Tilehurst is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of the town of

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 county of

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 Berk ...

, England. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading; it extends from 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, se ...

in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundaries of the

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Reading and partly in the district of

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...

. The part within West Berkshire forms part of 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Tilehurst, which also includes the northern part of Calcot and a small rural area west of the suburb. The part within the Borough of Reading includes the Reading

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of Tilehurst, together with parts of Kentwood and

Norcot Norcot is an area of the suburb of Tilehurst in the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It is also an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading. Location and origins Norcot ward is the far eastern sector of the Reading borough ...

wards.

History

Tilehurst was first recorded in 1291, when it was listed as a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in Pope Nicholas III's taxation. At this time, the settlement was under the ownership of Reading Abbey, where it stayed until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Tilehurst became an extensive

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, which included the

tything A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or s ...

Theale Theale () is a large village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, southwest of Reading and 10 miles (16 km) east of Thatcham. The compact parish is bounded to the south and south-east by the Kennet & Avon Canal (which here incorpor ...

as well as the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

s of Tilehurst, Kentwood, Pincents and Beansheaf. In 1545,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

granted the manor of Tilehurst to

Francis Englefield Sir Francis Englefield (c. 1522 – 1596) was an English courtier and Roman Catholic exile. Family Francis Englefield, born about 1522, was the eldest son of Thomas Englefield (1488–1537) of Englefield, Berkshire, Justice of the Common P ...

, who held it until his attainder (and forfeiture of the manor) in 1586. The following year,

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

gave the manor to Henry Forster of

Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingstoke ...

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. 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 Sir Peter Vanlore (c. 1547 – 6 September 1627) was a Dutch-born English merchant, jeweller and moneylender in Elizabethan and Stuart England. Biography He was born circa 1547 in Utrecht, Netherlands, the third son of Maurits van Loor a ...

. Vanlore built a

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 held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

on the estate—

Calcot Park Calcot Park is a country house, estate, and golf club in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated between Calcot and Tilehurst, suburbs of the town of Reading, and within the civil parish of Tilehurst.Ordnance Survey (2006). ''OS Explore ...

. 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. 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. The

subsequently passed to Benjamin Child, who married Mary Kendrick, heir of the Kendrick family. After Kendrick's death, Childs sold the manor to descendants of

John Blagrave John Blagrave of Reading (d. 1611) was an English Tudor mathematician, astronomer and designer of astronomical and mathematical instruments. His astrolabe designs, which he described in his writings, were advanced for Britain. He devoted himself ...

in 1759. The Blagrave family built the present-day Calcot House, which—according to one story—was made necessary by Child's eviction. After Child sold the estate to the Blagraves, he was reluctant to leave the house. 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. The manor was retained by the Blagrave family until the 1920s, after which it served as the clubhouse for the estate's

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

and was later converted into apartments. The

of Kentwood was owned by

, 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. In 1719, the manor was divided between heirs. 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. 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

. In the 1920s, the manor was sold off and later became a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

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. 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. In 1390, Ralf Stonor gave the

to William Sutton of

Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

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. 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 The members of the Wentworth family of both the U.S. and Australia, as listed below, are descended from Thomas Wentworth and Jane, the daughter of Sir Oliver Mirfield. Sir Oliver died about 1522. The American Wentworths of New Hampshire are descen ...

. In 1562 the manor was bought by John Bolney and Ambrose Dormer, after which it was passed into the family of Tanfield Vachell. The manor was inherited by the Blagrave family some time after 1600. 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.

became a separate ecclesiastical

in 1832, and a separate civil parish in 1894.Vision of Britain website
/ref> The

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...

was built through

in 1841;

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

opened in 1882. By 1887, the boundaries of

included parts of Tilehurst. In 1889 a large part of the parish was transferred to Reading, and further areas were transferred to the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Reading in 1911. In the 1920s and 30s, many new houses were built in Tilehurst, particularly

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

residences. This gave the need for improved utilities; electricity arrived in the 1920s (replacing the

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

that fuelled the area from 1906) and

Tilehurst Water Tower Tilehurst Water Tower, is a distinctive water tower in Tilehurst, a suburb of the England, English town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. People from Reading know they are near home when they are coming eastbound along the M4 and they can see the to ...

was built in 1932. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Tilehurst—like many other settlements—was in need of new housing; from 1950, many houses and estates were built in the area. In the mid-1960s, a prominent

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

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.

Toponymy

The name ''Tilehurst'' comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

"tigel" meaning "

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

" and "hurst" meaning "wooded hill". Alternative spellings have included ''Tygelhurst'' (13th century), ''Tyghelhurst'' (14th century), and ''Tylehurst'' (16th century). The present spelling became commonplace in the 18th century.

Governance

Tilehurst is divided between the

of Tilehurst in the district of

and the

s of Tilehurst and Kentwood (where

Tilehurst railway station Tilehurst railway station is in the suburb and former village of Tilehurst, west of Reading, Berkshire, England. The station is on the extreme northern edge of Tilehurst, and at a much lower level than most of that suburb. The railway line a ...

is located) in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Education governance in Tilehurst is split between West Berkshire Council and Reading Borough Council as their boundaries run through the suburb. The

is split between four churches—those of St Catherine,

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

St Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

and St Michael.

Geography

Tilehurst is situated on a hill (approximately

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

), to the west of

. The land is steep to the west and south of the village; the gradient is smoother north (towards the

) and east (descending towards Reading). Much of Tilehurst was enclosed

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

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 The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

and the River Kennet. Tilehurst is centred around Tilehurst Triangle (known locally as "the village"), a pedestrianised area providing shopping, leisure and educational facilities. Other areas of Tilehurst include Kentwood near the

in the north,

in the east, Churchend around

St Michael's parish church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in the south, and Little Heath in the west. Tilehurst has a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

just to the west of the village, called

Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Reading in Berkshire. Previously known as Pang Valley SSSI, the site is mostly sandwiched between the River Pang and the Sulham Road and includes B ...

. Tilehurst has four local nature reserves called

Blundells Copse Blundells Copse is a local nature reserve in the suburb of Tilehurst in the town of Reading, UK. The site is in size, and comprises a close growing, ancient woodland with a stream. The nature reserve is under the management of the Reading Boroug ...

, Lousehill Copse,

McIlroy Park McIlroy Park is a Local Nature Reserve in Tilehurst, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council. Along with Blundells Copse and Lousehill Copse it is part of West Reading Woodlands. Geography and si ...

Round Copse Round Copse is a Local Nature Reserve in Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council. Geography and site Round Copse is a small woodland, and is contiguous with another local nature reserve called McIlroy Park. ...

Demography

For Tilehurst Ward in

, the 2011 census recorded 9,185 residents in the ward and an area of . In the 2001 census there were 14,683 residents in the parish of

Tilehurst Without Tilehurst or Tilehurst Without is a civil parish in the district of West Berkshire, in the English county of Berkshire. It includes that part of the larger Reading suburb of Tilehurst that lies outside the Reading Borough boundary, together with ...

Economy

Until the late 19th century, the majority of working men in Tilehurst were employed in farming or similar agricultural work. The main industry associated with Tilehurst, however, was the manufacture of

s. This industry was present in the district until recent times. The 1881

UK census Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 (during the Second World War), Ireland in 1921/Northern Ireland in 1931,https://www.nisra.gov. ...

listed a number of men as being employed as brickmen in kilns in the area. 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 pit A clay pit is a quarry or mine for the extraction of clay, which is generally used for manufacturing pottery, bricks or Portland cement. Quarries where clay is mined to make bricks are sometimes called brick pits. A brickyard or brickworks is of ...

s being dug on

Hill in an area now known as The Potteries. An overhead cable was used to transport the clay-filled buckets between the pits and the kiln across

Road; this was shown on a 1942 map of the area as an "aerial cable" running from the

in Kentwood to Grovelands works approximately away.Pre-WWII – BERKSHIRE 1932–1936 (1:2,500) The cable was also included on the 1940s

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

''New Popular Edition'' maps, labelled as an "aerial ropeway".OS NPO (Eng/Wales) 1945–1955 (1:50,000) An 1883 Ordnance Survey map of

shows a number of kilns in the Grovelands area (on the present-day Colliers Way estate) and one in Norcot near the present-day Lawrence Road. 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. By the 1960s, clay business had waned and the pits were closed in 1967.

Architecture

The architecture of Tilehurst ranges from 19th century thatched cottages to late 20th-century

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

terraces (built using bricks from the Tilehurst kilns) are common in the area; streets such as Blundells Road and

Road display this type of architecture. As the area expanded, a huge number of semi-detached dwellings were built in the mid-20th century, in areas such as St Michael's Road (1930s) and on the

Drive estate (1950s). Park Lane Water Tower - geograph

Examples of unique architecture in Tilehurst include two water towers:

is a 1932 concrete building, open octagonal in design with arcading supporting a cylindrical drum; Norcot

Water Tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

is an 1890s brick building with tiered blind arcading. The Mansion House in Prospect Park (19th century) is a regency

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

built in

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

. The north and south faces feature

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

and

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

s respectively.

Culture

Tilehurst has a horticultural society which holds a produce show annually in August. The village has few establishments for

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

, as most are provided in

. An amateur dramatics society, the Triangle Players, is based in the village. A branch of the Allenova School of Dancing is also situated in Tilehurst. Tilehurst

Square Dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

Club draws dancers from Reading and beyond and has been operating since 1989.

Transport

is located at the northern edge of the suburb. It is served regular

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

services between ,

and

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...

on the

. 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 Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

are made by changing at Reading.

Reading Buses Reading Buses is a bus operator serving the towns of Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham and the surrounding areas in the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire, England, as well as parts of Greater L ...

services 15, 15a, 16, 17 and 33 serve Tilehurst, connecting the village to Reading, Purley and

. 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

). Non- arterial roads in Tilehurst saw a great improvement in the 1940s with the introduction of

trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

in Reading.

Education

Tilehurst is served by two comprehensive

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Denefield School Denefield School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Tilehurst (near Reading) in Berkshire, England. History The school was founded in 1976 and was originally called Long Lane Comprehensive School after its locatio ...

and

Little Heath School Little Heath School is a voluntary-aided co-educational comprehensive secondary school. The school is located in the Little Heath area of the Reading suburb of Tilehurst, in the English county of Berkshire. Because of its location outside ...

. The catchment areas of King's Academy Prospect and

Theale Green Community School Theale Green School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the village of Theale, Berkshire, England. The school has 646 pupils on roll, 99 of whom are in the sixth form. History Early years Th ...

also cover parts of Tilehurst. Tilehurst is served by Brookfields School, a

special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

catering for students with moderate, severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

in Tilehurst includes

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

Copse

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, Downsway Primary School, Long Lane Primary School, English Martyrs'

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Primary School, Moorlands Primary School, Park Lane Primary School, Ranikhet Primary School, St Michael's Primary School,

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

's Catholic Primary School, Springfield Primary School, Meadow Park Academy, Westwood Farm Infant School and Westwood Farm Junior School.

Places of worship

Tilehurst has a number of religious buildings covering numerous denominations: * The Church of St Michael, situated centrally in the

, is a brick church with a square

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

. Parts of the building date from the 13th century, replacing an earlier church thought to have been built in 1189. Sir

is buried in the church's

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

. * The Anglican church of

St Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

was built in the Little Heath area of Tilehurst from 1962 to 1964. * A

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

is near the village centre, and a Latter-day Saints church opened in Tilehurst in the 1970s. * The

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

St Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

was built in Park Lane from 1955 to 1956. * Tilehurst also has a United Reformed Church (built on the site of an early 19th-century Congregational Chapel), a Bethel United Church, and Anglican churches dedicated to

and

. Tilehurst does not have any

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s or

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

s; the nearest are in West Reading, central

and

East Reading East Reading is a main locality (or informal subdivision) of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Its centre is known as Cemetery Junction, after Reading Old Cemetery. Extent The locality has no formal boundaries; the name ...

respectively.

Sport

Tilehurst has been represented in numerous sports for over a century: * Tilehurst

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Club has existed since at least 1883. 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. Victoria Recreation Ground was established in 1897 and the cricket club began using the new park as their ground at some point after this. The club joined the

and District Cricket League in 1900; the

Reading Chronicle The ''Reading Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper covering Reading in Berkshire, UK and surrounding areas, which began its life as the ''Berkshire Chronicle''. It is currently edited by Katie French, serving as group editor for its parent compa ...

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". Tilehurst joined the newly formed

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

League in 1973, proving successful in their first two seasons. Between 1991 and 1996, Tilehurst played in the

League. The following year, Tilehurst CC merged with Theale CC to form

and Tilehurst

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. The club now play at Englefield Road, Theale, in the

Thames Valley Cricket League The Thames Valley Cricket League is a mostly amateur cricket league, catering to clubs geographically to the west of London, with clubs coming from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire and Surrey, though m ...

. * Tilehurst is represented by three football teams: Barton Rovers, Tilehurst Panthers and Westwood Wanderers. Barton Rovers, established in 1982, are based at Turnham's Farm, Little Heath. * Tilehurst Panthers, established in 2006, are a ladies team based at

and the

Cotswold The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...

Sports Centre. * 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 A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

from 1968 until the stadium's demolition in 1975. The team then moved to

Smallmead Stadium Reading Stadium also known as Smallmead Stadium was an English greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Bennet Road, Reading in the county of Berkshire. It is not to be confused with Reading Stadium on the Oxford Road that closed in 1974 and ...

, south of

Notable residents

* Bryan Adams, musician, lived in Tilehurst in the 1960s while his father was stationed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

* Jacqueline Bisset, actress, grew up in Tilehurst in a 17th-century country cottage, where she now lives part of the year * Kenneth Branagh, actor, attended Meadway School in the 1970s * Tim Dinsdale, searcher for the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

. * Mike Oldfield, musician, grew up in Tilehurst *

Zac Purchase Zachary Jake Nicholas Purchase-Hill MBE (born 2 May 1986) is a retired English rower. Purchase won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Both medals were won in t ...

, Olympic gold medal winning rower, lived on the Dee Road estate * Ayrton Senna,

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver, lived on the Pottery Road estate in the 1980s *Sir

(1547-1627) bought Tilehurst

Manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

and lived there with his wife Lady Jacoba van Loor (daughter of Henri Thibault).

References

External links

Tilehurst Parish Council

{{Authority control Suburbs of Reading, Berkshire Former civil parishes in Berkshire