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An ancient deed I am about to quote is of interest, not only for itself but for this reason, it is dated 1340, and among its subscribers are John Atte Bere (A'Bear) and Robert Wepestrode (? Gibstrude). John A'Bear was mentioned as a churchwarden on the bells melted in the fire, and today I have been to see John A'Bear to crave his help in tracing Wargrave's history. I had but a few miles to travel, and even so recently as last year members of his family lived in Wargrave - a residence of at least 600 years.

The deed referred to is the Nonarum Inquisitonum: “Sworn before the Pryor of Walyngford and his fellows say upon their oath that the ninth part of the fleeces of the lambs, and of the aforesaid Vill granted to the Lord the King are worth what they are valued at to the church of Wargrave, that is to say eighteen marks, and they do not exceed this because a great part of the lands of the parishioners of the said Vill lies uncultivated in consequence of the pauperisation of the Aforesaid Parishioners, and because there are great expenses in the autumn in collecting the sheaves, and because the land and wood and meadow and pasture belong to the Vicar, and also the small tithes which have to he offered, and the Mortuary fees and the tithes of hay of the said Vill amount per annum to £10 which profits indeed run over the extent of the said church.“

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Throughout the whole of the four centuries of the Registers many names still familiar to us constantly recur, notably A'Bear, Silver, Ford, Piggott, Guy, Burfoot, Cotterell, Headington, Newbery, Goulding, Pither, Langford, Street, Gleed, Neighbour, and Lewington which latter I imagine is the same as Lewendon.

Unfortunately the place of residence is rarely mentioned with the name, the very few exceptions being in the case of very big families, when we get Henry fforde, of fforde House, followed very shortly by Elizabeth fforde, widow of Gibstrude, and one or two other such entries.

The outstanding entry in the burials register is almost at its start when, in 1544, in the middle of summer, nine members of the A'Bear family are buried in a space of three weeks, and from the fact that no other deaths are recorded in the same month it does not look as though plague or smallpox was the trouble, as the rest of the village are hardly likely to have all escaped.

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