer than expected to get back to normal; “In my last letter I referred to the difficulties and anxieties which the years of war had caused, and which had still to be faced with patience and courage. Our hopes that the troubled sea would calm down have not yet been fulfilled. The past year has been marked by a sad prevalence of doubts, disputes, distractions and fears”. Nove...
2021-02-0513 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years; 1920: Inaugural Dinner at the InstituteThe first 2 minutes silence, Women’s Institute comes to Bisham, football club success, Expansion of the Bisham Institute New Billiard table and ladies join club.Revd Farrer reflected on Winter 1919 in his report of May 1920. "It was a great pleasure to Mrs Farrer and myself to welcome once again the members of our Choir to a dinner at the Vicarage in the Autumn" The choir was in good voice at that time and comprised around 15 people including both Frederick and George Harding. The Farrers were involved in all aspects of the village life and entertaining at the v...
2021-01-2513 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyWar Years; 1920: Peace Day CelebrationsChange in the Church, the Bishop visits, Peace Day festivities in the rain, design of the war memorial unveiled, and Bananas for the school treat. “I spoke last year of the noble way in which the men of Bisham answered the call of their country, and the service also of the women, the hardest perhaps of all being that of those whose duty it was to “stand and wait!” The strain fell on all in various degrees and now we have all to do our part in “building-up”. The present is a difficult and anxious time for us all. ” The wa...
2021-01-1110 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years; 1919: Victory and Peace at LastVictory, remembering the sacrifices made by local families, another change at the school, finance and War Savings, no dances at the Institute, an April blizzard. The War news was positive by May 1919; “From July to November came the unbroken record of successes in the war. During those months the British Armies took 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns. On November 11th – a date long to be remembered – came the news that the war was ended.“In our rejoicing however we have always in mind the sacrifices and the sorrows which have fallen on all and on some families with special se...
2021-01-0312 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbbey History; 1918 Influenza StrikesThe impact of the influenza pandemic following WW1 was felt by millions of people in all walks of life. The Abbey family did not escape, especially Phyllis who served as a VAD nurse in France. It was estimated that 50 million people died, many were younger people, weakened by four years of war. Lady Florence and Sir Henry Vansittart Neale had already lost their son George to appendicitis age 14 in his first term at Eton, so Phyllis being very ill was especially difficult and worrying for them. Lady Florence Vansittart Neale kept a diary during the war which is...
2021-01-0209 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years; 1918: The Abbey WeddingHoping for the end of the Great War, local boys missing in action, great work at the school, death of the good greyhead from Temple and a cause for celebration.Revd Farrar is optimistic in May 1918 as he reflects on the past year and writes: ‘Hope springs eternal’ – we have to go on hoping that the end of the war may be drawing nigh.” It was hoped that the Americans joining the war last year would hasten this, however, “the collapse of Russia has enabled our enemies to mass enormous forces on the Western Front. Sacrifices have been called for fr...
2020-12-2908 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyThe War Years: Episode Zero (Context)The War Years episodes are part of the series In The Shadow of the Abbey, telling the stories of the Bisham Estate . They recount life in Bisham Village in the difficult aftermath of WWI (1918 – 1924). They are based mainly on the delightful Bisham Parish reports which were published in May each year covering all aspects of village life over the previous 12 months, including Bisham Primary school, the Institute, the Church and the gentry. The reports were written by the Revd William Farrer, the much loved vicar of All Saints Bisham. This was a time when there was no state support for...
2020-12-2804 min
In the Shadow of the AbbeyAbout the Series: In the Shadow of the AbbeyIn the Shadow of the Abbey explores the unique history of Bisham Village, telling the story of those who lived in and around Bisham Abbey in Berkshire. I am your guide, Sheila Featherstone-Clark, I moved here in 1991. My journey was triggered by the gift of a picture from Peter, whose family lived in this house for 122 years, I wanted to find out why he and others said: “We had nothing then but we were happy”. Travel with me, on a fascinating journey to find out about tragedy in the Abbey and joy in the vil...
2020-12-2202 min