The sanctuary of St Mary's Church (above)
The Chapel of St Amand and St John the Baptist, Hendred House (right)
East Hendred: Early Days
The name Hendred is said to mean "stream beloved of waterfowl". The earliest mention of the village comes from 956. Domesday Book mentions two churches, one in what is now East Hendred and the other in West Hendred. In medieval times there were five manors in the village, each comprising a manor house, land and other buildings. Two of the most important were Abbey Manor, opposite what is now the village shop, owned by Reading Abbey, and the Manor of Arches, now Hendred House, which has been held by the Eyston family since the fifteenth century.
Christianity obviously came early to Hendred. St Birinus set up his episcopal see in nearby Dorchester on Thames in 635, but there is evidence of Roman Christians practising their faith hereabouts even earlier.
At the Reformation the monasteries were dissolved, their estates confiscated, and a new state church established where the Mass was replaced by the services of the Book of Common Prayer. Catholics who remained loyal to their faith were now subject to all kinds of penalties. They were known as Recusants (from the Latin "to refuse") because they refused to attend the services of the new church. For more than two and a half centuries, during Penal times, Catholics were persecuted, often suffering fines, imprisonment and death.
The faith was kept alive by "country house missions" where priests were able to say Mass and administer the sacraments. Hendred is unusual in that the Eyston family, who are descended from St Thomas More and sheltered priests in Penal times, still live in the village and play an active role in the life of the Church. Today Mass is celebrated in their chapel of St Amand and St John the Baptist as it has been since the thirteenth century. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is held in the chapel every Friday and occasionally the Benedictines from over the way sing Latin Vespers there.
A New Church for East Hendred
The Catholic Emancipation Act made things easier for Catholics, but it was not until 1850 that Rome restored the English hierarchy, and later still that Hendred acquired a new Catholic parish church, thanks to Charles John Eyston. St Mary's was consecrated on 17 August 1865. Designed by A. C. Buckler and reordered in 1983, the church has a pleasing architectural unity and several interesting features. The stained glass by Hardmann is much admired and includes a rare depiction of St Robert of Molesmes, while the Hendrie window, depicting the life of St Francis of Assissi, is probably the finest he ever did.
