kids encyclopedia robot

Englefield, Berkshire facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Englefield
Village and civil parish
St Mark's Church Englefield 2.JPG
St Mark's Church
Englefield is located in Berkshire
Englefield
Englefield
Area 9.25 km2 (3.57 sq mi)
Population 286 (2011 census)
• Density 31/km2 (80/sq mi)
OS grid reference SU6272
Civil parish
  • Englefield
Unitary authority
  • West Berkshire
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town READING
Postcode district RG7
Police Thames Valley
Fire Royal Berkshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament
  • Reading West
List of places
UK
England
Berkshire
51°26′35″N 1°06′00″W / 51.443°N 1.1°W / 51.443; -1.1

Englefield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village is mostly within the bounds of the private walled estate of Englefield House. The village is in the district of West Berkshire, close to Reading.

Toponymy

The place-name 'Englefield' is first attested in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle for 871, where it appears as Engla feld. It appears as Englefel in the Domesday Book of 1086, and as Englefeld in the Feet of Fines for 1196. The name indicates settlement by the Angles in Saxon territory.

Battle of Englefield

In 870, the village was the site of the Battle of Englefield. This was fought between the Anglo-Saxons, under Æthelwulf, Ealdorman of Berkshire, and the Danes, and resulted in a resounding victory for the Saxons. The battle was the first of a series in the winter of 870–1. The village may have been named after the battle, Englefield meaning "English field".

Englefield House

Englefield House was the home of the Englefield family, supposedly from the time of King Edgar and certainly until the Elizabethan era when the present building was erected. The house eventually passed to the Benyon family, as part of the largest privately owned estate in West Berkshire.

Village

In the late 19th century, Richard Fellowes Benyon rebuilt the villagers' houses as a model estate village and provided them with such amenities as a swimming pool, soup kitchen and a new school. Today the estate, owned by a family company, the Englefield Estate, covers some 14,000 acres (5,700 ha). The village relies on and contributes to the amenities and organisations in Theale and Tilehurst, which bound it to the south and east, as well as Reading.

Demography

2011 Published Statistics: Population, home ownership and extracts from Physical Environment, surveyed in 2005
Output area Homes owned outright Owned with a loan Socially rented Privately rented Other km2 roads km2 water km2 domestic gardens Usual residents km2
Civil parish 14 8 9 65 28 0.147 0.109 0.124 286 9.25
kids search engine
Englefield, Berkshire Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.