This hoard of gold coins was discovered in April 1949 by Thomas Smith when he was playing around some recently felled trees near the banks of the River Lambourn. After telling his father Leslie about what he had found the two went back and eventually discovered 53 coins, all from the reigns of King James I and VI and his son King Charles I. It is believed these coins were buried during the English Civil Wars for safe keeping. Coins from this period making up a large number of coin hoards in the UK.
The Homecoming of Colonel Ricardo
A photograph of the homecoming to Donnington of Colonel Francis Cecil Ricardo from serving in the Boer War in South Africa.