Chapel Row

Coordinates: 51°25′18″N 1°10′47″W / 51.421556°N 1.179670°W / 51.421556; -1.179670

Chapel Row
Chapel Row Post Office and Stores
Chapel Row  Chapel Row shown within Berkshire
OS grid reference	SU572695
Unitary authority	West Berkshire
Ceremonial county	Berkshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Newbury
Postcode district	RG7
Dialling code	0118
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Berkshire
List of places: UK • England • Berkshire

Chapel Row is a village in Berkshire, and part of the civil parish of Bucklebury, England. The settlement lies near to the A4 road, and is situated approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north-east of Newbury.

Notable residents

Main article: Bucklebury#Notable residents

Chapel Row was the home of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge before her marriage in April 2011.

History

Since the mid 17th century, an inn has stood near to the village green. The site is now occupied by The Bladebone Inn.

In the 18th century, Chapel Row became known for its revels, which were held on the Monday following the feast of Saint Anne.^[1] The revels featured events such as backswording (described by Joseph Addison in The Spectator as "a ring of cudgel players who broke one another's heads in order to make some impression on their mistresses' hearts").^[1] The sport was not featured in a number of later fayres as at least one contender was reported to have been killed.^[1] An 1812 Reading Mercury article on the fayre focuses primarily on agriculture, stating that the event was an opportunity to trade cattle and employ farmhands.^[2]

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Ford (2001b)
2. ^ The Chapel Row Fayre (2010)

Sources

• Ford, D N (2001a), Bucklebury, Wokingham, Berkshire: Royal Berkshire History, http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/bucklebury.html 
• Ford, D N (2001b), The Chapel Row Revel, Wokingham, Berkshire: Royal Berkshire History, http://www.berkshirehistory.com/articles/chapel_row_revel.html 
• The Chapel Row Fayre (2010), The History of the Fayre, http://www.chapelrowfayre.co.uk/history.html