Having already discussed the succession of the Manor of Watchfield, it was at the close of the 18th century that it too, along with neighbouring manors in Shrivenham, all came into the possession of the Barrington Estate. The seat of this estate was Beckett which at one time was an important manor in its own right, being mentioned quite separately in the Domesday Book. By 1796, Lord Barrington, from his large mansion that is Beckett House, controlled much of the day to day affairs in both Watchfield and Shrivenham.
But by the end of the 19th century the power and structure of the manorial system was diminishing and becoming ever more costly to maintain. Such became the strain that in 1922 the whole estate was put up for auction by the then Right Honourable Viscount Barrington. To assist in the sale a catalogue was printed setting out the numerous lots along with maps to aid location. This document along with others, is preserved in the Library of the Defence College of Management and Technology (DCMT), a military establishment that took over the ownership of Beckett House and grounds in 1936.
The following information is pages copied from the catalogue concerning property belonging to the Barrington Estate but located within the parish boundary of Watchfield. My grateful thanks to Rachel Daniels of DCMT Library for allowing me access to the documents.
Picture 78. Beckett House, former home of the Barringtons
Pictures 79 - 81 (Above). Pages from the Sale Brochure
Picture 82 (above). The farm house as it appeared in the catalogue in 1922. The land associated with the sale of Beckett Home Farm is where Squires Road and Maidens Close stands today. The gardens behind the house has now been re-developed with new housing.
Picture 83 (above). The farm house at it appeared in the catalogue in 1922. Now converted into flats and the associated outbuildings into maisonettes.
Pictures 84 & 85 above. Two views of Beckett House from 1905
Both photos Courtesy of Paul Williams
You can read a more comprehensive history of Beckett, also available online at
www.neil-maw.co.uk/beckett.chronicle