Shiplake
Shiplake maps (2 available)
Map of Oxfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Oxfordshire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Shiplake books (11 available)
Banbury Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Banbury - A History and Celebration
Hardback
Henley-on-Thames Town and City Memories
Paperback
- 2 photos on Shiplake appear in 3 Frith books - View photos of Shiplake
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Shiplake and Oxfordshire
Shiplake memories
Read and share memories of Shiplake and Oxfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Oxfordshire below.
Oxfordshire memories
Perfect school days
I was also a pupil at Friar Park from 1955 to 1962. I have nothing but wonderful memories of this amazing school. As a little girl the endless drive with rhododendron bushes eventually opening into this huge circle where an Edwardian Gothic mansion stood, will always be etched in my memory. The incredible sweep of the lawns on the West Terrace leading down to carefully contrived pools and bridges which hid amazing caves and tunnels that eventually led back into the school itself, were like a Gothic fairytale. At the Christmas Fair the nuns used to open these faintly lit caves, and around each corner you always expected to see at least a goblin sitting with his legs crossed!
read more here
A memory of Henley-On-Thames contributed by Catherine Edwards
School days
Before becoming the home of George Harrison of the Beatles, Friar Park was run as a school by sisters of the St. John Bosco order. This was my first school and I remember having to walk all the way to the main door along the winding drive each morning, passing by the huge rhododendron bushes which lined each side. As I approached the large arched entrance door, shown in the photograph above, I could see the gargoyles dotted around the building, they seemed so frightening and I would always hold my head down until I could ring the large door bell and then would stand and wait for one of the sisters to come and welcome me in for the day. ...read more here
A memory of Henley-On-Thames contributed by Mandy Lester
KENNYLANDS CAMP SCHOOL
My best friend and I attended Suttons Secondary Boys School in Hornchurch Essex, and both of us were fortunate to be chosen to attend a two month summer term at Kennylands, situated at Sonning Common Berkshire. Actually we were both lucky twice and attended two years in succession. The Camp was beautifully laid out in two seperate halves, divided by a central dining hall and a flag pole. I didn't realize until I arrived at camp that the 'other half' of the camp was for girls.
No entry to the girls' half was permitted under the threat of being expelled. The only exceptions were to attend church on Sundays and when parents visited. We were required to attend ballroom dancing lessons ...read more here
A memory of Sonning Common contributed by Denman Lalonde
Morris Dancers at Nettlebed
I remember coming to Nettlebed in 1993 to play my piano accordian at this pub (and several others!) for Whitethorn Morris.
It was a gorgeous sunny summer day and crowds gathered round to watch the entertainment. Whitethorn Morris is a women's clog morris team from Harrow and they always look smart in their scarlet and blue kit with shiny black clogs. We brought our own band to play and had a really good day's outing in Nettlebed along with with dancers and musicians from other morris sides.
A memory of Nettlebed contributed by John Howard Norfolk
Extracts From Shiplake & Oxfordshire books
This is a wonderful view of the old mill at Shiplake. The top gate of the lock is closed, and the unusual three sluices can be seen as a rowing skiff leaves the chamber. Once, there were mills all alongside the Thames, and over the years disputes over water rights were rife.
An extract from from"Canals and Waterways".
The river Loddon meets the Thames at Shiplake. Alexander Pope described the river thus: ‘The Loddon slow,
with silver alders crown’d’. Shiplake is situated on a chalk cliff, prettily overhanging one of the loveliest bends
of the river.
An extract from from"Oxfordshire Photographic Memories".
As we reach Shiplake Lock, only the lock, albeit entirely reconstructed, survives in this view looking upstream to the lock. The large weatherboarded watermill was demolished around 1900 and only the mill house remained, just off the picture to the right. The waterwheel housing can be seen on the left wall of the mill.
An extract from from"Down the Thames Photographic Memories".
The Thames falls by three feet and six inches at Shiplake Lock. Alfred Tennyson was married in Shiplake church
in 1850. His bride was Emily Sellwood, whom Tennyson had known since she was a girl of seventeen.
An extract from from"Oxfordshire Photographic Memories".
This 1893 view of the Catherine Wheel, an inn by 1499, shows
it just before it took over the two Georgian brick houses beyond.
On the right, the street still awaits the out-of-scale London and
Counties bank, erected in 1892.
An extract from from"Henley-on-Thames Town and City Memories".