Yateley

Location

Yateley is bounded to the north by the flood plain of the River Blackwater, much of which is occupied by the Yateley Lakes, which form a country park. The river also forms the boundary between Hampshire and Berkshire to the north. Yateley is bounded to the south by the A30 road. Between the road and the town are Yateley Commons Country Park and Blackbushe Airport. Yateley is some 35 miles (56 km) west-south-west of London and 10 miles (16 km) SE of Reading.

The Yateley Commons Country Park, with woodlands and heath, is linked by a path to nearby Castle Bottom nature reserve, linked by a trail that defines the westerly border of Yateley accessed via its residential area.

Yateley is on a gentle slope towards the Blackwater valley to the north.

Amenities

Yateley is a residential area with local businesses and light service industries. The B3272 Reading Road is the town's main business link, with numerous shops and other businesses located along this road. The area around St Peter's Church of England parish church, the Dog & Partridge public house and the village green is still referred to as "the village" by many older residents. Yateley Green is a larger open area slightly to the west where there are tennis courts, a playground, Town Council offices and a community hall; it is the location for the annual May Fayre. Yateley Cricket and Hockey Club is situated adjacent to the Blackwater Valley golf course, off Chandlers Lane. There are several other traditional public houses, besides the Dog & Partridge. The derelict public house "the Highwayman" (formerly Poets' Corner, formerly the Monteagle Arms, formerly The Lanes) was destroyed by fire in October 2015.

Transport

Yateley is mainly a commuter town with direct road links to London, Reading, Aldershot and Guildford. Yateley is about 3 miles or 5 km from Junction 4A of the M3 motorway

Bus routes are the 3 to Camberley and Aldershot and the 8 to Farnborough and Reading (Stagecoach in Hants and Surrey). The nearest station is Sandhurst, with trains towards Reading and Guildford.

The town also contains within its boundaries the Blackbushe Airport complex, which caters for leisure flights, flying lessons and small business flight operations. The complex also contains a thriving car auction, a go-kart track, parts of an abandoned World War II airfield (those parts of RAF Hartford Bridge which are not now part of Blackbushe Airport) and was once the venue for the popular Blackbushe Sunday Market.

Sports

Yateley Football Club was established in 1927 for men's football. In 1967 Yateley Juniors FC was formed. In 2008 both clubs merged to form a single club called Yateley United FC. The annual event "Gig On The Green" is held at the end of June every year on Yateley Green to raise funds for sports facilities in the area, including Yateley United.

Darby Green and Potley FC is the result of a 2010 merger between Darby Green FC and Potley & Frogmore FC. Jed Wallace, a professional footballer, played for Darby Green and Potley FC as a teenager.

History

The name Yateley derives from the Middle English 'Yate' meaning 'Gate' (into Windsor Forest) and 'Lea' which was a 'forest clearing'.. Although in historic records, variations of the spelling include Hyatele, Yateleghe, Yatche, Yatelighe, Yeatley, Yeateley and Yatelegh. The town's logo is a three-barred gate with the keys of Saint Peter (the church dedication) and the Tudor rose of Hampshire. The parish was originally much larger, covering both Blackwater and Hawley.

Yateley Hall in the town dates from the 13th century, but the town itself was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Effelle. In the early 17th century, Monteagle Farm was one of the minor properties of the 'discoverer' of the Gunpowder Plot, Lord Monteagle. A tradition has grown up that some of the first plans for the plot were put together there, but this is highly unlikely. However, roads of the residential area around Monteagle Lane have been named after some of the conspirators in memory of the connection.

Through the next few centuries, Yateley developed into a coaching hub between London and Reading. Local legend has it that the curate of Yateley, named Parson Darby, was a highwayman who used the Reading Road as his main stamping ground. Darby Green, where he was hanged, is named after him. The "beast" of Yateley Morris Men is a wooden horse wearing a highwayman's disguise, in memory of Parson Darby.

The Yateley Society is a registered charity, one aim of which is to research and provide information to the public on the history, natural history, architecture and geography of Yateley.

Education

Yateley School in School Lane and Frogmore Community College on the Potley Hill Road are both comprehensive secondary schools. They also both have leisure centres, and Yateley School has a Sixth Form.

Following the closure and amalgamation of St Peter's Church of England Junior School and Yateley Infant School, a new primary school opened in September 2010. Named Cranford Park CE Primary School. and catering for around 200 pupils, the new school moved into state of the art facilities on Cranford Park Drive in September 2011.

Other schools in Yateley are Westfields Infant and Junior Schools in School Lane with a total of about 630 students, Potley Hill Primary School, located next to Frogmore Community College, which caters for 300 students and Newlands Primary School, in Dungells Lane, with around 200.

Yateley Manor School is an independent school catering for around 500 pupils aged 3 to 13. The majority of pupils from this school go on to Lord Wandsworth College, Wellington College, Berkshire or Farnborough Hill. The school is active in sport and is a very active supporter of chess. In 2008 it became the new sponsor of the National Schools Chess Championships.

The nearest university is the University of Reading, with its main Whiteknights campus about 14 km to the north-west of Yateley.

Notable people