Cippenham Palace
Three manor houses may have been built near the site of Cippenham Place farm in (location). This site is surrounded by an Anglo-Saxon moat, 950 feet long by 15 feet in width. Tradition has it that Cippenham Place farm may have been near the ancient site of Cippenham Palace, the hunting lodge of Richard Earl of Cornwall. A navigable channel of the Thames passed near the farm house and in 1327 King Edward II is said to have rowed up to Cippenham Palace in a barge.

The Manor – from the 11th Century
Records of the Manor of Cippenham go back to 1042. Holders include: Westminister Abbey, 1086; Richard Earl of Cornwall (brother of Henry III) and founder of Burnham Abbey, 1252; Piers Gaveston, Edward II; 1313, Edward III, 1336; Lord Burghley, 1602; Edward Coke 1604; Robert Villiers 1644; the Duchess of Marlborough, 1742 and John Spencer until 1790.

The Oldest House in Slough
The present house in (location) was built in 1550 and is the oldest house in Slough. An earlier house stood on the site in 1501. An old granary on saddle stones stands by the gate. Fields nearby were called: Little Mead, Great Mead, Biddles etc. (Cippenham means Chepping-ham or marketing village).

In 1839 Edmund Brown owned and occupied Cippenham Place farm. He farmed 197 acres. Michael Bayley’s great great grandfather Richard Brown farmed it until late 19th century.

Reference: Interview with Peter Hamlin
© STEAM 2005