Hurley is a small village and large, rural

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Its riverside is agricultural, except for Hurley Priory, as are the outskirts of the village. The adjoining

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

is believed to date from 1135.

Topography

Hurley is a linear development perpendicular to and adjoining the Upper Thames NW of Maidenhead and ENE of

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

on the

A4130 road The A413 is a major road in England that runs between Gerrards Cross (west of London) to Towcester (northwest of Milton Keynes). It passes through or near various towns and villages including (in northbound order) Amersham, Great Missenden, ...

. The parish includes the considerable

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

s of

Cockpole Green Cockpole Green is a hamlet in Berkshire, England. Part, including the original village green, lies within the civil parish of Hurley (where according to the Post Office in the 2011 Census the majority of the population is included) in the bor ...

, Warren Row,

Knowl Hill Knowl Hill is a village in the civil parish of Hurley in Berkshire, England. It is west of Maidenhead on the A4 road toward Reading. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was the southern terminus of the Hatfield and Reading Turnpi ...

, Burchett's Green and part of

Littlewick Green Littlewick Green is a village in the north of the civil parish of White Waltham (where the 2011 Census was included) and the south of the civil parish of Hurley, near Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. The village is set around a village green, ...

. Ashley Hill Forest, almost south of the village, is close to and almost equidistant between Warren Row, Knowl Hill and Burchett's Green and is the largest woodland. Other than this, the parish is mainly agricultural; however, many farms have

spinney Spinney may refer to: *A copse or thicket People *Art Spinney (1927–1994), American football guard *Caroll Spinney (1933–2019), American puppeteer and cartoonist *Edgar Keith Spinney, (1851–1926), Canadian politician *Franklin C. Spinney (b ...

s of woodland adjoining.

Historic structures

* By the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

is the

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, Hurley Priory, a partially moated

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

founded in 1086 as a cell of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The priory was dissolved in 1536, but its priory church survives as the current

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. * ' The Olde Bell' Inn in Hurley is reputedly the oldest still-working

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

; parts of the inn date to 1135, when it was the hostelry of Hurley Priory. * The old manor estate of Hall Place (1728) is now the home of

Berkshire College of Agriculture Berkshire College of Agriculture is a further education agricultural college at Hall Place in Burchetts Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire. It was founded in 1949, as the Berkshire Institute of Agriculture. Courses The college was built to provide a t ...

. *The

Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the High Street was used as Station Victor, forming part of Operation Susse

* The former main

building became a mansion known as Ladye Place, which stood adjoining the present

. It was the home of the Baron Lovelace, Barons Lovelace. It was demolished in 1837 as uninhabitable. * The Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) also had a facility at Hurley until 1992.

Localities

Hurley Bottom

Only one of the buildings at the foot of the hill in the south of the village street is listed. This southerly neighbourhood has the loose name Hurley Bottom but is 10m higher than the riverside parts of the village.

Frogmill Court and Frogmill Spinney

''Frogmill

Spinney Spinney may refer to: *A copse or thicket People *Art Spinney (1927–1994), American football guard *Caroll Spinney (1933–2019), American puppeteer and cartoonist *Edgar Keith Spinney, (1851–1926), Canadian politician *Franklin C. Spinney (b ...

'' forms a riverside Park Homes estate, with fewer than 25 available. The court is now a farmhouse but is a centuries-old building which is listed as such adjoining the

, which in this

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

consists of mainly grazing and pasture meadows. Approximately seven detached or semi-detached riverside homes also adjoin the river in this western frontage point, accessed by a separate lane.Grid square map

Ordnance survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

website

Recreation

Hurley is often used as a

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...

for

barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by Pusher (boat) ...

and motor launches, or by campers. The

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

Hurley Lock Hurley Lock is a lock and weir on the River Thames in England, situated in a clump of wooded islands close to the village of Hurley, Berkshire. The lock was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773. There are several weirs be ...

is considered the premier venue in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for

freestyle kayaking Canoe freestyle (also known as playboating) is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place (a playspot), as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

has been played in Hurley for over 100 years. The club currently plays in the Chiltern League on Saturdays and friendly fixtures against local rivals on Sundays. The ground has a

London plane London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

tree inside the boundary. The clubhouse was rebuilt in the 1970s after fire destroyed the previous wooden one. The

Temple Golf Club Temple Golf Club is a golf club located in Hurley, Berkshire, England. It is about 2 miles northwest of Maidenhead. It was opened in 1910. The course was designed by Willie Park Jr. It is recognised for its scenic beauty and its emphasis on s ...

was founded in 1909. It is recognised for its scenic beauty and its emphasis on sustainable environmental management.

In popular culture

* A riverside picnic scene in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' From Russia with Love'' was filmed near the village. * The

and parts of the village have been used as locations for the mystery series ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

''. * The village is mentioned in the comic novel ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...

'' by

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

. * The village is the setting for "The Invisible Millionaire", a short story in the

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

series by

Leslie Charteris Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.William Crotch William Crotch (5 July 177529 December 1847) was an English composer and organist. According to the American musicologist Nicholas Temperley, Crotchwas "a child prodigy without parallel in the history of music", and was certainly the most dist ...

was also an artist, and completed the drawing ''View from Hurley Bottom'' on 30 August 1806.Tate Gallery
/ref>

Public transport

The village is served by a bus route from Maidenhead. Closest railway stations are Marlow, and Henley approximately four miles north east, south east and west respectively.

External links

Hurley Parish

Notes

{{authority control Villages in Berkshire Civil parishes in Berkshire Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Populated places on the River Thames