Hurst, Berkshire

Geography

The parish of St Nicholas Hurst is situated at grid reference SU798738, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Wokingham and 2 miles (3 km) south of Twyford in the county of Berkshire. It covers about 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) and as such is the largest civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham.

The village is on the A321 Twyford – Wokingham road. There are a number of other smaller areas of sporadic development, the main ones being along Davis Street on the B3030 Twyford – 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, and Twyford railway station in the neighbouring parish of Twyford serves Hurst.

Local government

St Nicholas 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

There are two big shows each year in Hurst. There is the annual Horse Show and Country Fayre which usually takes place over the last weekend of June, and the Hurst Horticultural Show which takes place in August. The 99th Horticultural Show takes place on 18 August 2012. There are several active sports clubs, including cricket, football, tennis and fishing with one of the most popular fishing venues being Redlands run by Southlake Angling Society. 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.

Education

St Nicholas' Church of England Primary School is a voluntary controlled primary school in the village which educates children ages 5–11.

The school was first built in 1843.

As of 2005, the head teacher of the school is Christine Hyatt. The 2000 OFSTED report identified that over 98% of the students were white, the remaining being of Indian descent.

The primary school shares a breakfast club with St. Nicholas Pre-School Playgroup, a registered charity and member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, which is open to all students and children of the playgroup.

Dolphin School is a coeducational, independent, preparatory day school and Montessori Nursery for children between the ages of 3 and 13.