Historic Pathways Project

Ufton Nervet

The parish of Ufton Nervet comprises an area approximately 4 miles long by 1 mile wide between

Padworth and Sulhamstead. A Roman road from Silchester to Dorchester in Oxfordshire passed

through Ufton woods, reappearing in Ufton Green. According to Yarrow (1974) “…here it shows in a

field and the crop is said to fail year after year where the road passes beneath.” Uffetune – Uffa’s

farmstead – is recorded in Domesday as having land for 5 ploughs, 40 acres of meadow and wood

for 1 hog . Originally Ufton Nervet, also known as Ufton Richard, was ¾ mile NW of its present

position at what is now Ufton Green. Local field names include Cowpond Piece, Broad and Lower

Halfpenny and Gibbet Piece.

1. Ufton Robert manor house. The foundations of the manor house were once visible but nothing

now survives except a moat and three mediaeval fishponds now a scheduled monument.

Excavations in the 19th C found bridge piles, a gateway and other foundations.

Moat, Ufton Robert manor house Ufton Court

2. Ufton Court. Approached down an imposing drive lined with oak trees, the present Ufton Court is

largely an Elizabethan manor house, although the nucleus of the house dates back to the 15th C.

It was largely rebuilt by the Perkyns, a family of Catholic recusants, in 1567. It has a number of

priest-holes and was raided at least twice. The family had to pay heavy fines for refusing to

attend the parish church. Near to the house is a 16th C tithe barn, now used for weddings and

other events.

Lady Elizabeth Marvyn, widow of Richard Perkyns, left money in her will of 1581 to thank local

people for helping her home after she became lost in the nearby woods. Her will provided for an

annual distribution to the “poore” of Ufton “good and howshoulde bread, canvas of 12 pence the

all” and of “blewe clothe of 20 pence the yards”. The Ufton bread dole is still distributed on

Maundy Thursday from a window at the Court.

The Perkyns family sold the house in 1802 and in 1838 the estate was sold to the Benyons of

Englefield and has been leased since 2006 as a charitable educational trust and conference

centre. Legend has it that Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed at Ufton Court whilst visiting England

before the uprising of 1745.

3. Veteran oak. Various dates for the likely age of this ancient pollard oak have been put forward.

The gardener at Ufton Court states that it is 13th C (pers. comm.) while information obtained

from the internet states that is dateable to c. 1350. The Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Hunt

website dates it to the 15th C.

Veteran pollard oak

4. Mediaeval fish ponds. Originally there were seven. Fish was an important part of the diet in the

Middle Ages, especially on days when the consumption of meat was forbidden. However, the

cost of constructing fishponds was prohibitive and they required a high level of maintenance.

Each pond would have had a specific function – breeding, rearing and fattening and ‘stewponds’

would have stored fully grown fish. The ponds at Ufton Court are in a narrow valley with an

underground spring at the head. Carp and perch were the main fish farmed there and the site is

now a scheduled monument.

5. Chapel of St John the Baptist Ufton Green Farm. In former times this was the parish church and

was first recorded in 1297. All that now remains is an ivy-covered section of the west wall. In

1434-5 the parishes of Ufton Nervet and Ufton Richard were merged and St Peter’s was made

the parish church with St John the Baptist becoming a chapel to St Peter’s. Subsequently it fell

out of use and was converted into two cottages, with the west wall of the chapel dividing them.

When the cottages were demolished in 1886 the west wall was left to remain standing and is

now a scheduled monument. It is close to the old village pound and opposite the Dog and

Partridge.

6. The Dog and Partridge. Formerly an inn, it was converted into a private dwelling more than 40

years ago. Timber framed, Grade II listed, early and late 17th C.

Dog and Partridge St Michael’s porch

7. St Michael’s burial ground. The burial ground is in use today but of the church only the porch

remains, to provide shelter for mourners. The church dated from 1193 but was almost entirely

rebuilt in 1815 by Richard Benyon and demolished in 1966.

8. Meales Farm. Was the location of a mediaeval manor house and is Grade II listed. The house is

documented from the 1400s but is now 17th C with 18th C additions. The name Meales is derived

from St Michael’s and in 1542 was called the manor of Meales. Meales Farm was once haunted

by a ghostly figure which was seen walking the nearby fields.

Meales Farm

9. St Peter’s church, Ufton Nervet. There has been a church on the site since Norman times and in

the churchyard a yew tree is said to be at least 900 years old. The old church was pulled down

and the present one built in 1861-62 by Mr Richard Benyon. The N window belonging to the

previous church remains and also memorials of the 16th and 17th C to the Perkyns family. St

Peter’s became redundant in 1992 and is currently used as a community centre.

Chris Jones August 2015