Tilehurst
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK place Tilehurst Template:IPAc-en is a village on the western outskirts of the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. It extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south.
The village is partly within the boundaries of the borough of Reading and partly in the district of West Berkshire. The part within West Berkshire forms part of the civil parish of Tilehurst, which also includes the northern part of Calcot and a small rural area west of the village. The part within the borough of Reading includes the Reading electoral ward of Tilehurst, together with parts of Kentwood and Norcot wards.
ToponymyEdit
The name Tilehurst comes from the Old English "tigel" meaning "tile" and "hurst" meaning "wooded hill".<ref name="Manor of Tilehurst 5">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Bosworth 387">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Weekley 110">Template:Cite book</ref> Alternative spellings have included Tygelhurst (13th century), Tyghelhurst (14th century), and Tylehurst (16th century). The present spelling became commonplace in the 18th century.<ref name="BFHS" />
HistoryEdit
Tilehurst was first recorded in 1291, when it was listed as a hamlet of Reading in Pope Nicholas III's taxation.<ref name="VCH">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At this time, the settlement was under the ownership of Reading Abbey, where it stayed until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.<ref name="VCH" /> Tilehurst became an extensive parish, which included the tything of Theale as well as the manors of Tilehurst, Kentwood, Pincents and Beansheaf.<ref name="VCH" /> In 1545, Henry VIII granted the manor of Tilehurst (now Calcot) to Francis Englefield, who held it until his attainder (and forfeiture of the manor) in 1586.<ref name="VCH" /> The following year, Elizabeth I gave the manor to Henry Forster of Aldermaston and George Fitton. Forster and Fitton possessed the manor until the turn of the century, when Elizabeth sold it to Henry Best and Francis Jackson.<ref name="VCH" />
Over the space of five years, the manor passed from Best and Jackson to the son of Sir Thomas Crompton, then on to Dutch merchant Peter Vanlore.<ref name="VCH" /> Vanlore built a manor house on the estate—Calcot Park. Throughout the 17th century the manor passed through the Vanlore family to the Dickenson family, before being purchased in 1687 by the Wilder family of Nunhide (builders of Wilder's Folly) for £1,075.<ref name="VCH" /> Page and Ditchfield write that in the early 18th century the manor was also owned by the family of John Kendrick, albeit for a short period.<ref name="VCH" />
The manor subsequently passed to Benjamin Child, who married Mary Kendrick,<ref>Kendrick's forename is also documented as Frances,<ref name="Ford Berkshire Lady">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> also the name of Child and Kendrick's daughter<ref name="Manor of Tilehurst 10">Template:Cite book</ref></ref> heir of the Kendrick family.<ref name="VCH" /> After Kendrick's death, Childs sold the manor to descendants of John Blagrave in 1759.<ref name="VCH" /> The Blagrave family built the present-day Calcot House, which—according to one story—was made necessary by Child's eviction.<ref name="Ford Calcot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After Child sold the estate to the Blagraves, he was reluctant to leave the house.<ref name="Ford Calcot" /> The Blagraves were forced to remove the building's roof to "flush" him out of the building, thereby requiring a new building to replace the uninhabitable original house.<ref name="Ford Calcot" /><ref name="Manor of Tilehurst 11">Template:Cite book</ref> The manor was retained by the Blagrave family until the 1920s, after which it served as the clubhouse for the estate's golf course and was later converted into apartments.
The manor of Kentwood was owned by Peter Vanlore, before passing through the Kentwood family (taking their name from the manor itself), the Swafield family, the Yate family, the Fettiplace family and the Dunch family.<ref name="VCH" /> In 1719, the manor was divided between heirs.<ref name="VCH" /> The manor of Pincents was named after the local Pincent family. Originally from Sulhamstead, the family owned the manor until the end of the 15th century.<ref name="VCH" /> After this, it was owned by the Sambourne family before they sold it to the Windsor family. In 1598, the manor was sold to the Blagrave family; its succession through the family is identical to that of Calcot Park.<ref name="VCH" /> In the 1920s, the manor was sold off and later became a wedding and conference venue. The manor of Beansheaf took its name from a 13th-century Tilehurst family. In 1316, John Beansheaf granted some of the manor's land to John Stonor.<ref name="VCH" /> While it is not recorded how much was granted, it is likely that Stonor inherited the entire estate as the Beansheaf name did not appear in subsequent records.<ref name="VCH" />
In 1390, Ralf Stonor gave the manor to William Sutton of Campden and John Frank. Frank later returned his share of the manor to Ralf Stonor, after which the manor was retained by the Stonor family until the end of the 15th century. The manor left the Stonor family when John Stonor died with no heirs. It passed through his sister, Anne, to her husband—Adrian Fortescue.<ref name="VCH" /> Some of the manor was later reinherited by the Stonors, though the majority was retained by the Fortescues until passing through marriage to the Wentworth family.<ref name="VCH" /> In 1562 the manor was bought by John Bolney and Ambrose Dormer, after which it was passed into the family of Tanfield Vachell.<ref name="VCH" /> The manor was inherited by the Blagrave family some time after 1600.<ref name="VCH" />
Throughout the 19th century, a number of changes came to Tilehurst. A national school was founded in 1819 to provide education to children not in private schooling.<ref name="BFHS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Great Western Main Line was built through Berkshire in 1841; Template:Rws railway station opened in 1882.<ref name="BFHS" />
In the 1920s and 30s, many new houses were built in Tilehurst, particularly semi-detached residences. This gave the need for improved utilities; electricity arrived in the 1920s (replacing the gas that fuelled the area from 1906) and Tilehurst Water Tower was built in 1932.<ref name="BFHS" /> After World War II, Tilehurst—like many other settlements—was in need of new housing; from 1950, many houses and estates were built in the area.<ref name="BFHS" /> In the mid-1960s, a prominent Victorian character property, Westwood House with some five acres of open grounds was demolished as part of the ever pressing need for new housing. This site was positioned between Westwood Road and Pierce's Hill and had served well as a venue for occasional local social events.
GovernanceEdit
Tilehurst is divided between the civil parish of Tilehurst in the district of West Berkshire<ref name="ONS CP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the electoral wards of Tilehurst<ref name="ONS ward">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Kentwood (where Tilehurst railway station is located) in the borough of Reading.<ref name=wbwmap>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are now four ecclesiastical parishes with Tilehurst in their names: Tilehurst St Catherine and Calcot St Birinus, Tilehurst St George, Tilehurst St Mary Magdalen and Tilehurst St Michael (the latter church being the original parish church).<ref name="BRO Parishes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Administrative historyEdit
Tilehurst was an ancient parish. It historically included Theale to the south-west and also extended eastwards towards Reading as far as the Reading Union Workhouse (which later became Battle Hospital) on Oxford Road, and included Prospect Park.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Theale became a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1832,<ref name="VCH" /> and a separate civil parish in 1894.<ref name=vob>Vision of Britain website</ref>
The eastern end of the parish of Tilehurst around the workhouse and Prospect Park was incorporated into the borough of Reading in September 1887.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Phillips 135">Template:Cite book</ref> The civil parish boundary was adjusted to match the new borough boundary eighteen months later in March 1889, with the part of Tilehurst in the borough of Reading being transferred to the civil parish of Reading St Mary.<ref name=VoB>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A much larger part of Tilehurst was transferred to the borough of Reading in 1911, including the main village around Tilehurst Triangle (then also known as Tilehurst Common) and Tilehurst's parish church of St Michael at Churchend. The civil parish of Tilehurst was reduced as part of the 1911 changes to just cover the then largely rural west of the old parish that was not incorporated into the borough of Reading.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=VoB/>
Reading Borough Council proposed to the government that the increasingly urbanised Tilehurst civil parish (as well as Purley on Thames and the eastern part of Theale) should be transferred into the borough of Reading as part of the major local government reforms of 1974.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The government decided instead to leave Reading's boundaries unchanged from when they had last been reviewed in 1911, placing the Tilehurst civil parish in Newbury district, which became West Berkshire in 1998.
GeographyEdit
Tilehurst is situated on a hill (approximately Template:Convert AMSL), Template:Convert to the west of Reading.<ref name="OS Exp">Template:Citation</ref> The land is steep to the west and south of the village; the gradient is smoother north (towards the River Thames) and east (descending towards Reading).<ref name="OS Exp" />
Much of Tilehurst was enclosed common land during the 18th and 19th centuries; as this land was developed with housing the commons were lost. Arthur Newbery Park is a surviving area of commonland. Similarly, Prospect Park was enclosed and established before major development of the area was undertaken. Tilehurst is bordered to the west by wood and farmland, to the north by other settlements (such as Purley on Thames and the river itself), to the east by Reading and to the south by the Reading to Taunton line, the M4 motorway and the River Kennet.<ref name="OS Exp" />
Tilehurst is centred around Tilehurst Triangle (known locally as "the village"), a pedestrianised area providing shopping, leisure and educational facilities.<ref name="BFHS" /><ref name="OS Exp" /> Other areas of Tilehurst include Kentwood near the railway station in the north, Norcot in the east, Churchend around St Michael's parish church in the south, and Little Heath in the west. Tilehurst has a Site of Special Scientific Interest just to the west of the village, called Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows.<ref>Magic Map Application</ref> Tilehurst has four local nature reserves called Blundells Copse, Lousehill Copse, McIlroy Park & Round Copse.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="magicmap">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DemographyEdit
For Tilehurst Ward in Reading, the 2011 census recorded 9,185 residents in the ward and an area of Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the 2001 census there were 14,683 residents in the parish of Tilehurst Without.<ref name="ONS Head">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EconomyEdit
Until the late 19th century, the majority of working men in Tilehurst were employed in farming or similar agricultural work.<ref name="BFHS" /> The main industry associated with Tilehurst, however, was the manufacture of tiles. This industry was present in the district until recent times. The 1881 UK census listed a number of men as being employed as brickmen in kilns in the area.<ref name="BFHS" /> Written evidence of brickwork can be traced to the 1600s, but with the peak of production at around 1885. Kilns were established at Grovelands and Kentwood—both to the east of the settlement—with clay pits being dug on Norcot Hill in an area now known as The Potteries.<ref name="BFHS" />
An overhead cable was used to transport the clay-filled buckets between the pits and the kiln across Norcot Road;<ref name="BFHS" /><ref name="WWIT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> this was shown on a 1942 map of the area as an "aerial cable" running from the clay pit in Kentwood to Grovelands works approximately Template:Convert away.<ref name="1930s map">Pre-WWII – BERKSHIRE 1932–1936 (1:2,500)</ref> The cable was also included on the 1940s Ordnance Survey New Popular Edition maps, labelled as an "aerial ropeway".<ref name="OSNPE">OS NPO (Eng/Wales) 1945–1955 (1:50,000)</ref> An 1883 Ordnance Survey map of Berkshire shows a number of kilns in the Grovelands area (on the present-day Colliers Way estate)<ref name="BHO Grovelands">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and one in Norcot near the present-day Lawrence Road.<ref name="BHO Norcot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The latter was more specifically named in the 1899 Pre-WWII 1:2,500 scale Berkshire map as "Norcot Kiln, Brick and Tile Works". By the 1920s, Tilehurst Potteries had been formally established at Kew Kiln on Kentwood Hill.<ref name="Geographia">Template:Citation</ref><ref name="National Archives">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the 1960s, clay business had waned and the pits were closed in 1967.<ref name="BFHS" /><ref name="WWIT" />
ArchitectureEdit
The architecture of Tilehurst ranges from 19th century thatched cottages<ref name="BFHS" /> to late 20th-century housing estates. Victorian and Edwardian terraces<ref name="Hill 49">Template:Cite book</ref> (built using bricks from the Tilehurst kilns) are common in the area; streets such as Blundells Road and Norcot Road display this type of architecture.<ref name="Hill 51">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hill 53">Template:Cite book</ref>
As the area expanded, a huge number of semi-detached dwellings were built in the mid-20th century,<ref name="Hill 49" /><ref name="Hill 50">Template:Cite book</ref> in areas such as St Michael's Road (1930s)<ref name="Hill 50" /> and on the Berkshire Drive estate (1950s).<ref name="Hill 54">Template:Cite book</ref>
Examples of unique architecture in Tilehurst include two water towers: Tilehurst Water Tower is a 1932 concrete building, open octagonal in design with arcading supporting a cylindrical drum;<ref name="BFHS" /><ref name="Tyack 487">Template:Cite book</ref> Norcot Water Tower is an 1890s brick building with tiered blind arcading.<ref name="Tyack 487" />
The Mansion House in Prospect Park (19th century) is a regency mansion built in Portland stone.<ref name="Prospect listed">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The north and south faces feature Doric and Ionic order porticos respectively.<ref name="Prospect listed" />
CultureEdit
Tilehurst has a horticultural society<ref name="THA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which holds a produce show annually in August.<ref name="THA" /><ref name="Surrey show">Template:Cite news</ref> The village has few establishments for performing arts, as most are provided in Reading. An amateur dramatics society, the Triangle Players, is based in the village.<ref name="Triangle Players">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A branch of the Allenova School of Dancing is also situated in Tilehurst.<ref name="ASoD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tilehurst Square Dance Club draws dancers from Reading and beyond and has been operating since 1989.<ref name="TilehurstSDC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
TransportEdit
Tilehurst railway station is located at the northern edge of the suburb. It is served regular Great Western Railway services between Template:Rws, Reading and London Paddington on the Great Western Main Line. Journey times are approximately 54 minutes to London, five minutes to Reading and 20 minutes to Didcot. Connections to the south and south-west via the Reading to Taunton Line and the Reading to Basingstoke Line are made by changing at Reading.<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Reading Buses services 15, 15a, 16, 17, 18 and 33 (with the 85, 86 and 87 serving Little Heath School) serve Tilehurst,<ref name="Reading Buses">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> connecting the village to Reading, Purley and Theale.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Tilehurst is bordered by two major roads: to the north by the A329 (connecting the village to Reading and Pangbourne) and to the south by the A4 (connecting the village to Reading and Theale).<ref name="OS Exp" /> Non-arterial roads in Tilehurst saw a great improvement in the 1940s with the introduction of trolleybuses in Reading.<ref name="Hill 52">Template:Cite book</ref>
EducationEdit
Tilehurst is served by two comprehensive secondary schools: Denefield School<ref name="DfE Denefield">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Little Heath School.<ref name="DfE Little Heath">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The catchment areas of King's Academy Prospect and Theale Green Community School also cover parts of Tilehurst.<ref name="WBC Schools">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Tilehurst is served by Brookfields School, a special school catering for students with moderate, severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities.<ref name="Brookfields">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Primary education in Tilehurst includes Birch Copse Primary School, Downsway Primary School, Long Lane Primary School, English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Moorlands Primary School, Park Lane Primary School, Ranikhet Primary School, St Michael's Primary School, St Paul's Catholic Primary School, Springfield Primary School, Meadow Park Academy, Westwood Farm Infant School and Westwood Farm Junior School.<ref name="DfE Map">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Places of worshipEdit
Tilehurst has a number of religious buildings covering numerous denominations:
- The Church of St Michael, situated centrally in the parish, is a brick church with a square tower.<ref name="Manor of Tilehurst 5" /> Parts of the building date from the 13th century,<ref name="Ford St Michaels">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> replacing an earlier church thought to have been built in 1189.<ref name="Ford St Michaels" /> Sir Peter Vanlore is buried in the church's Lady chapel.<ref name="Manor of Tilehurst 7">Template:Cite book</ref>
- The Anglican church of St Catherine of Siena was built in the Little Heath area of Tilehurst from 1962 to 1964.<ref name="St Catherine of Siena">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- A Methodist church is near the village centre,<ref name="Tilehurst Methodist Church">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a Latter-day Saints church opened in Tilehurst in the 1970s.<ref name="BFHS" />
- The Roman Catholic church of St Joseph was built in Park Lane from 1955 to 1956.<ref name="St Joseph's Tilehurst">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Tilehurst also has a United Reformed Church<ref name="URC Group Reading">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (built on the site of an early 19th-century Congregational Chapel<ref name="BFHS" />), a Bethel United Church,<ref name="Reading Churches">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Anglican churches dedicated to St George and St Mary Magdalen.<ref name="Reading Churches" />
Tilehurst does not have any synagogues, mosques or gurdwaras; the nearest are in West Reading,<ref name="Reading Hebrew Congregation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> central Reading,<ref name="BAGR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and East Reading respectively.<ref name="BBC gurdwara">Template:Cite news</ref>
SportEdit
Tilehurst has been represented in numerous sports for over a century:
- Tilehurst Cricket Club has existed since at least 1883.<ref name="Bishop 2007">Template:Cite book</ref> The club originally played on Church End Lane. While the exact location of the ground is unknown, it is likely that it was on a recreation ground behind the present-day Moorlands School.<ref name="TTCC History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Victoria Recreation Ground was established in 1897 and the cricket club began using the new park as their ground at some point after this.<ref name="Handscomb 1995">Template:Cite book</ref> The club joined the Reading and District Cricket League in 1900; the Reading Chronicle reported on the club's first game—a loss to nearby Grovelands CC—by saying: "Tilehurst were but poorly represented, several of their best players not having signed the required fourteen days and they had to play ten men only".<ref name="TTCC History" /> Tilehurst joined the newly formed Hampshire League in 1973, proving successful in their first two seasons.<ref name="TTCC History" /> Between 1991 and 1996, Tilehurst played in the Berkshire League. The following year, Tilehurst CC merged with Theale CC to form Theale and Tilehurst Cricket Club. The reason for the merger is attributed to Theale's lack of players but good facilities and Tilehurst's surplus of players but lack of facilities.<ref name="TTCC History" /> The club now play at Englefield Road, Theale, in the Thames Valley Cricket League.<ref name="TTCC History" />
- Tilehurst is represented by three football teams: Barton Rovers,<ref name="Barton History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tilehurst Panthers<ref name="Panthers About">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Westwood Wanderers. Barton Rovers, established in 1982, are based at Turnham's Farm, Little Heath.<ref name="Barton Find Us">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Tilehurst Panthers, established in 2006, are a ladies team based at Denefield School and the Cotswold Sports Centre.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Westwood Wanderers were established in 1972 and are a men's team based at the Cotswold Sports Centre. The team play their home matches at Denefield School.
- Reading Racers were based at Reading Greyhound Stadium from 1968 until the stadium's demolition in 1975.<ref name="Reading Racers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The team then moved to Smallmead Stadium, south of Reading.<ref name="Reading Racers" />
Notable residentsEdit
- Bryan Adams, musician, lived in Tilehurst in the 1960s while his father was stationed in the United Kingdom<ref name="GR rough">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Jacqueline Bisset, actress, grew up in Tilehurst in a 17th-century country cottage, where she now lives part of the yearTemplate:Citation needed
- Kenneth Branagh, actor, attended Meadway School in the 1970s<ref name="TES Branagh">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Tim Dinsdale, searcher for the Loch Ness Monster.<ref name=Times1967>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Mike Oldfield, musician, grew up in Tilehurst<ref name="Maconie 113">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Zac Purchase, Olympic gold medal winning rower, lived on the Dee Road estate<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Ayrton Senna, Formula 1 driver, lived on the Pottery Road estate in the 1980s<ref name="Ayrton Senna">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Sir Peter Vanlore (1547–1627) bought Tilehurst Manor and lived there with his wife Lady Jacoba van Loor (daughter of Henri Thibault).
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Reading, Berkshire Template:West Berkshire Template:Authority control