Berkshire History for Kids: Ufton Court

Hiding Place for Priests on the Run

Ufton Court is a Medieval manor house, extended in Tudor Times. It is near Reading in Mid-Berkshire.
It was built in the late 15th century for Viscount Lovell. The central part is a medieval hall house.
King Henry VIII gave it to his friend, Sir Richard Weston. The house was later extended by the Perkins family to become an Elizabethan E-plan house.
It is the manor house of Ufton Pole. The Perkins' owned other nearby manors at Ufton Robert (a moat near the church) and Ufton Nervet (Ufton Green).
The Perkinses were well-known Roman Catholics. After the Reformation of the Church, they carried on worshipping God in the Catholic way. They had to do this in secret. There was a chapel hidden in the roof of the house and three priest's holes (hidey holes).
The house was raided several times by Royal officials and soldiers. They were looking for catholic priests but didn't find any.
Today it is owned by the Benyon family from Englefield House. It is used as an education centre.