in 1791 c. 1905 by
Henry Taunt The first written description of Caversham as Cavesham appeared in the
Domesday Book (1086) within the
hundred of
Binfield. This entry indicates that a sizeable community had developed with a considerable amount of land under cultivation. Robert de Montfort and
Henry of Essex fought in front of
Henry II under a bridge by the village. The martial Earl of Pembroke, who was a protector of
Henry III, died in Caversham in the 13th century. It became a popular place of
pilgrimage, along with the
chapel of
St. Anne on the bridge and her well, whose waters were believed to have healing properties. By the 15th century the statue was plated in silver and dressed in lifelike clothes with "cap and hair";
Catherine of Aragon is recorded as visiting here on 17 July 1532. The shrine was destroyed on 14 September 1538 under the command of
Henry VIII. Only the well survives, now dry and surrounded by a protective wall, topped with a domed iron grill. A modern shrine to Our Lady has been re-established at the
Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St. Anne. In the
Middle Ages Caversham Manor was one of the
demesnes of
William Marshal,
Earl of Pembroke and
regent during
King Henry III's minority. It was the place of his death. The medieval community was clustered on the north side of
Caversham Bridge east of
St Peter's Church, which was built in the 12th century. The third
Earl of Buckingham donated the land for the church and neighbouring rectory, together with a considerable amount of land around it, to the
Augustinian Notley Abbey near
Long Crendon in
Buckinghamshire. After the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, these lands were given to
Christ Church. The fortified
manor house was replaced by
Caversham House and Park in the 16th century. Several houses have stood on the site, notably the home of
William Cadogan. The present Caversham Park House, built in 1850, was occupied by
BBC Monitoring from 1943 until 2018, analysing news, information and comment gathered from mass media around the world. The
BBC Written Archives Centre is still based on part of the site. A Caversham pub, the Fox and Hounds, was the site in April 1960 of the only public performances of
John Lennon and
Paul McCartney as a duo, who were billed as "the Nerk Twins". A
blue plaque marks the site today. == Governance ==