Arborfield is a village on the A327 road in Berkshire about south-east of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, about west of

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...

. It lies in the

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 authorit ...

of Arborfield and Newland in the

Borough of Wokingham The Borough of Wokingham is a local government district in Berkshire, United Kingdom. It is named after its main town, Wokingham. Other places in the district include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Earley, Finchampstead, Hurst, Sonning, Reme ...

, about west of its sister village of Arborfield Cross and the two villages have become collectively known as Arborfield, with no signs marking their boundary.

Etymology

The name 'Arborfield' is first recorded in 1166 as Edburgefeld, meaning 'Edburga's Field', Edburga being a widespread Anglo-Saxon lady's name. It evolved through variations to the modern Arborfield as first recorded in the 17th century.Bullock, Llewellyn C W, ''Memoirs of the Bullock Family'', A J Lawrence 1905

Notable buildings

Arborfield Hall

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 ...

, which originally stood on the site, was occupied by the

Bullock family The Bullock family traces its roots to the 12th century, living primarily in the southern English counties of Berkshire and Essex from the mid-Norman period to the late Victorian era. Origins of the name The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon " ...

from the mid-12th century. The last

Arborfield Hall Arborfield Hall was a large country house on the banks of the River Loddon near the village of Arborfield in Berkshire. History The manor house, which originally stood on the site, was occupied by the Bullock family from the early 13th century. ...

, built in 1837, was the home of Sir John Conroy, Controller of the Household of the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

. It was demolished in 1955.

Churches

The present Church of England parish church of

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

is a Gothic Revival building designed by J Picton and built in 1863. The new building replaces an older St Bartholomew's church that had been built in the 13th century and altered probably early in the 18th century. When the new church was consecrated the roof of the old one was removed and later layers of plaster stripped from the interior walls, revealing

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

wall paintings of ''"figure subjects and geometrical and masonry patterns"'' that ''"covered the walls"''. These have now been lost and the church ruins have greatly deteriorated. The army garrison has its own garrison church, a 20th-century building dedicated to

Saint Eligius Saint Eligius (also Eloy, Eloi or Loye; french: Éloi; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660 AD) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of veterinarians, the Royal Electrical and Mechani ...

Army garrison

Arborfield is also known for the School of Electronic & Aeronautical Engineering (SEAE) where the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

train their Electronic, Aircraft and Avionic engineers for RADAR, Telecommunications, Control Equipment, Aircraft (Airframes and Engines) and Avionic (Aviation electronic and weapon system) modalities.

Arborfield Garrison Arborfield Garrison was a British Army garrison, now the site of Arborfield Green, a new village approximately south east of the village of Arborfield Cross in the English county of Berkshire. The army vacated the site in 2015 and it is now b ...

is about the other side of Arborfield Cross and which is mostly in the

Barkham Barkham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England, located around southwest of the town of Wokingham. Geography The old part of Barkham is the small settlement by the parish church and is close to Barkha ...

International Cocoa Quarantine Centre

Since 1985, Arborfield has also been the home of the

International Cocoa Quarantine Centre The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre (ICQC), located in Arborfield, a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom, is an organization aiming to reduce the amount of disease affecting cocoa plants. Cocoa plants are quarantined in a greenho ...

whose aim is to investigate and reduce diseases in cocoa plants worldwide.

References

Sources

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External links

Arborfield Community Website
{{authority control Villages in Berkshire Borough of Wokingham Former civil parishes in Berkshire