Southcote () is a suburban neighbourhood and electoral ward of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Located to the south-west of Reading town centre, Southcote has a population of about 8,500 (as of 2011). The settlement lies primarily between the London-to-Bath road and the River Kennet. Unusually for Reading, the suburb and ward are coterminous.
The area was sparsely populated until after the Second World War, though excavations have revealed evidence of Paleolithic and Iron Age activity in Southcote, as well as Roman and Saxon habitation. By the time William the Conqueror undertook the Domesday Survey in 1086, Southcote was sufficiently established to warrant a Lord of the manor, who at that time was William de Braose. From the 16th century onwards, Southcote Manor was owned by the Blagrave family, who sold the manor house in the 1920s. The area was subsequently developed into housing: much of the land changed from agricultural to residential. A large proportion of the land in Southcote not used for housing is classified as flood-meadow, providing flood plains between urbanisation and the River Kennet.
Residents of Southcote generally self-classify as Christian. The male life expectancy in the area is lower than the national estimate, although the female expectancy is slightly higher. Claimants of out-of-work benefits (such as Jobseeker's Allowance) are more prevalent in Southcote than in surrounding areas. Attainment in education in Southcote is lower than the Reading average, as is residents' self-evaluation of health.
Near to the settlement is Southcote Junction, where the Great Western Main Line diverges into the Reading to Taunton line and the Reading to Basingstoke line. The railways were preceded by the Kennet and Avon Canal, which passes south of the settlement. Southcote lends its name to a lock on the canal.
History
Toponymy Recorded in the Domesday Book as Sudcote, Southcote has also been referred to as Sutcot, Sudcot, Sukote, Suthcot, Suthcote, Suthcotes, and Southcoat, with the present spelling entering usage in the 15th century. Alternative spellings of Southcot and Southcott have also been used.
The name "Southcote", comparable to that of neighbouring Norcot, originates from the Old English "suth cote", meaning "south[ern] cottage". It is likely that Circuit Lane, one of the primary roads into Southcote, derives its name from "Circourt Lane", a corruption of "Southcote Lane". A similar development of names occurred at Circourt Manor near Denchworth, Oxfordshire.
Early history Lower Paleolithic and Palaeolithic materials have been recovered in various excavations in the Southcote area. An Iron Age occupation was located when houses were constructed in the 20th century. A Saxon urn was found in Southcote in 1924. The urn contained ashes and bone fragments, and was given to the Museum of Reading. A polished stone celt was also found in Southcote in 1926. An excavation of Southcote Manor in the 1960s uncovered many Roman, Romano-British and medieval artefacts such as sherds and pottery; a sample of the latter was discovered to have originated in Oxford in the 2nd century. Similarly, a Pannonian brooch and samian ware have been found in the area, and Roman pottery was found in the vicinity of the clay pits at Prospect Park Brick Works. Later inhabitation of Southcote was discovered at Anslow's Cottages south of the Kennet, where excavation suggests that a Bronze Age waterfront was made on a branch of the river. A 1991 report by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England—now known as English Heritage—detailed the discovery of fragments of twined basketry at Anslow's Cottages, showing that eel or fish traps were used on the river near Southcote. Archaeological findings of timber structures adjacent to the trap suggest that it dated from the eight or ninth century. Later discoveries, made in the 1980s during gravel extraction in the area, also uncovered evidence of a landing stage or jetty on the river channel.
11th–15th century The settlement of Southcote grew largely around the medieval house at Southcote Manor. Before the Norman Conquest, Southcote was held by Brictward—a Saxon landowner and priest—under Edward the Confessor. The settlement was documented in the Domesday Book as Sudcote with a total population of 13 households, consisting of five villagers and eight smallholders, though a manor house is not mentioned. At this time Southcote was mostly ploughlands, but had a mill and a fishery, and was valued at £5. The Lord of the manor at the time was William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber. In the early 1200s a house was built and Southcote was owned by Henry Belet. This house had two moats, supplied with water by a channel from the nearby Holy Brook. Upon Henry's death the estate was inherited by his son Michael, who was cup-bearer to Henry II. In 1337, a grant of free warren was made to the Belet family for the manor.
In 1365 the manor and 13th-century moated house passed into the Restwold family, and it passed through marriage to the Drew family of Seagry, Wiltshire, then the Sambourne family. Margaret Sambourne, the heir to the manor, died in 1494 and an inquisition the following year suggested that she held the manor (then valued at £20) as a trustee on behalf of Hugh Kenepy. Around this time a brick house was built to replace the earlier dwelling. After the death of Sambourne's son, Drew, an inquisition reported in contradiction that the manor was held by the Abbot of Reading; in their work on the Berkshire section of Victoria County History, Peter Ditchfield and William Henry Page write that at this point "the correct tenure had evidently been lost". Through Drew Sambourne's granddaughter, Margaret, the manor passed through marriage to William Windsor, 2nd Baron Windsor. William's grandson, Henry (5th Baron Windsor), sold the manor to Anthony Blagrave by the early 16th century.
16th–19th century The Blagrave family were wealthy landowners around Reading, and the manor passed down through the family (which included mathematician John Blagrave, who built a new house at Southcote); a lease document dated from 1596 suggests that the manor was divided between three Blagrave brothers. Daniel Blagrave, a cousin of John, inherited the manor on the latter's death in 1611. At the time of the English Civil War, during the siege of Reading in 1643, the Blagraves allowed Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex to use the manor as his headquarters. The Blagrave family, who were sympathetic to the Roundheads, are said to have hosted Oliver Cromwell, John Hampden and Robert Blake for a council of war in one of the house's oak panelled rooms. In January 1649, Daniel was one of the signatories of Charles I's death warrant.
In 1665 Elias Ashmole wrote to Mervyn Tuchet, 4th Earl of Castlehaven at "Southcote neere Redding". At some point that century the manor house was largely rebuilt and modernised; the existing 15th century guardhouse and vaulted well were retained. Come the Restoration in 1660 after the end of the war, Daniel fled from England and died in Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668. Southcote saw development with the opening of the Kennet Navigation in the 1720s, where the River Kennet was made navigable by vessels as far upstream as Newbury; industrialisation along the canal continued for the next century.
Throughout the 18th century the manor continued to pass through the Blagrave family, including John Blagrave MP. In 1778, Frances Blagrave married John Blagrave of Watchfield (Ditchfield and Page suggest that the couple were not related before marriage). In 1813, Daniel and Samuel Lysons wrote that the manor and mansion house were unoccupied but remained the property of the Blagrave family, who at that point resided at nearby Calcot Park. The same year, Calvespit House (near Calvespit Farm to the west of Southcote Manor) was renamed Southcott Lodge and incorporated into the estate. Between 1828 and 1850 the house was let to Charles and Frances Lutyens, whose son Charles was born at the house and who later fathered the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Southcote was mentioned in Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England. It was described as a tything within the parish of St Mary's, Reading, and had a population of 84.
In 1847, the Reading to Taunton branch of the Great Western Main Line was built through Southcote. The following year the Reading to Basingstoke line opened to the east of Southcote; the railways diverging at Southcote Junction. Two years later, in 1850, a water pumping station was built alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal at Southcote Lock. The facility, owned by the Reading Corporation, was connected to the Bath Road Reservoir ( north-east) and provided Reading with a source of water that originated upstream of any pollutants from the town.
In 1860 the occupant was Louisa Mundy, widow of Lieutenant Governor of Jersey Godfrey Mundy. Louisa was the niece of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon, and lived at Southcote with her sons Herbert and Cyril. By this time, Southcote had expanded to a population of 87, with 14 houses. In his Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, John Marius Wilson stated that the real property of Southcote was valued at £608.
After the Mundys' tenure, Southcote Manor was let to the Brisco (or Briscoe) family, who had made their money in slave trading and plantation ownership. The family were relatives of Hastings MP Musgrave Brisco and inheritors of the Pryce baronetcy. Along with one of his labourers, James WastelJames Wastel Brisco's name is alternatively given as James Westall Brisco Brisco was taken to court in Reading in 1874, charged with the "assault with intent to ravish" a 13-year-old servant girl. During the trial, the Reading Observer reported that "several rumours were in circulation that a person connected with the case had committed suicide". Brisco supposedly used his wealth and social status to dissuade witnesses from testifying and the case was apparently abandoned.
Brisco was eccentric and wealthy, and added a ballroom to the building in 1891, replacing a timber chapel. He also began construction of the house's distinctive tower the same year but died before it was complete and building work was abandoned.
20th century
The manor of Southcote remained in the Blagrave family until the early 20th century, when it was owned by Henry Barry Blagrave. Henry died in 1927, though the manor house was demolished in 1921 after lying empty following the death of Wastel Brisco and his wife Sarah in 1891 and 1901 respectively. In 1920 the house had been purchased by a contractor with intentions to demolish the site, though the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings organised a committee to attempt to raise money to save the house. The Sphere reported that the bricks and oak panelling were in demand and were likely removed for re-use before the building's demolition.