Whatcombe
Whatcombe is a farmstead in Berkshire, amongst the Berkshire Downs at SU393788, where once stood a village. It is a mile or so south east from Fawley Manor.
Today Whatcombe is famed for the racing stable here, but history lies beneathe surface. In the 1930s a grave was dug for Blandford, probably the most famous stallion of his day, and in the grave Anglo-Saxon remains were found.
Historical remains
The present house incorporates parts of the old Norman church which, like the original manor house, has long since fallen into ruin.
It is said that stones from this church were taken to build the chantry chapel at Lambourn. Another well known tradition has it that the bells were stolen from Whatcombe’s church and were surreptitiously melted down, so that they could not be traced, and were then recast to provide bells for East Garston church. Another local legend has it that Whatcombe once had a monastery from which a secret passageway ran to the Manor at South Fawley; none has been found.
Aftert the village had disappeared and the church had crumbled and been carted away, the manor house remained and in time developed into stables. Several Derby winners have been trained on nearby Woolley Downs, one of the best training gallops in the country, known for the superlative quality of its turf.
At the junction of the South Fawley road and the A338, there is a wooded and waterlogged area where used to stand three famous elms known as Adam and Eve and the Serpent. When one succumbed to Dutch elm disease a decade or more ago they said it must be the serpent. Now Adam and Eve have fallen too.
Domesdy Book entry
The Domesday Book of 1086 records Watecumbe as having just 3 households, and yielding to the lord a thirty shillings in 1066 and twenty shillings (a pound) at the time of the survey. The manor was held by Geoffrey de Mandeville; before the conquest it was held by Siward.
References
- Whatcombe History - Paul Cole Racing