Datchet

Datchet

Despite modern development, Datchet manages to retain many features of a quiet riverside settlement. The older buildings cluster around The Green with its central oak tree commemorating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, while those of later periods line the roads radiating towards the river and the attractive Thames-side gardens.

There was a church at Datchet as far back as the 13th century but, along with most others in the area, it was rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century and subsequently enlarged. A portion of the earlier church can be found at the east end whilst the chancel has two interesting brasses – one in memory of Lady Katheryn Berkeley, and the other erected in 1593 to the memory of Richard Hambery, a London goldsmith, and his wife.

Being convenient for London – with its own railway station and close to the M4 motorway – Datchet has been home to many famous people over the years, among them astronomer William Herschel and Robert Barker, the royal printer to Elizabeth I and James I who, at his own expense, printed the Authorised Version of the Bible in 1611.

Robert Barker died in a debtors’ prison in 1645, but to this day the village benefits from the Barker Bridge House Trust set up in his name. The Trust gains income from its local rents, including from the Royal Stag public house. This income supports the village with 60% allocated to expenditure not covered by local rates and the remainder to the repair and upkeep of the parish church.

http://www.datchet.com

Datchet Contact

Datchet Parish Council
Mr G.J Leaver
Clerk to the Council
Datchet Parish Council Office
1, Allen Way
Datchet, Slough
SL3 9HR

email: clerk@datchetparishcouncil.org.uk