Thatcham
Thatcham maps (2 available)
Map of Berkshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Thatcham books (12 available)
Maidenhead Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Berkshire Pocket Album
Paperback
Newbury Living Memories
Paperback
- 15 photos on Thatcham appear in 1 Frith books - View photos of Thatcham
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Thatcham and Berkshire
Thatcham memories
Read and share memories of Thatcham and Berkshire inspired by Frith photos
I lived in No 68 from 1983 to 1985
Of course they had been nicely re-furbished and with all mod cons like running water and electricity. It was a nice experience living in a thatched house and, believe me, they aren't full of spiders and not as much of a fire risk as you would think. We had a very big fireplace in a tiny sitting room and I am a pyromaniac. I remember one day a guy knocking on the front door and, with a very worried look on his face, he said that the chimney must be on fire because it was pouring black smoke. I thanked him kindly but told him not to worry and that I was simply burning rubber car mats!
Contributed by Donald Macdonald
I live here
I've lived in the two cottages on the right of the picture since 1994. Two cottages? They were knocked into one in 1973 when the entire row was sold to a developer and refurbished.
Contributed by Gillian Lucraft
Berkshire memories
I lived in No 68 from 1983 to 1985
Of course they had been nicely re-furbished and with all mod cons like running water and electricity. It was a nice experience living in a thatched house and, believe me, they aren't full of spiders and not as much of a fire risk as you would think. We had a very big fireplace in a tiny sitting room and I am a pyromaniac. I remember one day a guy knocking on the front door and, with a very worried look on his face, he said that the chimney must be on fire because it was pouring black smoke. I thanked him kindly but told him not to worry and that I was simply burning rubber car mats!
A memory of Thatcham contributed by Donald Macdonald
I live here
I've lived in the two cottages on the right of the picture since 1994. Two cottages? They were knocked into one in 1973 when the entire row was sold to a developer and refurbished.
A memory of Thatcham contributed by Gillian Lucraft
Extracts From Thatcham & Berkshire books
The little cottages between
the first two parked cars in
this photograph have gone,
and the Crown Inn on the
right disappeared some
years ago. Broadway Motor
Works facing the High
Street at the far end later
became a car showroom.
Today, it is a bookshop, the
business having moved
there from smaller premises
in the High Street.
An extract from from"Newbury Living Memories".
Inside this church is the tomb of a well-known local man, Francis Baily. A Thatcham school is named after him. Baily’s family
turned down an offer to have him buried in Westminster Abbey when he died in 1844. Instead they chose a simple tomb in a
Berkshire village. Baily was a founder member of the Astronomical Society and later became its president. He discovered ‘Baily’s
beads’ – gaseous particles in the sun’s corona. He also carried out experiments to determine the weight and density of the earth.
An extract from from"Newbury Living Memories".
The Perpendicular north aisle has some windows, and in the south aisle on the west side there are stained glass
windows by Powell of 1865. Tombstones include a chest with quatrefoils in the south chapel dedicated to the memory
of Sir William Danvers, 1504, and Nicholas Fuller, 1620, has an alabaster tablet with kneeling figures of children
below their parents.
An extract from from"Berkshire Churches Photographic Memories".
Thatcham has grown and expanded enormously in
recent years, though the character of the village centre
remains intact. A flourishing market was once held
here, though in the 12th century it was sabotaged by
Newbury traders who were jealous of its success.
An extract from from"Newbury Living Memories".
Chapel Street is part
of the A4 London to
Bath road. Before the
M4 motorway, when
this picture was
taken, this was the
main route to the
west out of the
capital. The
Wheatsheaf pub on
the right is still
trading, though the
cycle shop opposite
has gone.
An extract from from"Newbury Living Memories".