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| HER Number | MWB15471 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | Site of St John The Baptist Chapel, Theale - unknown exact location |
|---|
Summary
Chapel documented from 1291 when owned by Goring Priory to 17th century when presumably in secular use
Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status
- Conservation Area: Holy Trinity, Theale
Other Statuses and Cross-References
- Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 01809.01.000
Monument Type(s):
- CHAPEL (13th century to 18th century - 1291 AD to 1800 AD?)
Full Description
CHAPEL MENTIONED IN 1291, BELIEVED TO BELONG TO GORING NUNNERY, MENTIONED AS A PROPERTY AT ITS DISSOLUTION. LAST MENTIONED IN 1675, BUT AFTERWARDS DECAYED, DISAPPEARED BY EARLY 19TH CENTURY. FOUNDATIONS SAID TO HAVE BEEN FOUND BY ENTRANCE GATES OF CHURCHYARD (POSSIBLY PRESENT PARISH CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY?)
The Priory of Goring on Thames made a record of its properties in 1291, and this included a chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist in Theale <1>. The chapel is documented through the Dissolution of the Monasteries and subsequently whenever the property changed ownership, and it appears that it stood within the area occupied by the current church and graveyard, the recreation ground in Theale and the western end of the Rectory's garden. Possibly its foundations were discovered when the Holy Trinity was built in the 1820s-30s. It may have been demolished in or around 1808 when a short-lived intermediate brick church was built <1>.
A chapel is marked on the Tilehurst Enclosure map of 1817 <2>, approximately in the location of Holy Trinity but possibly closer to the London to Bath road.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Mars, A. 2003. The Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Theale with North Street. p17-9. [Unpublished document / SWB13286] |
| <02> | Various. 1738-1858. Berkshire Enclosure Maps - online as New Landscapes. http://www.berkshirenclosure.org.uk. Tilehurst 1811-17, Marked 'Chapel'. [Map / SWB14663]
http://www.berkshirenclosure.org.uk (Accessed 08/02/2022) |
| <03> | Page and Ditchfield (eds). 1923. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks III 1923. Vol 3. p335. [Monograph / SWB10005]
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol3 (Accessed 08/03/2022) |
| <04> | Harrison, A. Unknown. The History of Tilehurst and Theale. [Unpublished document / SWB149589] |
Related Monuments
| MWB3725 | THEALE VILLAGE (Place) |
| MWB15815 | Holy Trinity Church, Theale (Building) |
| MWB22114 | Site of early 19th century chapel of ease, Theale - approximate location (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
None recordedIf you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
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