Knowl Hill is a village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

of Hurley in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

, England. It is west of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

on the

A4 road This is a list of roads designated A4. A4 is the name of several roads: * A004 road (Argentina), a road connecting Buenos Aires-La Plata highway with the Juan María Gutiérrez circle * A4 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Vienna and Nickelsd ...

toward

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was the southern terminus of the Hatfield and Reading Turnpike that allowed travelers from the north to continue their journey to the west without going through the congestion of London. The village has a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

, a primary school, a café and a tool shop. It has three pubs: the Bird in Hand, the New Inn and the Royal Oak. A fourth pub, the Seven Stars, a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

, ceased trading in 2012 and has been converted into domestic accommodation. St Peter's parish church was designed by JC and G Buckler and built in 1840. Its

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

was designed by W Scott Champion and added in 1870. On the south side of the A4 is Knowl Hill Common, a hill with a view toward

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

which can be seen on a clear day. Also on the south side is a small wood called The Clumps, the name being derived from two separate groups of trees that were once significantly taller than the rest and clumped in the middle.

Knowl Hill Steam Rally

Knowl Hill

Steam Rally A steam fair or (steam rally) is a regular organised gathering of historic steam-powered vehicles and machinery, open to the public. Typical exhibits include: traction engines, steam rollers, steam wagons, and steam cars. Often, the scope is wid ...

was an internationally known event that was held every August. It was last held in 2004, after which it was discontinued due to increasing insurance premiums.

References

External links

Wargrave with Knowl Hill
Church of England parish website {{authority control Villages in Berkshire Hurley, Berkshire