Longworth

"LONGWORTH, a parish in the hundreds of Ganfield and Ock, county Berks, 7 miles N.E. of Farringdon, and 8 N.W. of Abingdon, its post town. It is situated on the S. bank of the river Isis, and includes the hamlets of Charney Bassett and Draycot Moor. The surface is in general flat, and the soil clay alternated with sand. At Charney Bassett is a chapel-of-ease. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Oxford, value with the curacy of Charney Bassett annexed, £785, in the patronage of Jesus College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a small Saxon edifice with a tower. It contains a number of brasses, dating as far back as 1422. In the register is an entry of the baptism of Bishop Fell, whose father was rector of Longworth. From the site on which the church stands is an extensive prospect along the river and over into the opposite county of Oxford. The charities for the poor and educational purposes produce about £45 per annum. The Wesleyans have a chapel. There is a National school. Philip Pussy, Esq., is lord of the manor. In this parish is the ancient entrenchment called Cherbury Camp, of an oval form, surrounded by a triple vallum; the diameter in the widest part is 310 paces, and in the narrowest 211."

"CHARNEY BASSETT, a chapelry in the parish of Longworth, in the county of Berks, 6 miles E. of Faringdon. It is situated near the river Ock, in the vicinity of the Danish camp on Cherbury Hill. The chapel of ease, which is dedicated to St. Peter, has a handsome Norman doorway."

"DRAYCOT MOOR, a hamlet in the parish of Longworth, hundred of Ock, in the county of Berks, 5 miles W. of Abingdon.

"DRAYCOTT-MOORE, a hamlet in the parish of Longworth, hundred of Ock, in the county of Berks, 7½ miles N.E. of Great Farringdon."

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.