Quoted from blackdog

The answer is yes - and no.  

Speenhamland is an area within the historic parish of Speen - part of Speen but not the same as Speen.  Speen is the parish that lay on the northern boundary of Newbury. Speenhamland is/was a tithing or hamlet of Speen and was a manorial holding in its own right by the later middle ages.  It was the most economically successful part of Speen, taking advantage of its position on the main London to Bristol/Bath road where it met the north/south route between the Midlands/Oxford and Winchester/Southampton.

Newbury started south of the River Kennet but grew north along the north/south road and soon met Speenhamland. By Tudor times Speenhamland was part of the town of Newbury but not the Borough of Newbury.  In 1878 the Borough boundaries were expanded to incorporate Speenhamland and other parts of Speen and Greenham.

Quoted from Ros

Hi Brian,
Yes I am in Adelaide.   For us its quite cold - at  the moment 4.5C but sun shining today - we have never had snow here altho in the hills to the east  have sometimes had very small falls.

Yes the Mountfords came here in 1856 - but cannot find they went gold prospecting.  You are correct in saying they were farmers, although for the first years they were Brickmakers at Gawler and further north then purchased land, unfortunately in the dry north and that soon failed - too many drought years.

Family history is addictive, altho more healthy than some other addictions.  Probably just as expensive tho.
Still as someone else on this list said we have to spend the inheritance somehow and we do get to see a lot of the world.

I am amazed you found out about the family in the Gawler area, but as I said Bricklayers not farmers.

Thanks for your interest.
Ros