Warfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of

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 ...

and the borough of Bracknell Forest.

History

Warfield was originally an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

settlement and is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Warwelt'' ic The name is believed to have originated from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''wær'' + ''feld'', meaning 'Open land by a weir'. The medieval church is one of the finest in

, particularly noted for its Decorated Period chancel with beautiful carvings and '

Green Men The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...

'. It is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building and located on Church Lane, ¾ of a mile north-east of the modern centre of the village. It is dedicated to the archangel

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

. The area around the church has been designated a conservation area since 1974 primarily to protect the character and nature of this historical building. There are several

memorials A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, Tragedy (event), tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objec ...

to the Stavertons who lived at the old manor house in the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

at Hayley Green. This was replaced, in the

Georgian period The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...

, by Warfield House ''alias'' Warfield Grove, the home of Admiral Sir George Bowyer and, later, the political writer, Sir John Hippisley. Another fine old

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

was Warfield Park. In the 18th century, it was the home of John Walsh, the Secretary to Lord Clive and an amateur scientist, and later to his niece, Margaret Benn Walsh and her descendants the Lords Ormathwaite. It was pulled down in 1955. Warfield Hall, built in the 1840s, is the former home of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir Charles Brownlow.

Geography

The area of Warfield known as Hayley Green has on its border a local nature reserves called Hayley Green Wood.

Local Government

Warfield is a civil parish, with a parish council that first met in 1894. It is one of six towns and parishes that make up the Bracknell Forest. Warfield residents are represented by councillors on Bracknell Forest Council from the wards of Binfield with Warfield, Warfield Harvest Ride and Winkfield & Cranbourne.

Demography

Men in the Warfield Harvest Ride ward had the highest life expectancy at birth, 90.3 years, of any ward in England and Wales in 2016.

Notable residents

* Kerry Ingram (1999-), actress ('' Matilda the Musical'', ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'')

References

External links

Warfield Parish CouncilBracknell Forest Heritage: Warfield
{{authority control Villages in Berkshire Civil parishes in Berkshire Bracknell Forest