The History of Charney Bassett

The first authenticated Charter to mention Charney comes from the reign of Ethelred 968-1016. A certain parcel of land … called by the celebrated name of Cyrne.

The present Manor House was built, probably on the site of a timber Saxon house (possibly as long ago as 821), between 1250 and 1280 (and possibly as long ago as 1200), in limestone rubble, as a central hall with two-storey transverse wings at either end, together with various outbuildings. It has a 17^th century wing as well as later alterations and additions. It is one of the oldest inhabited houses in Britain.

The name ‘Charney Manor’ is misleading as it was not a medieval Manor. It was built as a grange by Abingdon Abbey, to house the steward or bailiff appointed to look after the Abbey’s lands around Charney. These were extensive and the size and elegance of the bailiff’s house indicate what a rich estate they formed. The Abbey’s rule was strict – Charney had to provide the Abbey with a specified number of bushels of grain and barrels of fish every year, it was the bailiff’s job to see that these were delivered. The fish was principally salmon from the Ock (a pre-Saxon word meaning young salmon). Salmon was a staple part of the diet in the Thames Valley in the Middle Ages. The Ock also provided crayfish which were on sale in Oxford until c1900.

The first recorded copyholder tenant is in 1467. John and Cecily Rokys and their son John were copyholder tenants of Abbot Ralph Haam.

The Manor of Basses was let to John Croke and William Chester. The manor of BASSES, afterwards corrupted into BASSETT, was in origin a copyhold tenement of the Abbot of Abingdon’s manor of Charney. It first occurs about 1467, when John Rokys and his wife Cecily and their son John Rokys, who had obtained it by copy of Court Roll from Ralph Haam, the Abbot of Abingdon, complained that his successor had put them out ‘for a singuler avauntage offred.’ It was Thomas Mansell of Mansell’s Court, apparently, who had offered the singular advantage, for in the same year he conveyed the manor of Basses in the Valley of White Horse in the parish of Longworth to John Croke and William Chester.  At the Dissolution the abbey of Abingdon was returned as seised of the manor of Basses.  It was granted by the king with Charney to William Gorfen in 1545, and has since followed the same descent as that manor. [Ref British History Online]

Until it was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538 Abingdon Abbey was one of the great Benedictine establishments not only of England but of Europe. In the report made by Henry VIII’s commissioners the rent for Charney Manor, together with its pasture lands, was assessed at £35 10s 8d.

There are references to ownership by a great family called Fettiplace who died out in Elizabeth I’s reign and to renting by the Yate or Yates family and their family tree is given in Jasmine Howse’s Book ‘Charney Bassett through the Centuries’. John Fettiplace de North Denchworth’s (d. 1510) son Philip Fettiplace de North Denchworth and then de Charney (died 1546)  was resident in Charney in 1522 (from the Muster Roll) and son-in-law of John Yate marrying one of his daughters, Jane de Charney, by his first wife. [The Muster Roll of 1522 was utilized by Wolsey in a covert preparation for taxation in support of Henry VIII’s French wars and as such was a more detailed roll than it otherwise would have been].

Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VII: Volume 1, 1485-1500. Originally published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1955. 
1496. Indenture between Alice widow of Bernard Delamare of Spersholt, and John Fetiplace, ‘gentilman’ of Charney co. Berks, whereby Alice demised at farm to John with warranty the manor of Mauncelescourt in Pusey, with all lands and tenements, meadows, lesues, pastures, heriets, rents, fines and hereditaments etc. in Oxford and Berks, as widely as John Sely now holds, from the Annunciation next for a term of twenty years, paying five marks annually to Alice or her assigns, with the usual clause of distress and re-entry into the premises after half a year’s default of rent, and John shall be responsible during the term for the rents due to the chief lords of the fee, and for payment of the fifteenth to the king: and he will leave the manor in good repair at the end of the lease. Witnesses: John Pusey, John Harrys, Richard Combe, Thomas Praty, Thomas Godelake. Dated Spersholte, 3 September, 12 Henry VII.

Country Life notes that: In 1545 Charney Manor was granted to Gorfen of Reading, he died in 1547 and left it to his sister Alice Gorfen who subsequently bequeathed it to Chidiock Paulet (third son of the first Marquess of Winchester).

Paulet’s son sold it in 1582 to William Dunch of Little Wittenham (squire to Queen Elizabeth I and formerly auditor of the Mint to Henry VIII) who died in 1597. It remained in Dunch’s hands until Edmund Dunch, a descendant of the Pusey branch of the family, left it in 1705 to his sister’s husband Francis Keck of Great Tew (who had the map of the area drawn up). This map gives us the first image of the Manor (with St Peter’s on the right and a dovecote above and to the right):

It continued in the Keck family until the beginning of the 19th century, when it was sold by George Anthony Legh Keck to James Crowdy, Thomas Price Belcher, Daniel Giles and William Pinder.

In 1806 [perhaps this should be 1807 or 1808 to tie in with the 1806 newspaper article below?] it had become ‘the property of Mr. Bushnell of Wallingford‘.

In 1833 the Rev. John Bushnell, rector of Beenham, near Reading, sold ‘Charney otherwise Cerney otherwise Cerney Basses and Weeks‘ to Mr. Philip Pusey of Pusey (see below).

In 1832 an Act was created to enable the sale of the Manor or Lordship of Charney etc by Rev Bushnell (Rector of Beenham nr Reading) to Mr Philip Pusey.

8th June 1832 – Bushnell’s Estate Bill.
¶Hodie 2a vice lecta est Billa, intituled, “An Act to enable The Reverend John Bushnell, and the Trustees of the Will of John Bushnell Esquire, deceased, to effect a Sale to Philip Pusey Esquire of the Manor or Lordship of Charney, in the County of Berks.”

Ordered, That the said Bill be committed to the Consideration of the Lords present this Day:

Their Lordships, or any Five of them, to meet on the 19th of this instant June, at Ten o’Clock in the Forenoon, in the Prince’s Lodgings, near the House of Peers; and to adjourn as they please.

In 1851 a book was published with an account of The Manor and with some splendid drawings which form an invaluable record of the building at that time. More of which in the Architecture Section further down this page. 
‘Some account of domestic architecture in England, from the conquest to the end of the thirteenth century, with numerous illustrations of existing remains from original drawings.
By R. Hudson Turner. (1815-1852)
Oxford, John Henry Parker; and 377, Strand, London.
M DCCCLI. [1851]’

The house and adjoining farm became separate from The Manor. Mellany Stephens sold the manor in 1906 to William Price, who employed the architect William Weir to convert it into a ‘gentleman’s’ residence in the Cotswold Arts & Crafts style. All existing barns and outbuildings were demolished, a new north wing was added, and the main block was remodelled. The main East front door coming from an Exeter goal! 

William Price is the Price from Price, Waterhouse, Coopers the auditing firm.

In 1909 the Pusey estate sold the village which was acquired by Berkshire County Council for division into smallholdings.

Maud Ody notes that the Manor was owned by Hon R G Whitely (1920s) and he lived there and had a golf course at the (new) entrance. He put it up for sale in 1924 (see below).

The Manor was acquired by Mrs Lucy Grace Waterhouse in 1925 (neé Palgrave), widow of Paul Waterhouse ‘the distinguished architect, and herself an authority on historical associations, old furniture and‘ The Manor. An interesting article in  ‘Britannia and Eve’ (Sunday 1 Feb 1931 – Other people’s houses by Pamela Murray), P74 onwards, describes the house at that time. Lucy Grace Palgrave was born 1862 in Reigate and died 1960 in Poole. She married Paul Waterhouse in 1887 in St George’s Hanover Square Belgravia. He was born 1862 in Fallowfield (District of Manchester) and died in Berkshire (Bradfield Registration District). They lived together in Hemel Hempstead before his death and Lucy was in residence in Charney Manor in 1939.

‘A History of Charney Manor’ by Harriet Salisbury was written in 1989 and can be downloaded as PDFs here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

The Manor today
In 1948 Lucy and Henry Gillett, from very active Quaker families, bought the Manor House, partly because of the Quaker presence in the village in the early years of Quakerism and gave it to the Society of Friends (Quakers) to be a centre of Quaker activities. It is now a Conference and Retreat Centre known as a quiet and safe venue for delegates involved in conflict resolution and international affairs. It also provides facilities for groups which include charities, businesses, medical and research staff, musicians, authors and artists.

https://www.charneymanor.com/

Memories
Sheila Terry worked at The Manor for many years ending up as the manager helping it though some difficult years. Her fascinating memories of The Manor are given here.

Click to enlarge and scroll.

Reading Standard – Saturday 17 May 1924
The engagement is announced between the Hon. R. G. Whiteley, of Charney Manor, Berkshire; and Gladys Joan, only daughter of the late Mr. J. Lenton, of Bedford.

Sale of The Manor in 1924
The Manor was put up for sale June 1924 (by Hon R G Whitely) and the sales literature is held in The Berkshire Records Office, Reading ref DEP/7. Extracts, mainly relating to the gardens, are given below. 

The Grounds and Pleasure Gardens: which are mainly entered from the Entrance Hall by the West Porch, are quite a feature of the property, the present owner having spend a considerable amount of money in bringing them up to their present state of perfection. They were laid out but the well-known Landscape Gardener Norman Gauntlett, of Chiddingfold, Surrey, and are mainly surrounded by a high stone wall, covered with a great variety of flowering shrubs, and miniature stone walls flanked with masses of rock plants dividing the terraces. On the Upper Terrace there are two fine Irish Yews of about 500 years old. Stone steps to Lower Terrace which is surrounded by herbaceous borders, clumps of Rhododendrons and many other rare and uncommon flowering shrubs. There is a full-sized grass court, also a well laid out hard court (cinder).

…

The paddock adjoining has been converted by the owner into an excellent 5-hole miniature Golf course with 5 tees.

On the opposite side of the road there is a small full bearing apple orchard.

£9000

The Vendor at present rents the Shooting rights over 1,350 acres of Partridge land from the Berkshire County Council …. At the nominal rent of £50 per annum, which includes the fishing rights for 2 miles in the Trout Stream called “The Ock”.

The architecture and changes to the building are set out and discussed in a paper entitled Larger Medieval Houses in the Vale of White Horse. By C. R. J. Currie published in Oxeniensia Volume LVII (1992)

The original publication can be found here.

A copy is available as a pdf here Larger Medieval Houses in VWH Currie.

A plan from the paper is given below.

The following are extracts from the Newbury and District Field Club [Founded in 1870 the Field Club is Newbury’s local history society with additional interests in all aspects of the Newbury district’s natural history, geology etc.]

Volume 10/1, 31, 32 [Pub : 1951-1958]

Volume 12/4, 42-48, 43-44, 46 [Pub : 1970-1981]

More recent archaeological investigations have taken place and these are described here.

1. Manor Tennis Court Investigations.

2. Geophysical Surveys of the grounds.

Reading Standard – Friday 16 October 1953
13th CENTURY DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN BERKSHIRE
Over 100 members of the Berkshire Archaeological Society attended the first meeting of the autumn session at Reading University on Saturday, when Dr. Margaret Wood, who has recently come to reside in Berkshire, gave a lecture on thirteenth century domestic architecture. Dr. Wood is an authority on this subject, and her survey of domestic buildings of this period remaining in England was published as a supplementary volume by the Royal Archaeological Institute three years ago. Dr. Wood showed that the 13th century domestic house even of kings was a collection of buildings joined together by connecting corridors. Planning and compactness did not seem to have been attempted, but there were generally recognizable features which were common to the period. The great hall at which manorial business could be transacted was a usual survival, then there would be a solar or day room, often with window seats and a small chapel. The Berkshire examples are Appleton Manor, which was built about 1210, having a ground floor hall with moulded entrance and two service doorways, and Charney Bassett (1280), which retains original work in the south wing with a solar and chapel on undercrofts. The remaining examples illustrated were taken from 70 or so other survivals of this period in England and showed the remarkable wealth of detail and fittings, which have come down from that early date.

Reading Evening Post – Thursday 11 April 1968

‘Gallivanting round stately homes THE BRITISH are good at stately homes. Like ceremonies, it is one of the things we “do well.”

It will probably surprise you to see just how many stately homes and castle are open. and what tremendous variety and richness there is in these country dwellings. Just to read the catalogue is absorbing. For instance ……… The oldest surviving open plan manor is Charney Manor dated about 1200 in Charney Bassett…….Apart from Charney Manor (open Thursdays and Sundays. 3pm to 5) in Berkshire there are the Abbey buildings in Abingdon….’