Ruscombe

This article is about the village in Berkshire. For the house in the United States, see Ruscombe (Baltimore, Maryland).

Ruscombe is a village and civil parish, east of Twyford in the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England.

Ruscombe
St James' parish church
Ruscombe Location within Berkshire
Population	1,094 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SU7976
Civil parish	Ruscombe
Unitary authority	Wokingham
Ceremonial county	Berkshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Reading
Postcode district	RG10
Dialling code	0118
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Wokingham
Website	Ruscombe Parish Council

History

Reports from the late 1800s provided summaries of the status of the village; in 1876, the population was 200 and that increased to 349 by 1895. The village was served by a National school. The primary landowners were TC Garth and Rev. A Barker. St James the Great church was described as "a building of flint and brick, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch, and an embattled western tower". A history of the parish published in 1923 provided extensive coverage of the previous centuries. At that time, the settlement included "a few modern cottages" as well as the manor and church.

Parish church

Main article: Church of St James the Great, Ruscombe

The Church of England parish church of St James was built in the late 12th century. Its Norman chancel survives but its nave and west tower were rebuilt in 1638–39. Additional modifications were made in the 1800s. The church has been a Grade I listed building since 1967. St James' is part of a united benefice with St. Mary's, Twyford. The benefice is in turn part of a local ecumenical partnership with Twyford United Reformed Church. In March 2020, the partnerships included St Mary's Twyford, St Nicholas Hurst, St James Ruscombe and Twyford United Reformed Church.

Manor

The manor of Southbury was the home of William Penn from 1710 until his death in 1718. The farmhouse has been a Grade II listed building since 1952. At that time, it was described as "Manor house, now large house. Late C16. Altered C19 & C20. Timber frame with brick infilling".

A report in 2018 provided this information about the gardens:

"The gardens have been developed over the last 20 years when an ancient oak and a venerable Cornus mas together with a few other mature trees and an abundance of Leylandii (all gone!) were all that were noteworthy. The garden is now broken up into several separate areas, the cottage garden, the herbaceous garden, the rose garden a shrub & general area and a modern section with grasses and a Japanese garden. Behind this the garden opens into a less formal area with woodland and a stream and pond. Altogether there are over 1500 different species of plants spread over the 12 acres".

In 2020, after extensive renovations and an extension over the years by Sir Colin Southgate and Lady Sally Southgate, the property was listed for sale including not only the primary house, but also two cottages, tennis courts, the Grade II Listed tithe barn and granary, as well as a series of outbuildings.

Notable people

• William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, lived in Ruscombe from 1710 until his death in 1718.
• Dennis Price, co-star of the film Kind Hearts and Coronets, was born in Ruscombe in 1915.

Amenities

Ruscombe Football Club plays in the Reading Sunday League.

Bibliography

• Ditchfield, P.H.; Page, W.H., eds. (1923). "Parishes: Ruscombe". A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 3. Victoria County History.
• Ford, David Nash (2001). William Penn (1644-1718). Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 208–209.

External links

• Stroud Voices mid 20th century oral history from Ruscombe residents