Radnage

Settlement in the area dates back to Roman times as demonstrated by the excavation of a Romano-British glass ribbed bowl from the village, now in the British Museum. Radnage is not mentioned in Domesday Book and it appears from a 13th-century document to have been royal demesne attached to the manor of Brill. Later, it was divided into two parts. The smaller part was granted by King Henry I to the newly established Fontevrault Abbey in France and attached to property at Leighton in Bedfordshire, which was also given to Fontevrault. The larger part, known as Radnage Manor, was for a time retained by the crown and then in 1215 was granted by King John to the Knights Templar. When this order…