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A large part of the parish of Tadley was included from a very early date in the manor of Overton,
therefore there are frequent references to Tadley in documents relating to Overton.
However, Tadley did have an independent manor of its own which was initially called Tadley
and later called the manor of Withford or Wyford. In 1166 it was the property of William Hotot
and in 1305 it passed to the de la More family. In 1496 the Ludlow family inherited the manor
by marriage. Henry Ludlow was lord of the manor in 1625 and was a very unpleasant character,
tyrannizing his tenants by pulling down their houses and refusing to pay their wages, rates
and taxes. After Henry's death in 1639 the history of the manor is uncertain, but it is known
that by the end of the seventeenth century it had passed into the hands of the Wither family,
with whom it remained for some while. At the beginning of the twentieth century the owner was
Major William Archibald Hicks Beach.
Originally the parish was heath land and common land covered in gorse and blackberries, with a
few scattered settlements. Bricks used to be made at Tadley Common and the manufacture of besom brooms was,
and still is, another local industry. Relics of these industries can be seen in the names of houses in the
village such as Kiln House and Broom Cottage. A congregational chapel was founded in Tadley in 1662;
this may be identified with a chapel which was converted into the first village school in 1820.
In recent years Tadley has become a township, with residential estates covering the former heath lands.
Development has occurred on either side of the Hampshire/Berkshire border following the growth of
a government establishment in the 1950s and the designation of Basingstoke as a London overspill town in the 1970s.
For More information about the history of Tadley, please contact www.tadshistory.com
Other Interesting Local History Sites
Great War Dead of Tadley
Really interesting site about some of the Tadley people who fought in the war.
Pamber Heath Archives
History of people and places in Pamber Heath
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