History of Chieveley

MyChieveley presents

The Bite Size History of Chieveley 

An assortment of interesting and curious facts about life in Chieveley during the twentieth century taken from Bill Martin's recently published book. Over the coming weeks we'll be publishing a series of extracts from the book answering these questions and more:

• How did Grace's Lane get its name?
• Why was Chieveley the chicken capital of Berkshire?
• Which famous painter returned to London claiming Chieveley was too quiet?
• What became of the village nightclub?

So keep visiting this page for 'The Bite Size History of Chieveley' and discover some of the colour behind the recent history of the village.

The Book - "Chieveley (Remembered)"

Having lived most of his life in Chieveley Bill Martin was encouraged by his wife Jill to share his remarkable memories of the life and times of the village with a wider audience. The result is Bill's charming and informative book in which he recalls the people, the events, the farms, the houses and the shops around which rural village life revolved from the 1930s to the 1990s.

Born in a cottage off the High Street in 1930 Bill and his family lived in Chieveley for decades. He attended Chieveley Primary School until he was 14 and then took a number of local jobs before entering the plumbing trade in which he laid many a pipe in the village. A stalwart of Chieveley Cricket Club with a wide interest in music, horses and other sports Bill has lived a full and colourful life accumulating a remarkable knowledge of the characters and events that shaped Chieveley in the last century.

How did Grace;s Lan get it' name

Chieveley - chicken capital of Berkshire