Woodley, Berkshire

History

The toponym Woodley is derived from Old English words meaning "a clearing in the wood". Anciently, Woodley was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Sonning.

In the west of Woodley, Old Bulmershe Manor was the home of the Blagrave family and probable birthplace of the 17th-century mathematician, John Blagrave. The adjoining house of Bulmershe Court, otherwise Woodley Lodge, was built in 1777 by James Wheble. The house was subsequently bought by Henry Addington, at that time Speaker of the House of Commons and later Prime Minister. He lived there when not in London and was visited by prominent figures of the age, including William Pitt the Younger and, it is said, King George III. In the Second World War the house was used by the US Army. In the 1960s it was demolished and replaced by a teacher training college that subsequently become part of the University of Reading. The area was sold in 2013/2014 and is now a new housing estate of houses, flats and a care home.

Until the 1930s Woodley was a village of little significance. In that decade, Woodley Aerodrome was opened in a 100-acre (40 ha) field belonging to Sandford Farm. In 1932 F.G. Miles came to Woodley and joined with Philips and Powis in the production of the Miles Hawk aeroplane, leading to the formation of Miles Aircraft Ltd which continued producing aircraft in Woodley until after the Second World War. In the years before the war numerous aviators visited Woodley, including Charles Lindbergh and Amy Johnson; Douglas Bader lost his legs in a flying accident on the airfield in 1931. From 1935 a civilian flying school was operated by the Philips and Powis company, where trainees were prepared for service in the RAF.

Just under 6,000 civil and military aircraft were built and first flown here from 1933–62 and, in 1939, the Phillips & Powis factory installed Britain's first moving track assembly line for aircraft production, to build the Miles Master advanced training aeroplane. Today, Woodley's aviation heritage is commemorated by the Museum of Berkshire Aviation on the southern edge of the former airfield.

After the Second World War, Woodley continued to grow, with industry relocating from Reading, and new housing. In the 1960s the airfield was closed together with its last aircraft factory and a new town centre was created replacing old village shops. The former airfield was redeveloped for housing by Adwest Properties Ltd in the 1980s and Woodley is now largely indistinguishable from Reading.

Government

The Office for National Statistics places Woodley within the Reading Urban Area, but for purposes of local government it is in the area of the unitary authority of Wokingham, and outside the area of Reading Borough Council.

Woodley is a civil parish with town status (adopted in 1974) and an elected town council. The town council and unitary authority are responsible for different aspects of local government.

Woodley is divided between the Reading East and Maidenhead parliamentary constituencies.

Landmarks

Woodley Congregational church is a Gothic Revival building completed in 1834. It is now a United Reformed Church.

The Church of St John the Evangelist was designed by Henry Woodyer, paid for by Robert Palmer of Holme Park and built in 1873. Woodley was made separate ecclesiastical parish in 1881.

The Museum of Berkshire Aviation is located in Woodley on the southern boundary of the former Woodley Aerodrome. The Museum is run by volunteers and is largely reliant on admission charges and donations.

Education

Woodley has two secondary comprehensive schools that have achieved specialist school status, Waingels College (Mathematics and Computing), and The Bulmershe School (Sports). Primary schools include ones at Highwood, Beechwood, St Dominic's Roman Catholic, Rivermead, Woodley Church of England, Southlake and Willowbank.

Geography

Woodley has a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) just to the east of the town, called Lodge Wood and Sandford Mill

Sport

Woodley football team is Woodley Town F.C. The club was formed in 1904, and it is thought that a team existed in Woodley in the nineteenth century. In 2009 Woodley Town ran three teams in the Reading Football League. The 1st team won the Senior Division in 2008–09 (Step 7 of the FA National League System) and the BTC Senior Cup to complete the League and Cup double and is a FA Charter Standard Development Club. The club runs a youth section, Woodley Town Kestrels, with boys and girls teams from under-7 to under-17 age groups.

Southlake Angling Society runs the Southlake fishery near Woodley town centre. It was established in the early 1960s on the former estate lake with which it shares its name. The Society has added Redlands, a local lake in Hurst, and a stretch of the River Loddon that flows close to the east of Woodley and Earley.

Notable people

Literature

Woodley is a location mentioned in the short ghost story The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance by M.R. James first published in A thin ghost and Others in 1919