over the town and its castle, from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1540. He combined it with the Honour of Ewelme, which included the rights over his existing residence and lands at Ewelme. Ewelme is six miles from Wallingford, so this was done to consolidate control in the area. In return Henry transferred as compensation several areas of Cornish property into the Duchy of Cornwall for Prince Edward. After taking control of Wallingford in 1540, King Henry VIII did not favour choosing Wallingford Castle as an official residence. Instead, he opted to transfer materials from it to Windsor to enlarge & improve his own castle there. This practice of dismantling Wallingford Castle to improve Windsor Castle was continued in the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I & Elizabeth I. English Civil War and aftermath Maintenance and repair of Wallingford Castle during the English Civil War was vital to the success of the Royalists' plans. The royal headquarters were in Oxford, which made the defence of Wallingford, which controlled the area to the south, especially strategically important. In August 1643 Colonel Blagge was granted warrants from the King and Prince Rupert to collect taxes from Reading and other local towns in order to proceed with the repairs. In April 1643 the king marched south from Wallingford in order to relieve Reading, which was besieged by the Earl of Essex. The Parliamentary army was 16,000 strong and laid siege to Reading using cannons. Reading was unable to hold out long enough for the King and Prince Rupert to arrive and break the siege. The town surrendered on 27 April 1643, with "the garrison joining the royal army and together they retreated through Wallingford back to Oxford". In 1643 a group of Parliamentary commissioners came to Wallingford in search of an audience with the King. Blagge received them, with the encounter being recorded as "worrying". "He received them, 'not rudely, but with haughtiness enough,' sending a troop of horse to escort them as if they had been prisoners. High words followed; the commissioners feared they might have had their throats cut by the garrison and gladly took their leave of the 'proud governour." 4 October 1643 was the last time the king and queen visited the town together, although they did visit Abingdon, staying at Barton Lodge on 17 April 1644. It was also the last time that any British king and queen