Woodley

Infobox UK place
official_name=Woodley
country=England
region=South East England
population=26,439 (2001)
os_grid_reference=SU762733
latitude=51.453502
longitude=-0.902495
post_town=READING
postcode_area=RG
postcode_district=RG5
dial_code=0118
constituency_westminster=Reading East
constituency_westminster1=Maidenhead
london_distance=
unitary_england=Wokingham
lieutenancy_england=Berkshire

Woodley is a town in the English county of Berkshire. It forms part of the urban area of Reading, although not part of the "Borough of Reading". The name Woodley means 'a clearing in the wood' and it was anciently a part of the large parish of Sonning.

History

The ecclesiastical parish of Woodley came into existence in 1881, following the earlier erection of the church of St. John the Evangelist by Robert Palmer in 1873.

Until the 1930s, Woodley was a very small village of no great significance. In that decade, an airfield and flying school was opened in the 100-acre field belonging to Sandford Farm. In 1932, F.G. Miles came to Woodley and joined forces with Philips and Powis in the production of the Miles Hawk aeroplane, leading to the foundation of Miles Aircraft Ltd which continued producing aircraft in Woodley until after World War II. During the pre-war years many famous aviators landed at Woodley, including Charles Lindbergh and Amy Johnson; Douglas Bader lost his legs in an accident on the airfield. The aviation tradition of Woodley is still carried on by the presence of the Museum of Berkshire Aviation.

After the war Woodley continued to grow, with industry relocating from Reading and new housing growing up. In the 1960s a new town centre was created, replacing the old village shops. In the 1980s the airfield site was redeveloped as a major housing area, and Woodley is now largely indistinguishable from Reading to the casual visitor.

In the west of Woodley, Old Bulmershe Manor was the home of the Blagrave family and probable birthplace of the famous 17th century mathematician, John Blagrave. The adjoining large house of Bulmershe Court alias Woodley Lodge was built in 1777 by James Wheble. The house was subsequently bought by Henry Addington, at that time Speaker of the House of Commons and later Prime Minister. He lived there when not in London and was frequently visited by other prominent figures of the age, including William Pitt the Younger and, it is said, King George III. During World War II, the house was used by the US Army. In the 1960s, it was demolished and replaced by a teacher training college that has subsequently become part of the University of Reading.

Woodley has also been the home of Woodley Town F.C. Who can trace it’s routes back to 1904, while it is thought a team existed in Woodley in the nineteenth century. Today 2008 Woodley Town run 3 teams in the Reading Saturday league the 1st team of which are in the Senior division (step 7 of the FA League) and are in the process of becoming a charter standard side ahead of ambitious plans for a stadium and club house in the heart of Woodley so that the club can progress to step 6 and the Hellenic League and bring a better standard of non league football to a thriving community. Link to the clubs website can be found further down this page.

Government

Woodley is a civil parish with a town charter (granted in 1974) and an elected town council. It falls within the area of the unitary authority of Wokingham. Both the town council and the unitary authority are responsible for different aspects of local government.

Woodley falls within the Reading East and Maidenhead parliamentary constituencies.

Education

Woodley is home to two secondary, comprehensive schools that have achieved specialist school status:
*Waingels College (Mathematics and Computing)
*The Bulmershe School (Sports)It also the home of many primary schools such as Beechwood, Rivermead, Woodley Church Of England, Southlake and Willowbank.

Trivia

"Where in Woodley?" is the title of the first LP by Reading based Anglo Dutch band "Eyes of Gijs". The band used to play in various venues around the town and "Where in Woodley?" became a catchphrase amongst their followers trying to track down the next gig.

The town was the venue for the UK's first-ever children's triathlon held at the Woodley C of E Primary School in 1985.

Location

Position: gbmapping|SU762733

Nearby towns and cities: Reading, Earley, Wokingham

Nearby villages: Sonning, Twyford, Winnersh, Hurst, Charvil

Notable people

* Sarah Clarke, actress, who appeared in CSI Miami and The Sopranos and is reportedly lined up to play a part in the new James Bond movie.Fact|date=January 2008
*Irwin Sparkes vocalist with the indie pop band The Hoosiers [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2007/12/18/hoosiers_interview_feature.shtml Interview with the Hoosiers on BBC Berkshire, 18th December 2007] accessed 20th January 2008]
* Gregory Moore, professional wrestler best known by his in ring name of GI Moore All American Hero
* James Henry, a professional footballer, currently playing for Reading F.C.

ee also

*List of places in Berkshire
*List of civil parishes in England
*Sonning Cutting on the Great Western Railway to the north of Woodley

References

*"British History Online", Copyright 2003-2007 University of London & History of Parliament Trust, available at [http://www.british-history.ac.uk British History Online] .

External links

* [http://www.woodley.gov.uk/ Woodley Town Council]
* [http://www.picturesofengland.com/England/Berkshire/Woodley Pictures of Woodley]
* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/woodley/ Flickr Woodley Group]
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/castles/woodley_lodge.html/ Woodley House]
* [http://www.woodleychristians.org.uk/ Woodley Churches]
* [http://kingfisher.drymile.com/ Kingfisher Table Tennis Club] , based at Bulmershe School
* [http://www.woodleytownfc.co.uk/ Woodley Town Football Club]