Old Images of Purley, London

Historic Book

Extract from: “Rivers of Great Britain – The Thames, from Source to Sea; Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial”, published by Cassell

Published in 1891

Pages 93-94

“Mapledurham Church is near the manor – house , from whose grounds access is obtained to the churchyard by a pair of huge old – fashioned iron gates . It is a restored church , the south aisle of which is claimed by the Blount family as a private mortuary chapel .

Purley is a small rustic Berkshire village , standing back half a mile from the river . The church , however , is nearer , and the ancient tower bears a scutcheon with the arms of the Bolingbroke family , and dated 1626 .

A horse – ferry below Mapledurham conveys the pedestrian to the Oxford side , where , for less than half a mile , the tow – path continues . The ferryman is not always to be found , and the pedestrian , stopped by the iron railing , had better follow the footpath skirting the beautiful park at Purley .

Backward glimpses may thus be indulged in of the mill , church , and manor – house , with a breadth of fertile meadow intervening ; and , walking up the steep road towards Belleisle House , the temporary desertion of the river will be amply repaid by the extensive general view of the Thames Valley which has just been traversed .

Purley Hall , built by South – Sea Bubble Law , was the residence of Warren Hastings during his trial .

For the boating – man , the river makes no exceptional demand upon his strength or imagination for several miles . The divergence by land , as above suggested , brings you presently to the ” Roebuck , ” where a second ferry within the half mile assigns the tow – path once again to the Berkshire shore .

The old – fashioned boating – tavern has not been demolished , but perched upon the hill above the Caversham Reach a more modern hotel tempts the oarsman to pause and refresh , and the holiday – maker to look out upon the remarkable map of river and landscape for which the situation is celebrated .

The thatched roof , ancient kitchen , and tap of the original wayside inn are left standing – an eloquent contrast by the side of its successor .

The Thames between Purley and the eelbucks at Chasey Farm is studded with a variety of islands . They are at their best but small and tiny , bearing a few trees , or a crop of osiers , or amounting to nothing more important than a bed of rushes.

Insignificant , however , though they may be , they preserve the character of the river , breaking as they do the monotony of the current , which , in the more level tract now watered by the Thames , shows an increasing tendency to the commonplace .

The conclusion will be irresistibly forced upon us that we have at length , with reluctance , parted from the beautiful section which includes Streatley and Goring, Pangbourne and Whitchurch , Hardwicke and Mapledurham – scenic pearls of price lying within a convenient range of not more than seven miles.”