| Water Oakley | |
|---|---|
| Hamlet | |
  Water Oakley Location within the United Kingdom | |
| Civil parish | |
| Shire county | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WINDSOR |
| Postcode district | SL4 |
Water Oakley is a hamlet on the River Thames in the civil parish of Bray in the county of Berkshire, England. [1] It is the location of both Bray Film Studios and the Oakley Court Hotel. [2]
It first appeared on maps around 1800. However, the name 'Oakley' is derived from the Old English ac-leah which translates as 'a clearing in an oak wood'. Local folklore suggests a Saxon church there was demolished around 1293 to build St Michael's Church in Bray.
Water Oakley has a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) just to the north of the village, called Bray Pennyroyal Field. [3]
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, including villages which form part of the Borough of Wokingham such as Twyford, Charvil, Remenham, Ruscombe and Wargrave.
Caversham is a suburb of Reading, England, located directly north of the town centre across the River Thames. Caversham rises from the River Thames, lying on flood plain and the lowest reaches of the Chiltern Hills. Two road bridges, including Caversham Bridge, and two footbridges join Caversham to the rest of Reading. Named areas within the suburb include Emmer Green, Lower Caversham, Caversham Heights and Caversham Park Village. Notable landmarks include Caversham Court, a public park and former country house; Caversham Lakes; and part of the Thames Path national trail.
Dorney is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England, bordering on the River Thames to the west and south, and bisected by the Jubilee River. In 2011 it had a population of 752. It is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) west of neighbouring Eton, which is a slightly larger parish.
Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading; it extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south.
Streatley is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. The village faces Goring-on-Thames. The two places share in their shops, services, leisure, sports and much of their transport. Across the river is Goring & Streatley railway station and the village cluster adjoins a lock and weir. The west of the village is a mixture of agriculture and woodland plus a golf course. The village has a riverside hotel. Much of Streatley is at steeply varying elevations, ranging from 51m AOD to 185m at Streatley Warren, a hilltop point on its western border forming the eastern end of the Berkshire Downs. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is topped by the 87-mile The Ridgeway path, which crosses the Thames at Goring and Streatley Bridge.
The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for 28 miles (45 km) to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of 400 square miles (1,036 km2).
Pangbourne is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a village hall. Outside its grouped developed area is an independent school, Pangbourne College.
Bray, occasionally Bray on Thames, is a suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It sits on the banks of the River Thames, to the southeast of Maidenhead of which it is a suburb. The village is mentioned in the comedic song "The Vicar of Bray". Bray contains two of the eight three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the United Kingdom and has several large business premises including Bray Studios at Water Oakley, where the first series of Hammer Horror films were produced.
Beedon is a village and civil parish about 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) north of Newbury in West Berkshire, England.
Upper Lambourn is a small village in the county of Berkshire, England. The village is situated in the civil parish of Lambourn, and is 1.2 miles (2 km) to the north-west of the village of Lambourn, just off the Lambourn to Shrivenham road. The parish is within the district of West Berkshire, close to the point where the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire meet.
Clewer is an ecclesiastical parish and an area of Windsor in the county of Berkshire, England. Clewer makes up three wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, namely Clewer North, Clewer South and Clewer East.
Charvil is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is 3 miles (5 km) east of the centre of Reading on the A4 road to Maidenhead, between Sonning and Twyford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 3,042. The area was mostly farmland until the 1950s, since which time the population has increased significantly. Charvil is bisected by the new A4 Bath Road.
Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire, England. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of Reading, Berkshire. Historic buildings in the area include the Church of England parish church of St. Margaret, Mapledurham Watermill and Mapledurham House.
Farley Hill is a village in the county of Berkshire, England. For local government purposes, the village is within the civil parish of Swallowfield, which in turn is within the unitary authority of Wokingham.
Kennington is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, just south of Oxford. The village occupies a narrow stretch of land between the River Thames and the A34 dual carriageway. It was in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.
Woosehill is a suburb of Wokingham in the English county of Berkshire.
Oakley Court is a Victorian Gothic country house set in 35 acres (140,000 m2) overlooking the River Thames at Water Oakley in the civil parish of Bray in the English county of Berkshire. It was built in 1859 and is currently a hotel. It is a Grade II* listed building that has been often used as a film location.
The Cut is a river in England that rises in North Ascot, Berkshire. It flows for around 14 miles (23 km), through the rural Northern Parishes of Winkfield, Warfield and Binfield in Bracknell Forest on its way down to Bray, where it meets the River Thames just above Queens Eyot on the reach below Bray Lock, having been joined by the Maidenhead Waterways.
The unnamed eyot is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England, north of the village of Wargrave, Berkshire, its parish in civil terms and ecclesiastical parish in the Church of England. It is on the reach above Marsh Lock.
Twyford Brook is a small English river in the county of Berkshire. It drains a rural area to the east of Twyford, starting at the foot of the M4 motorway embankment, and is a tributary of the River Loddon. It was once part of a larger river system, draining the area now occupied by the new town of Bracknell. Because of issues with flooding, a new channel was cut to carry the water to the River Thames at Bray. The new channel and the river upstream from there is now known as The Cut, and the old channel became known as Twyford Brook.
