Bradfield, Berkshire

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Bradfield
Village
River Pang in Bradfield, Berkshire.jpg
The River Pang in Bradfield village
Berkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bradfield
Location within Berkshire
Area16.67 km2 (6.44 sq mi)
Population2,208 (2021 Census)
•  Density 132/km2 (340/sq mi)
OS grid reference SU6073
Civil parish
  • Bradfield
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Reading
Postcode district RG7
Dialling code 0118
Police Thames Valley
Fire Royal Berkshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Berkshire
51°26′56″N1°07′55″W / 51.449°N 1.132°W / 51.449; -1.132

Bradfield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 2,208, which was slightly more than the 2,177 recorded at the 2011 census. [1] Aside from farms and a smaller amount of woodland its main settlements are Bradfield Southend, its medieval-founded nucleus and the hamlet of Tutts Clump. Bradfield village is the home of the public school Bradfield College.

Contents

Location

Bradfield's traditional centre is on the mid-flood plain of the River Pang centred 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Reading, where the Theale to Compton road crosses the river. Bradfield Southend is centred about a mile to the south west on the gentle escarpment between the Pang and the River Kennet. Other villages and hamlets in the parish include Tutts Clump, Clay Hill and Rotten Row. [2] There is a complex of ponds in the vicinity of the latter containing very good examples of artesian aquifers. Best known of these is 'The Blue Pool' which has delighted generations of children. In recent years, the current owners have had to deny access to the site due to fluctuating levels of pollution. Plans for better access have not yet come to fruition. To the west of Clay Hill is King's Copse, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). [3]

History

A Roman enamelled brooch, found in Bradfield and dated to c. 75 - c. 200 Roman, Enamelled plate brooch (FindID 573057).jpg
A Roman enamelled brooch, found in Bradfield and dated to c. 75 – c. 200

In the 12th-century Abingdon Chronicle, Bradenfeld is described as forming part of Abingdon Abbey in 699. [5] The Domesday Book refers to the area as Bradefelt. The name may derive from the Anglo-Saxon brād feld meaning 'broad piece of open land'. [6]

In the mid 18th century, the village was the site of two watermills, one fewer than had been recorded in the Doomsday Book 700 years prior. [7] [8]

In 1835, the Bradfield Poor Law Union was formed, and a workhouse, designed by Sampson Kempthorne, was built to accommodate 250 people. The small church of St Simon and St Jude was also built on the site. Between 1948 and 1991 the site was known as Wayland Hospital, a residential home for people with learning difficulties. Housing was built on the site at the end of the 20th century. [7] [9] [10]

St Andrew's Church

The Church of St Andrew St Andrew, Bradfield - geograph.org.uk - 1538087.jpg
The Church of St Andrew

A church in Bradfield is first referenced in the charter of Dudley Priory in the early 12th century. [11]

The advowson belonged to the Lord of Bradfield Manor. It passed to Thomas Stevens in 1842, who funded the restoration and rebuilding of the Church of England parish church of St Andrew by George Gilbert Scott in 1847. [12] The 16th-century tower and 14th-century north nave predate the Victorian restoration. The church is a Grade II* listed building. [7] [13] Stevens went on to found Bradfield College.

In 1982, Catherine Middleton, the future Princess of Wales, was christened at St Andrew's Church. [14]

The last service was held in the church in 2014, and it was bought from the Diocese of Oxford by Bradfield College in 2019. [15]

War memorial

Bradfield's war memorial is the last work of George Blackall Simmonds, which commemorates the deaths of members of the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers in the First World War, including his son. [16]

Governance

Bradfield is a civil parish with an elected parish council which makes up the second layer of local government. It falls within the unitary authority of West Berkshire, the main layer of local government. It is in the parliament constituency of Newbury.

Notable people

Demography

2011 Published Statistics: Population, home ownership [20]
Output areaHomes owned outrightOwned with a loanSocially rentedPrivately rentedOtherPopulation
Civil parish21820348116362177

Local area

Position: grid reference SU605726 (Bradfield), SU596706 (Bradfield Southend)

Nearest town/city: Reading

Nearby villages: Theale, Stanford Dingley, Englefield, Tidmarsh, Upper Basildon, Pangbourne

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Bradfield (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Domesday Reloaded: BRADFIELD-CLAY HILL". BBC. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "Magic Map Application". Magic.defra.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Williams, David (28 August 2013) [14 August 2013]. "Finds record for: SUR-B9F446". The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  5. ↑ Stevenson, Joseph, ed. (1858). Chronicon monasterii de Abingdon (in Latin). p. 11. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Gelling, Margaret (1973). Cameron, K (ed.). The place-names of Berkshire (Pt 1). English Place-Name Society, Cambridge University Press. p. 200. ISBN   9780521085755.
  7. 1 2 3 Ditchfield, P H; Page, W, eds. (1923). A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3; Parishes: Bradfield. Victoria County History, British History Online. pp. 395–399. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Bradfield - MWB3635". Heritage Gateway. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Site of Bradfield Union Workhouse, later Wayland Hospital - MWB5093". Heritage Gateway . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Higginbotham, Peter. "Bradfield - Berkshire". workhouses.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Wallace, Steve. "REBUILDING BRADFIELD HISTORY". bradfieldcollege.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  12. ↑ Betjeman, J. (ed.) (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the South. London: Collins; p. 112
  13. ↑ Historic England (14 April 1967). "Church of St Andrew (Grade II*) (1289580)". National Heritage List for England .
  14. ↑ "Duchess of Cambridge christening church: Reassurance over sale". bbc.co.uk. BBC News Online. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bradfield College to turn 14th Century church into study centre". bbc.co.uk. BBC News Online. 5 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Bradfield Memorial: WM7776". iwm.org.uk. Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Player profile: Peter Nelson". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  18. ↑ Gordon, Alexander (1896). "Pordage, John"  . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 46. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  19. ↑ "Obituary - Catherine Octavia Stevens" (PDF). britastro.org. British Astronomical Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  20. ↑ "Key Statistics: Dwellings; Quick Statistics: Population Density; Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005". Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
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