In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hurley like this:
HURLEY, a village and a parish in Cookham district, Berks. The village stands in a valley on the river Thames, amid an amphitheatre of green and wooded hills, adjacent to Bucks, 2½ miles SW of Great Marlow, and 4 NW by W of Maidenhead r. station; is a picturesque place, with some old timber houses; and has a post pillar box under Marlow. ...
The parish includes part of Knowle-Hill chapelry, and comprises 4, 097 acres. Real property, £6, 795; of which £47 are in fisheries. Pop., 1, 184. Houses, 234. The property is divided among a few. The manor was given, at the Conquest, to Geoffrey de Mandeville; went soon to Westminster abbey; passed, at the Reformation, to the Lovelaces; and went afterwards to the Wilcocks' and others. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Westminster abbey, was founded on it in 1086; and had vaults, which still exist, and in which, not many years ago, three monks' bodies were discovered in their Benedictine habits. A mansion was built over the priory's site about 1600, by Sir Richard Lovelace; made a great figure at the Revolution, in connexion with Richard Lord Lovelace; bore the name of Lady Place; was "a perplexing labyrinth of panelled rooms;" contained some paintings ascribed to Salvator Rosa; was last inhabited by the brother of Admiral Kempenfelt; and underwent demolition in 1837. Its chief materials were sold for £700; and a staircase in it, of great splendour, was removed to a mansion in one of the northern counties. The vaults of the priory continned to exist beneath the mansion; were the meetingplace of the planners of the Revolution; and were visited by William III., George III., and Paoli; and these vaults, covered by a mound of green turf, are now all that remain of the mansion. The rocks of the parish belong to the tertiary formation, and are remarkable for fine fossil specimens of the elephant, the hippopotamus, the tiger, and other animals. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £263.* Patron, the Rev. F. J. Wethered. The church is Norman; belonged to Westminster abbey; was the burial place of Edith, sister of Edward the Confessor; underwent restoration in 1852; retains some interesting Norman details; and contains an ancient monument to the Lovelaces, and some other monuments. The vicarage of Knowle-Hill is a separate benefice. There are national schools, and charities £49.
Hurley through time
Hurley is now part of Windsor and Maidenhead district. Click here for graphs and data of how Windsor and Maidenhead has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hurley itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hurley, in Windsor and Maidenhead and Berkshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3614
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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