Shiplake and the banks of the Thames

Introduction The walk takes us from (strictly speaking Shiplake Cross), through Lower Shiplake, along the banks of the Thames as far as Shiplake College and then back to the start. Key points are numbered on the map and correspond to the numbered sections below.

Shiplake is a two-village parish. The oldest part is the area known as the village of Shiplake Cross. It is close to the parish church of St. Peter and Paul, Shiplake College (formerly Shiplake Court and farm), the local primary school and the Plowden Arms pub. The newer part, near the river and the station, is Lower Shiplake which is the "commercial centre", with all the shops, a post office etc. The name Shiplake most likely stems from 'stream where sheep are washed‘ (sheeplake) but it has also been suggested that it could be named after the final resting place of a Viking ship (ship loss) as the river was too shallow to navigate above Shiplake.

1) Shiplake Memorial Hall and Institute Shiplake Memorial Hall was built in 1925-6 as the gift of the Mardon family in memory of their son killed in the First World War. It was prominently supported by the Thames Lodge of the Freemasons. It was used as a temporary classroom for evacuees from during World War Two, as the local primary school was not big enough. In 2013 a complete refurbishment and expansion was undertaken costing £450,000 (almost the same as it cost to build the original). At the western end of Memorial Avenue is a primary school, originally built in 1847 but replaced in 1963 and extended since then. However, we walk east, towards the river. 2) New Cross New Cross is where the Memorial Avenue meets the main A4155, Reading to Henley road. There is pressure to install a pedestrian crossing here, for children from Lower Shiplake going to the primary school and for Shiplake Cross residents going to the shops in Lower Shiplake or the parish church. The chief reason for the junction is Mill Lane, which gave access to Shiplake Mill and Shiplake Lock, and is now the southern access route into Lower Shiplake. By 1900 there were enough houses in the centre of Lower Shiplake to warrant a new road, directly from New Cross. These included Fairholme, Westfield, Lashbrook Cottage and Thisteldown. This is why New Road was created! We'll see how many of these still remain. 3) Mill Road We reach a T-junction with Mill Road, the main road through the village. The centre of the village is to the left – five minutes walk takes you to the station and the Baskerville Arms. (This was named after the Baskerville family who owned Crowsley Park, a few miles west and which used to be part of the parish of Shiplake – remember the Hound of the Baskervilles ?). The Thames Path passes along this road, rather than the river bank – we will see why later. We take the narrow path to the left of Virginia Cottage. On the right we reach the quant Lashbrook Chapel.

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4) Lashbrook Chapel It is likely that the Lashbrook Chapel building was originally the store for the nearby paper mill. The mill closed in 1907 (we will see what's left later) . In June 1914 the store was referred to as the Parish Room and daily services were held here. The last service at the chapel was held on 27th October 2002. We continue down beside the house on the left and over a small stream – the Lashbrook. 5) Over the Lashbrook The path we use here has only become a public right of way after a 13-year battle with the owner of the adjacent house on the left, an action championed by the Ramblers and inspired by a local, David Ramm. Round the back we reach the Henley – Twyford railway branch line. 6) The Regatta Line

The 4-mile long branch line to Henley was built in 1857, as part of the Great Western Railway. Electrification started this year (2015). Initially the only intermediate station was Shiplake. It was converted to a double track in 1897 and Wargrave Station was opened in 1900. In 1961 it reverted to a single track. Wargrave and Shiplake stations were demolished in 1985 and replaced by bus shelters.

Passing under the railway (duck !) we join what was a dead-end path and can now go down to the river. This area is still called Lashbrook. 7) Lashbrook. Historically there is an interesting reason why the first stretch of riverbank that you will take is not the Thames Path. The towpath coming south from Henley is on the west bank. However, the owner of Bolney Court, about 2 miles north of here, would not allow it to pass through his land. Boat owners were therefore forced to take their horses across to the east bank at the Bolney Ferry and then back to the west bank at the Lashbrook ferry. These ferries of course have long gone. The Thames Path for simplicity therefore took a simple route that skirts Bolney Court to the landward side, and goes straight through Lower Shiplake to the lock (there are plans to reroute it at some time in the future). A notice board to the left (designed by David Ramm) shows the layout of the ferries. We walk now along the river bank and past a big marina. Eventually we reach a gate and a path off to the right. 8) The Wargrave Ferry Wargrave, on the opposite bank, is a much larger place than Shiplake. Where we see the pub on the opposite bank – The George and Dragon - there was a ferry: the steps can still be seen on our side. The path off to the right is along the line where the track from the ferry to Shiplake used to go. Particularly before Wargrave got its own station, this was an essential route between the two places. If you were to take the path, and go under the railway, you are at the eastern end of Mill Lane – the western end of which is at New Cross. Looking back we see an impressive building on the hill above Wargrave, Wargrave Manor.

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9) Wargrave Manor Wargrave Manor is the first of four significant buildings we see on the last part of the walk. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book but the current building was built the late 18th century and altered in the 19th and 20th. It is a Grade II listed building with grounds of about 125 acres. It was once owned by Gertude Jekyll's family and most recently the Sultan of Oman bought it in the 1980's. Although it's fully staffed all year round, he does not live there but his mother and some of his wives do. He only visits the manor about twice a year and when he does so he only stays during the day. When he is there, there are armed security men at every entrance and guard dogs patrol the grounds. He often donates money to organisations in the village. He provided money to extend the youth centre and provided his own chefs for an Omani evening as part of the Wargrave Festival in 1985. About 100 yards further along there was an earlier ferry across to Wargrave. We continue right along the river bank to the railway viaduct. This was a wooden bridge in 1857 but replaced by this iron bridge when the track was doubled. Note the double set of piers still remain, but only one track, from when the line was reduced to a single track. There were plans to use these supports to make a pedestrian bridge, funded by the Millennium Project, but objections eventually caused the idea to be dropped. There are now revised plans so it may become a cycle route - some time in the future. Now we come to. …….. a big gate. 10) "The Back Garden Route" The route ahead has been the towpath since 1775, long before any houses were built here, except the Mill House. As late as 1933 an OS map shows there was a fenced path along the river bank to allow unhindered access as far as the mill . Since then, the owners have claimed the river bank as their own – but allow us to exercise our right of way across. There are 12 gardens to cross – most have a gate at each side. Be considerate, don't take photos or deviate from the path. At the end, we reach a boat house, have to go up the final garden to Mill Lane, round Mill House and back down to the river again. Here is where the Thames Path joins us, at Shiplake Lock. We will follow that as far as the college. 11) Shiplake Lock and Island On the left of the path to the lock we see the remains of Shiplake Mill, initially a corn mill and later a paper mill. It burnt down and was demolished in 1907. As with many locks, the location was chosen because an island in the river gave the opportunity to have a lock and a weir. The original lock was built in 1773, of fir wood. This was rebuilt with oak in 1787. It was rebuilt again in 1874. Steel gates were installed in 2009/10. The linked island is unusual in that it was purchased by the City of London in 1891 for camping. In 1914 it was transferred to the Thames Conservancy and the 18 plots are still jealously owned and passed down the family line. In the early days huts were allowed - but only for cooking, not sleeping - and ladies were not allowed to sleep on the island. We continue along the river bank until a fence appears, which borders the grounds of Shiplake House. 12) Shiplake House The most famous owner of this house was Sir Robert Phillimore (1810 – 85) was a politician, constitutional lawyer, judge and friend of Prime Minister Gladstone. The island opposite his house is named after him. When we get to the end of the fence a grassy area appears. This is the Shiplake College boathouse area. The college is high on the hill to the right.

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13) Shiplake College The current building is a large red Victorian mansion in a 45 acre site, built in 1890 for Robert Harrison (although there were early buildings at this spot and in the sixteenth century, it was the residence of Edmund Plowden). It was originally known as Shiplake Court. Between the wars it was known as Skipwith House and from 1925 owned by Lord Wargrave, then briefly a prep school and then during the Second World War was requisitioned and used as a hostel for BBC staff working at – the monitoring centre in Caversham. In 1959 it became a public boarding school. It now takes around 400 pupils and takes girls in the 6th form. We leave the Thames Path and pass between the Club House and the Boat Houses and climb the hill to the church of St Peter and St Paul. 14) Shiplake Church The church dates from at least the 13th century – much of it was rebuilt and restored in 1869. It has a ring of eight bells, from the famous Whitechapel foundry. Alfred Lord Tennyson married a cousin of the Vicar's wife here in 1850, encouraging him to write ‘The peace of God came into my life before the altar when I wedded her’. We pass beside the church or through the churchyard to the main road – opposite The Plowden Arms. 15) Plowden Arms There is evidence that some of the timbers of the Plowden Arms public house date back to the 1600s and that it was an ale house as far back as 1749. It was originally called The Plow, then The Plough Inn and then The Plough Hotel before the name was changed to The Plowden Arms in the 1930s by owners Brakspear (Plowden coincidentally is the name of one of the local families). In the 1800s it was the location of dinners following Parish meetings. In 1853 the parishioners discussed the proposal for the Henley branch railway line. Isambard Kingdom Brunel is likely to have been present at such dinners. We walk up Plough Lane a short way and then take a footpath back to the start.

Notable Residents of Shiplake • Barriemore Barlow, former drummer of Jethro Tull, lives in Shiplake. • Vince Hill, singer, lives at Lower Shiplake. • Henry Constantine Jennings, the antiquarian, was born at Shiplake and on 15 August 1731 was baptised in the parish church. • Simon Kernick, best selling author of crime thrillers, lives in Shiplake • Gary Moore used to live in Shiplake. • George Orwell, author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, lived in Shiplake. • Ian Paice, drummer of rock band Deep Purple, lives in Shiplake. • Brian Paterson, creator of Foxwood Tales and Zigby, lives in Shiplake. • Urs Schwarzenbach, the financier, has one of his houses at Lower Shiplake. • Alfred Tennyson and Emily Sellwood were married in Shiplake Church. • Baron Phillimore, of Shiplake in the County of Oxford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

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