Hurst, Berkshire

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= St.Nicholas Hurst
latitude= 51.458195
longitude= -0.852433
population= 1,350 (2001)
unitary_england= Wokingham
region= South East England
lieutenancy_england= Berkshire
constituency_westminster=Maidenhead
post_town=READING
postcode_area= RG
postcode_district= RG10
post_town1=WOKINGHAM
postcode_area1= RG
postcode_district1=RG40
dial_code= 0118
dial_code1=01344
os_grid_reference= SU798738

Hurst is a village in the English county of Berkshire. It constitutes a civil parish, known officially as St Nicholas Hurst.

Geography

The parish of St Nicholas Hurst is situated at gbmapping|SU798738, four miles north of Wokingham and two miles (3 km) south of Twyford in the county of Berkshire. It covers some 2.50 square miles (6.50 square kilometres) and as such is the largest civil parish in the administrative area of Wokingham Borough.

The village is on the A321 Twyford to Wokingham road. There are a number of other smaller areas of sporadic development, the main ones being along Davis Street on the B3030 Twyford to Winnersh road, along the B3034 Forest Road, from Bill Hill to Binfield and on Broadcommon Road.

The River Loddon flows north along the western side of the Parish and a substantial proportion of the parish lies within the alluvial flood plain of this river and its tributaries. The most important exceptions to this are Church Hill just to the west of the village centre, and Ashridge to the south-east.

The M4 motorway crosses the southern half of the parish but does not have any direct access within the Parish. The A329(M) forms the south-west boundary, separating Hurst from Wokingham and Winnersh.

The main London to Bristol railway line runs along the northern boundary, with a station in the neighbouring parish of Twyford.

Local government

Hurst is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It falls within the area of the unitary authority of Wokingham Borough. Both the parish council and the unitary authority are responsible for different aspects of local government.

Culture

The main event of the year in Hurst is the annual Horse Show and Country Fayre which usually takes place over the last weekend of June. There are several active sports clubs, including cricket, football and tennis. Thespians are also catered for with the biennial pantomime. The village hall is the venue for a number of cultural events and is the home of the Pre-School Playgroup. The Stanlake Park Wine Estate is in the north of the parish.

External links

* [http://www.hurst-pc.org.uk/ Parish Council]
* [http://www.hvs.org.uk/ Village Society]
* [http://history.hvs.org.uk/ Local History]
* [http://www.HurstHorseShow.org.uk/ Horse Show & Country Fayre]
* [http://www.hurstpanto.org.uk/ Pantomime Group]
* [http://www.HurstVillageHalls.org.uk/ Village Halls]
* [http://www.warmemorial.org.uk/ War Memorial]