Welcome to another #churchproject post and I have a backlog of these posts to go through, so will get back to frequent publishing which will be great. I have missed writing here but definitely needed to take a break from it for awhile. We are (as in my wife and I) off next week and shall definitely visit some more interesting places to write about.
Pangbourne
I am sure that I have written about the village of Pangbourne before but here is a little bit of background on this charming location, situated on the banks of the Thames river as it crosses the county borders between Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
The village's name derives from "Pegingaburnan," meaning "the stream of Pæcca's people" in Old English. It was first recorded in Anglo-Saxon charters around 844 AD, making it one of the older settlements in the Thames Valley.
During medieval times, Pangbourne developed as an important river crossing point and market town. The village had a significant religious presence, with Pangbourne Priory being established in the 12th century. The priory remained an important local institution until the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII.
The Victorian era brought major changes to Pangbourne. The Great Western Railway arrived in 1844, connecting the village to London and transforming it from a rural community into a popular residential area for commuters. This period saw substantial development, with many of the elegant Victorian houses that still characterize the village being built. One of Pangbourne's most famous institutions is Pangbourne College, founded in 1917 as the Nautical College Pangbourne to train officers for the Merchant Navy. The college, housed in impressive buildings overlooking the Thames, has educated many notable figures over the decades.
The village has literary connections too - Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows," lived in Pangbourne and drew inspiration from the local Thames landscape for his beloved children's classic. The area around Pangbourne and nearby Mapledurham is often considered part of the real "Wild Wood" country.
St James the Less
The first church built on this site was around 1175, making it nearly 850 years old. It has undergone several restorations in it's time. The last major renovation took place around the time of the English Civil War, which would have been 1652 roughly speaking.
It's brick tower, is newer than the rest of the building, having been built in 1718 and in 1721 the ring of bells were installed, so they in themselves are a good 300 years old or so.
It is a Grade II listed building.
