MAPLEDURHAM
Mapledurham
is a small estate village on the north side of the Thames
a few miles west of Caversham. Facing Mapledurham on the
opposite bank of the river is the village of Purley-on-Thames
which is effectively a suburb of Reading.
Visitors to the village are attracted mainly by Mapledurham
House and Water Mill. Mapledurham house is a Grade I Country
House. c.1585 with C19 alterations and extensions. Most
of the village is a conservation area and there are 33
listed buildings in and around the village, including
farmhouses, barns, stables, houses, cottages, statues,
etc.
The Church of St. Margaret and Bardolf dates from the
C13, although there have of course been restorations and
alterations carried out since.
The Mill at Mapledurham is a working flour mill and is
thought to be the only mill on the Thames still working
and producing flour. The core of the present building
dates from the 15th century. The Mill continued working
until just after the Second World War. In 1980 it was
restored and brought back into use.
Part of the classic war film The Eagle has Landed was filmed in Mapledurham and many sequences were filmed
around the church. A mock Norfolk village was built in
the car park of Mapledurham House and the village contained
shops, a pub, a dairy, etc. of the period.
Scenes
from an episode of the popular TV series Midsomer Murders were also filmed in the village.
Mapledurham is on the north bank of the River Thames about 3 miles north-west of Caversham.