Black Boys Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°23′50″N1°19′36″W / 51.397305°N 1.326731°W Coordinates: 51°23′50″N1°19′36″W / 51.397305°N 1.326731°W |
| Carries | Vehicles, pedestrians |
| Crosses | Reading to Taunton line |
| Locale | Newbury, Berkshire |
| Location | |
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The Black Boys Bridge is a road bridge in Newbury, Berkshire. At the western end of Newbury railway station, the bridge spans the Reading to Taunton line. The bridge has been described as the "southern gateway to Newbury Town Centre". [1]
The bridge takes its name from the Black Boys public house on Bartholomew Street, on the south-west side of the bridge. [2] The pub was at this site from at least 1796 and was last recorded in 1931 in Kelly's Directory. [3] The pub is now a beauty salon. [2] Another public house, the Vyne Inn, was on the north-east side of the bridge and dates from the 17th century. [2] Now a nail salon, the building is said to be haunted by a stocky man dressed in a frilled shirt and jerkin. [4]
The bridge was repaired in 1999. The bridge was re-opened in November 1999 by Liberal Democrat councillor David Beckett and local restaurateur Mr. Mirh, who laid the final brick. [1]
Reading is a historic large market town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet. It is on the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, 40 miles (64 km) east of Swindon, 28 miles (45 km) south of Oxford, 40 miles (64 km) west of London, 15 miles (24 km) north of Basingstoke, 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Maidenhead and 15 miles (24 km) east of Newbury. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley, and home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Among its sports teams are Reading Football Club and Reading Hockey Club, and over 15,000 runners annually compete in the Reading Half Marathon.
Berkshire 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 Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.
Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timbered granary, and the 15th-century St Nicolas Church, along with 17th- and 18th-century listed buildings. As well as being home to Newbury Racecourse, it is the headquarters of Vodafone and software company Micro Focus International. In the valley of the River Kennet, 26 mi (42 km) south of Oxford, 25 mi (40 km) north of Winchester, 27 mi (43 km) southeast of Swindon and 20 mi (32 km) west of Reading.
Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, a constituent part of the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area. Wokingham was a borough before the 1974 reorganisation of local government, when it merged with Wokingham Rural District to form the new Wokingham District. Borough status was granted in 2007. It is 37 miles (60 km) west of London, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Reading, 8 miles (13 km) north of Camberley and 4 miles (6 km) west of Bracknell.
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Buckinghamshire. The town is situated 27 miles (43 km) west of Charing Cross, London and 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of the county town of Reading. The town differs from the Parliamentary constituency of Maidenhead, which includes a number of outer suburbs and villages such as Twyford, Charvil, Remenham, Ruscombe and Wargrave.
Bracknell is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies 11 miles (18 km) to the east of Reading, 9 miles (14 km) south of Maidenhead, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Windsor and 25 miles (40 km) west of central London.
Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside the area of Reading Borough Council. The name is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh. The town consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and Lower Earley, and lies some 3 miles (5 km) south and east of the centre of Reading, and some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Wokingham. It has a population of around 32,000. In 2014, the RG6 postcode area was rated one of the most desirable postcode areas to live in England. The main campus of the University of Reading, Whiteknights Park, lies partly in Earley and partly in the borough of Reading.
Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London.
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 8 miles (13 km) from Newbury, Basingstoke, and Reading, and is 46 miles (74 km) from London.
Aldworth is a mainly farmland village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, near the boundary with Oxfordshire, in a rural area between Reading, Newbury and Streatley. It includes the hamlet of Westridge Green. It lies on the high ground of the Berkshire Downs, just off the B4009 road between Newbury and Streatley. Its north is crossed by The Ridgeway, an 87-mile pre-Roman footpath. The parish church contains medieval effigies in white stone, seemingly life-size, though some knights have unlikely heights of over seven feet. King Alfred's defeat of the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown in January 871, is said by some to have occurred near The Ridgeway and Lowbury Hill.
Theale is a large village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, 5 miles (8 km) 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, to the north by a golf course, to the east by the M4 motorway and to the west by the A340 road. The village's history is a good example of how different modes of transport have achieved dominance in England over the last three centuries, from road to canal to railway and back to road again.
St. Bartholomew's School has been a non-selective local comprehensive school since 1975. It is a co-educational state funded academy school whose predecessor schools were founded in 1466 in Newbury, Berkshire in the United Kingdom. It accepts students aged 11–18 within its local geographical catchment area, and has approximately 1,900 students on roll, including a sixth form of around 550. It is currently rated by Ofsted as "Outstanding".
Basildon is a civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon, named for their respective heights above the River Thames. Basildon is 7 miles (11 km) from Reading, 47 miles (76 km) from London and 20 miles (32 km) from Oxford. The parish is bordered to the north by the River Thames and the Oxfordshire parishes of Goring and Whitchurch-on-Thames on the other side of the river. To the south of the river it is bordered by the parishes of Pangbourne, Bradfield, Ashampstead and Streatley. The parish forms part of the unitary authority of West Berkshire. It is within the Newbury parliamentary constituency.
Finchampstead is a village and civil parish in the Wokingham Borough in the shire of Berkshire, England. Its northern extremity is 2 miles (3 km) south of Wokingham, 5 miles (8 km) west of Bracknell, 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Reading, and 34 miles (55 km) west of Central London. It is an affluent area, with the village ranking as Britain's 31st wealthiest. It has a high standard of living and is rated as one of the most desirable places to live in the United Kingdom.
Greenham is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Greenham commences immediately south-east of Newbury and is in West Berkshire. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Greneham.
Beech Hill is a small village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is in the south east of the West Berkshire unitary authority area and bounds Hampshire and Wokingham district.
Beedon is a village and civil parish about 6½ miles (10.4 km) north of Newbury in West Berkshire, England.
Lower Basildon is a small English village in the civil parish of Basildon, near Pangbourne, in the county of Berkshire.
Beenham is a village and civil parish centred 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Newbury in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England.
Chaddleworth is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire.
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