Dunston House

I have been writing, on behalf of Thatcham Historical Society, short articles for local magazines. So here is a copy of another one of the articles:

Thatcham has been owned by many notable people although none have had a Manor house or lived in Thatcham, that is until 1722 AD. Thatcham Manor was sold by the crown to the Duke of Chandos, who in turn sold it to Brigadier General Waring in the same year. Waring enclosed Dunston Park and built a Manor House there known as Dunston House (pictured). This was the first Lord of the Manor to actually be resident in Thatcham, most likely since Saxon times. The estate was put up for sale by auction in 1798. The estate did not sell and was pulled down, parts being sold off as building materials much of which can be seen in buildings around Thatcham today, such as parts of the URC. Much of the land has now been built over but until quite recently the outline of the driveway could still be seen from aerial photographs.

And yes it was Dunston and not Dunstan. There were once two fields, one called Dunstonefield, the other Dunstanefield. Yes that is the correct spelling. By 1730 Dunston House had been built although many swap the “o” for and “a”. In the early 1900s a new house had the name Dunstan House. It seems most use the “a” version now.