Padworth House and its people have a very long history.  Following Eadric the Anglo Saxon in 956, and Stephen Fitz Eirard in 1068, the knightly family of Cowdray were Lords of the Manor for 300 years. The property was then bought by the Littlefields, yeoman farmers who had been Cowdray tenants and who, after doing some refurbishments, sold the manor to London lawyers the Brightwells. The descendents of this family persisted at Padworth until the 1930s.  After World War II The Bandons moved in, to be superseded in the 1960s by Padworth College.

David Peacock and Ingrid Jensen have been researching this history for many years  The first article has just been published in the Journal of the Berkshire Local History Association:

Stephen Fitz  Eirard, Royal Steersman and 11th Century Lord of Padworth Manor. Ingrid M Jensen. 2026 Berkshire Old and new. No 43. pp3-15.