Purley-on-Thames
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Purley on Thames (known locally as Purley) is a village and
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 ...
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. Purley is centred north-west of
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 ...
, east of
Pangbourne Pangbourne is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has shops, churches, schools and a village hall. Outside its nucleated village, grouped developed are ...
, and south-east of
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
. Historically, Purley comprised three separate manors and associated settlements. In the centre there is an historic area named variously Lething or Burley (Domesday) which accommodated traders and craftsmen alongside the main Reading to Oxford road.


History

Purley has been settled since at least Saxon times. The original settlements were based on Purley Magna (to the east), Purley Parva (to the north-west) and Purley La Hyde (to the west). Ownership of these manors changed several times over successive centuries but the parish remained almost entirely agricultural until development began in the 20th century, with a population of 150–200. Since then it has grown to 4,232 ( 2001 census) and around 4,394 people in 2011. A timbered
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
was constructed in the 1540s, to be replaced by a brick house in 1740. This was demolished around 1800 to be replaced by Purley Park, designed by
James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...
in 1800 and on the brow of the hill to be well away from flooding. The house is 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 ...
. At the same time most of the eastern part of the parish was emparked; a new road, New Hill, constructed to provide access to the residual village, and the turnpike highway diverted to the south. In 1948, the mansion was purchased to provide a home and school for people with Down syndrome. While the mansion itself has now been converted to apartments, the Purley Park Trust continues to support adults with learning difficulties with care homes in the former grounds. When the mansion was built, the farm was moved further west and was home to the South Berks Hunt for many years. Its Master of Foxhounds,
Cecil Aldin Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin (28 April 1870 – 6 January 1935), was a British artist and illustrator best known for his paintings and sketches of animals, sports, and rural life. Aldin executed village scenes and rural buildings in chalk, pencil ...
, ran a remount depot there in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, employing his friend and fellow artist,
Alfred Munnings Sir Alfred James Munnings, (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) is known as having been one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund after the Gre ...
as a horse doctor. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the property was sold to Messrs G Percy Trentham who used it as the head offices for their
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
business. This building is also Grade II* listed. In the 1990s this too was redeveloped and the barn, another listed building, which had originally been adjacent to the church, donated to the parish council as a community facility. Purley Hall was built around 1608 to replace the manor house of Purley La Hyde and was home to personages such as
Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...
, Lady Baden-Powell, as a child, and Thomas Hawes, of
South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
fame. Several
smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...
s were established between
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, including one by Mortimer Menpes, the artist and friend of Whistler. These have almost all now been redeveloped.


Recent development

Purley lost most of its old houses due to
enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...
s around 1800 and redevelopment in the 20th century. After the sale of the estate of Purley Magna in the 1920s most of the eastern part of the parish has been developed but there is easy access to rural areas to the west and south. The area encompassing the other manors has also retained a rural character. Changes in the 20th century began with ribbon development along the Oxford Road and Long Lane and in recent years these properties have been redeveloped with modern housing estates. The Purley River Estate was sold off in small plots in the 1930s and for many years suffered much non-planned development. As a result of the guidance plan agreed during the 1960s, it has gradually developed from self built, timber dwellings and converted railway carriages, to an area with more conventional housing. The gradual upgrading of the area has resulted in a diverse range of housing styles.


Government

The civil parish of Purley on Thames stretches roughly 1.5 km both north–south and east–west and is within the West Berkshire Council
unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
area. It has its own parish council of 13 elected members with the parish office at Goosecroft, off Beech Road. The parish is within the Reading West and Mid Berkshire
parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
.


Geography

Previously a rural village, Purley is bounded to the north by a stretch of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, to the east by the Borough of Reading, to the west by
Pangbourne Pangbourne is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has shops, churches, schools and a village hall. Outside its nucleated village, grouped developed are ...
and to the south by Tilehurst and Sulham. The eastern half is almost completely redeveloped but the western half includes meadow land alongside the river and agricultural land on the north slope of the
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...
. There are small settlements in the extreme west, around Sulham Home Farm, and in the north west around Springs and Westbury Farms. Due to its proximity to the River Thames, Purley has suffered periods of severe flooding, most recently in 2014. The part of Purley closest to the river has changed radically, with most properties having been built since the 1970s and, with a very few exceptions, it was a condition of planning approval that the houses were built at or above the 1947 flood level. A flood alleviation scheme, in the form of a clay bund and a pumping platform was completed by the
Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
in late 2014.


Demography

The population has around 88%
White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...
ethnicity, 4% other white ethnicity; residents identifying with an Asian ethnicity constituted 3%, with a
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
or African ethnicity 1% and those with a mixed ethnicity, 2%.West Berkshire Council – Can't Find Page
/ref> The majority of homes in Purley are detached houses, with minorities of small housing and shared ownership properties and several council estates. The area is largely unaffordable for most of the population – as of 2016, the average price of a property in Purley was £413,268 and the median UK wage is £26,500; the average house price was thus nearly 16 times the average salary.


Transport

The parish is crossed from east to west by both the
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...
and the A329. The railway is mostly hidden in a deep cutting and the nearest stations are those at and . Purley is served by
Reading Buses Reading Transport Limited, trading as Reading Buses, is an English Municipal bus company, municipal bus operator owned by Reading Borough Council, serving the towns of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, Slough, ...
service 16 and Thames Travel service 143. For those with mobility problems, ReadiBus provides door to door minibus services and the Pangbourne and District Volunteer Centre provides help getting to medical facilities.
Mapledurham Lock Mapledurham Lock is a lock (water transport), lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England, about 4 miles upstream of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. The lock was first built in 1777 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners and the present ...
, on the Thames, is within the parish, despite its name.


Education

Purley has two
primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
with three other primary schools and Denefield Academy within a short distance of its boundaries.


Amenities

Purley is bounded to south and west by the
North Wessex Downs The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape (formerly known as Area of ...
area of outstanding natural beauty and has a good range of habitats from river and woodland supporting a diverse range of creatures. The area is crossed by the
Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...
and has 12 designated footpaths. There are two recreation areas, a bowling green and Pike Shaw woods in the ownership of the parish council. There are three community halls: The Barn, the Memorial Hall and St Mary's Church hall, which host a large number of clubs and societies.


Church

The parish church of St Mary was described as 'ancient' in a founding charter of
Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, ...
in 1121. It is believed it was burnt down in 1135 in
The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
and replaced by a Norman church around 1150. The new church was built on an excavated platform and graves dating from the 10th century or 11th century were discovered in 1982 only about a foot below the surface. This church was modified and added to in the 14th and 17th centuries and completely rebuilt in 1870 in the Gothic revivalist style by G E Street. A further major extension was added in 1983. The church is a Grade II* listed building.


Notable parish priests

The list of rectors dates from the mid-14th century. Purley's foremost clergymen suffered ejection during the 120 years of sectarian conflict commencing with
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
's reign. These included Richard Gatskyll, in Edward VI's reign, for being a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, John Leke, in
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...
's reign, for having been married,
Thomas Handcock Thomas Handcock (28 May 1654 – 1726) was an Irish people, Irish politician. He was the eldest son of William Handcock (Westmeath politician), William Handcock and his wife Abigail, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley and sister of Thomas Stanley (au ...
, in 1563, for not being
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
enough for the church overseen by
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
and Daniel Reynor, in 1662, who was a Congregationalist, and so unwilling to conform to the
Act of Uniformity 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2. c. 4) is an act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Cha. 2. c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It prescribed the form of public prayer ...
passed after the Restoration of Charles II. The current
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
rector is David Archer.


References


External links


Purley on Thames Parish CouncilPurley Local History SocietyPurley History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purley on Thames Populated places on the River Thames Villages in Berkshire West Berkshire District Civil parishes in Berkshire