Hurley

"HURLEY, a parish in the hundred of Beynhurst, county Berks, 5 miles from Maidenhead, its post town, 3 from Marlow, and 4 from Henley. The village, which is situated at the ferry on the Thames, is celebrated as being a most healthy spot. The manor was given by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who founded a Benedictine cell here to Westminster Abbey. At the Dissolution it came to the Lovelaces, or lords Hurley, who, about 1600, erected Lady Place on the site of the old crypts. In 1688 the planners of the great revolution met here. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Oxford, value £263. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, has recently been restored at great expense. It is of very ancient date, and was consecrated in 1086 by Osmund the Good. It has a stained-glass window, and a Norman screen, which separates the newly added vestry-room from the chancel. There are several ancient monuments, one of which is to the family of Lord Lovelace. There is also a district church at Knowl Hill, the living of which is a perpetual curacy,* value £90. The parochial charities produce about £58 per annum. There is a parochial school. The crypts have been visited by William III., George III., and Paoli."

"APPLEHOUSE HILL, a named area, in the parish of Hurley, in the county of Berks, possibly extending into the parish of Bisham."

"BIRCHET'S GREEN, (or Burchetts Green), a small village in the parishes of Wargrave and Hurley, in the county of Berks, 8 miles from Reading, and 4 from Twyford station on the Great Western railway. It is situated on a commanding site, adjoining the beautiful demesne of Sir East Clayton East, Bart., and enjoys an extensive view over the surrounding country.

"KNOWL HILL, a village and ecclesiastical district in the parish of Hurley, county Berks, 4 miles S.W. of Maidenhead. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Oxford, and patronage of the Vicar of Hurley. There is also a small place of the same name in county Surrey, about 4 miles E. of Guildford."

"LADY PLACE, a demesne in the parish of Hurley, hundred of Beynhurst, county Berks, 3 miles S.W. of Great Marlow. It is situated at the ferry on the Thames, and is celebrated in history as the place where the planners of the Revolution met in 1688, and on this account it was visited by William III., George III., and Paoli. The mansion was erected by the Lovelaces (Lords Hurley) at the commencement of the 17th century, on the site of the old crypts of a Benedictine cell to Westminster Abbey. There are still remaining some portions of the ancient priory, including the refectory, and a saloon said to have been painted by Santa Rosa."

From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland(1868). Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003.

Other descriptions can be found from other periods in various trade directories covering Berkshire from the early 19th century onwards from Berkshire FHS (members only) and from A Vision of Britain Through Time.