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Newcomers often ask but where is the village? It is true there are few houses
on the main road from Henley to Reading but not many would grumble these days at
having a built-in bypass.
It happened for historic reasons. The late 18th century owner of Shiplake Court,
the manor house, gambled away all his money, and the house fell into such decay
that it was pulled down in 1804. The estate did not support a thriving economy
and little building took place for the next 50 years.
In 1858 the railway came through the parish, about a mile away from what had
been the centre, near the Court and the church. It passed through a small
settlement near the Lashbrook. In fact this was probably settled before Shiplake,
as it is mentioned in Domesday Book, along with its mill. The mill, which was
where the lock now is, existed until 1908. It is interesting that though
Lashbrook Farm, the site of the Domesday manor, is in the flood plain, it
occupies a small area of higher ground which becomes an island.
Gradually summer houseboats moored on the river-bank near the new station, and
they acquired gardens alongside. The gardens were then built upon to provide
luxurious homes. As commuting became common, more and more houses were built
within easy reach of the station and although the long steam-engined trains have
given way to one and two-coach diesels it is still this part of the parish which
is the main settlement. It is here that the three shops, the hairdresser and the
garage are. As in most of the south-east commuter belt the pressure for new
houses is great and nearly 100 new houses have been built since the 1960s.
But it is a very mixed village there is council-run sheltered housing, and a
thriving Church of England primary school. A playgroup for the very small has
its home in the village hall, which, recently refurbished, hosts many other
activities. Cricket, football, bowls and tennis clubs flourish. The school and
the hall and playing fields form part of another area of development on the
opposite side of the main road from the station.
Shiplake Court was rebuilt in 1894 on its beautiful site overlooking the river.
Now it is a boys public school which has flourished since its foundation some
thirty years ago. They have had great success at rowing, and scholastically in
teaching the dyslexic.
Modern estate agents like to call the village Shiplake on Thames. Its not
correct but most villagers appreciate the beautiful tow path walk upstream from
Shiplake Lock. The changing seasons bring fresh palettes of colour: the brash
primary charms of summer hire boats, the delicate pastels of winter with bare
trees tracing patterns against the cold sky. Time can be idled away happily at
the lock, watching the expert and inexpert boat owners. A world away from the
social accent of Henley Royal Regatta, Shiplake joins forces each year with
Wargrave, the village on the Berkshire bank of the river, for a fun regatta.
The historic parish, only a mile and half wide, stretched seven miles, from the
river up to the fringe of the Chilterns. All the South Oxfordshire parishes were
of this form, providing lush water meadows which flooded in winter, and the
upland pasture necessary as a result. Small settlements occurred all the way
along the seven miles, and one has grown to form another small village at
Binfield Heath.
Shiplake has no great claims to a place in the history of the nation. Sir
Francis Plowden, Queen Elizabeths Chancellor lived at Shiplake Court, but as
far as is known Queen Elizabeth did not sleep here. James Granger, vicar from
1747 to 1776, was famous in his day as a promoter of illustrating books by
adding pictures cut from other books. His name has entered the dictionaries as
grangerising. Lord Tennyson was married in the attractive small church, and
wrote a poem about the place. George Orwell lived here briefly as a boy. There
has been a brickworks and a paper mill, though now there is little employment
actually in the village: like so many rural places it is but a dormitory and
retirement home. However, it is a happy community that few people leave
voluntarily.
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