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E H T P WANTAGE AREAR WALKS & CYCLE ROUTES I O R A Y 3 Faringdon Abingdon O RC H A Grove N Grove R N 3 D 8

D A T O T R E E S F M I L L S E A R R E I N T S S N O E T E N I E G T R IR N E T D A M Old S L W T IN W O S I E G L V A N L Tramway R R O O S R Y O R T Building G A O R D A A E D E D A338 Betjeman T Millennium T Park S TH E C D LO E IS R West Letcombe Brook T F E L Betjeman Lane L A417 A Church of R Challow N A A S C SS Peter ED S MARK ET PLAC Market ISU & Paul E I NG F O D H L R T Place W A L D C S WANTAGE E T R R E E E Area of route 4 U T R East A417 Reading H T A 4 S 1 Challow C 7 C H U Reading 1 R C D H B4507 A Vale and 19 S T O R E P R E T OS Downland T T C Y O Childrey E F H R Museum FIC A E E O LA IN I R NE R T H P I S 17 L 16 L L 18 Y O 2 D C R 15 A K S U O B R L 14 13 Eagles Close

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RIDGE WAY 8 W I L L O W L A N E

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R O N Maps produced by Oxford Cartographers, www.oxfordcartographers.com A M Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database rights 2016 Hungerford Hungerford 0 50 100 150 200m

Route 4 - Victorian Wantage Part 2

The ancient market town of Wantage sits on the Letcombe Brook, at the foot of the Berkshire Downs. The town is characterised by 16th century timber framed houses refaced in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in red brick. In 1847 Wantage became an educational and spiritual centre for the Oxford Movement, and the vicar of the parish church, Rev William Butler, was responsible for several fine buildings in the town centre. This walk is in two parts, Route 3 and Route 4; together they total about four miles and form a figure of eight, with the Museum and Market Place at the centre. This route explores 19th century Wantage south of the market place. It shows how the Rev William Butler and the Oxford Movement changed the town in the Victorian period.

SECOND CIRCULAR WALK At the corner of Locks Lane turn left, ‘dog about 2 miles - all on the flat. leg’ south, past Victorian terraced cottages with slate chimney pots. Leave Museum, turn left into Church Street, follow the road past the parish church and turn On your left are more recent buildings of left into Priory Road, formerly Tanner Street. the former King Alfred’s Grammar School built Roof detail This was once the western side of the ancient from 1850 onwards. The limestone portion in Wantage village green. It is dominated by 16th century timber framed tanyard buildings, faced Turn left into Portway past the oldest part in brickwork during the 18th century. On the of King Alfred’s Grammar School with its former left, buildings on the former green are mainly chapel 1908 -1922. Victorian and Edwardian.

Having passed the continuous rows of brick King Alfred’s School King Alfred’s fronted cottages and houses, we reach a wall on the right, enclosing St Michael’s which was set up in 1852 as a school for training girls for domestic Gothic was designed by J. Clacy and domestic service but under the influence of the the brick buildings by Butterfield in 1872. Now

Rev Butler became training premises in 1855. this is the centre site of King Alfred’s Community Terrace Newbury Street The chapel apsidal was added in 1888. The & Sports Academy. buildings were converted into housing recently. died in1680. died He Netherlands. and madehisfortuneinthe whowasborninWantageRobert Stiles in 1625, legacy from of will the They are result the ofa a homeforelderlyfolk. bigentrancedooryoucanseesheep’sthe Court.Behind inStiles Almshouses,built Stiles streetway alongthis youcometoRobert 1840 to1850,reach NewburyStreet. 1874 -75. Mary’s extensiveadditions School in1848with wereseveral olderbuildings encasedtoformSt and observeNewburyStreet northwards where Comrades’ Club. whitehousejustbeforeHouse 1833,the the youreach until and cottages, formerToll the alsoterracedvillas used byafirmofsolicitors; School andBrooklands, large the housenow formerStMary’sto apartments,andpartofthe large housessuchasStGabriel’s, nowconverted toexploreContinue Victorian the buildings: Outside Stiles

Turn rightintoNewburyStreet. Alittle PortwayeastpastOrchardFollow House Retrace your steps back to the crossroadsRetrace yourstepsbacktothe

Brooklands Old Newbury Street practice St Gabriel’s almshouses still providealmshouses still pathway.into the These knuckles embedded Inside Stiles Obscure’.) for Wantage –Alfred’s Town –in‘Judethe Works. (Alfredston wasThomasHardy’s name formerWantagePlace, the Engineering development ofapartments,Alfredston animaginative opposite cornerofChainHill, about 100metres right,onthe aheadonthe before returning crossroads. tothe housing development. Methodist Chapel1844. Methodist town,infrontin the Wesleyan ofyouisthe Anne’s, Georgian earliest oneofthe houses blue gatebackintoNewburyStreet. around Butterfield’sthrough extensionandout a development. housing 1874 -75,nowincorporatedintothe Butterfield extendedby William buildings variousVictorian SchoolChapel andthe of the the tofind modernblocksof buildings the rear

Remain on the eastsideofNewbury Street.Remain onthe Across NewburyStreet toyourleftisSt pedestrianroad the Follow northwards accessroad the Follow andexplore behind newStMary’sFirst lefttakesyouintothe Turn leftintoOrmondRoad.You cansee Walk asfarPontin’s SchoolChapel1898

St Mary’s door St Mary’s roof St Mary’s Chapel fold line non-printing fold line never finishedTheoldscreensthe separating somerestored, ceilings, onthe paintings some There are somewonderfulPre-Raphaelite designed byWoodyer in1850. andestablished formerChurchthe PrimarySchoolwhichwas and backtowards leftis Museum.Onthe the town. the provide housingforretired attractive peoplein housing.Todayinvolvement with almshouses the featuresecclesiastical reflectthe church’s decayed housekeepers”.Theinteresting ofWantage,wife, anative asanasylumfor memoryofhisbelovedandaffectionateto the land“…outofrespectThomas Eagleleftthe terracegardens.former waterpumpinthe in1867.ThereClose Almshouses,built isa stamp dispenser. officethe the doorand the textover 1876.Note Officethe formerpost the corneris Lane;on series are availablefrom IndependentAdvice the classrooms are intactasare rolls the ofhonour. Produced tofundsprovided thanks bySEEDA Text andCarol Fuller courtesyofBill Altmann Further copies of this route copiesofthis Further inthe andothers

Vale & Downland Museum and Oxfordshire CountyCouncilthrough Return toNewburySt,cross toChurch St, lanetoafork,ahead is Eagles the Follow Turn Post with junction tothe rightandwalk Return to the Museum. Return tothe Oxfordshire RuralCommunityCouncil Series Editor: JeanNunn-PriceMBE Series Editor: Centre, Market Square, Wantage Eagles Close Almshouses Illustrations byStuartRoper Illustrations Photographs byDanRolfe