Knowl Hill is a village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Hurley in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, 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. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

on the A4 road toward

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was the southern terminus of the

Hatfield and Reading Turnpike The Hatfield and Reading Turnpike , nicknamed the Gout Track, was an English turnpike road created in the 1760s to provide a route that connected the Great North Road (the modern A1) with the Holyhead Road (A5) and the Bath Road (A4). I ...

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 ...

, 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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, 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 (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

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 List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

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 wide ...

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