Earley
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Earley is a town and
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 ...
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 ...
,
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. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...
places Earley within the
Reading/Wokingham Urban Area The Reading Built-up Area or Reading/Wokingham Urban Area is a name given by the Office for National Statistics to a conurbation in Berkshire, England, with a population of 318,014. This was a significant decrease from the population according to ...
; for the purposes of local government it falls within 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 ...
, outside the area of
Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonia ...
. Its name is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh and consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and
Lower Earley Lower Earley is the southern portion of Earley civil parish and a large suburb of Reading, within the English county of Berkshire. It forms part of (along with neighbouring Earley, Winnersh, Woodley and Shinfield) a large suburban conurbat ...
, and lies some south and east of the centre 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 ...
, and some northwest 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 had a population of 32,036 at the 2011 Census. In 2014, the RG6 postcode area (which is nearly coterminous with the area of the civil parish) was rated one of the most desirable postcode areas to live in
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 ...
. The main campus of the
University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
,
Whiteknights Park Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis. Whit ...
, lies partly in Earley and partly in the borough of Reading.


History

Evidence of prehistoric man has been found in locations around Earley. For example, a hand axe was found in the railway cutting; flint implements in a garden in Elm Lane; and hand axes in the gardens in Fowler Close and Silverdale Road. Most of these finds are thought to date from the late
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
period, around 35,000 years ago. Traces of flimsy shelters from the
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
were discovered at the site of the old power station at Thames Valley Park in north Earley. Tools from that time have also been found, including a flint blade found in a garden in Silverdale Road. Archaeological evidence for continued human presence during the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
and
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
was also discovered on the site of the Thames Valley Park, and
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
remains were found on a building site off Meadow Road.Earley Days, Earley Local History Group, 2000 Earley is mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as "Herlei", with two main manors: Erleigh St Bartholomew, later known as Erleigh Court; and Erleigh St Nicolas, later Erleigh White Knights.'the New Berkshire village book', Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes, 1985 In Domesday Herlei is said to be "held by
Osbern Giffard Osbern (or Osborne) Giffard ( – c. 1085) was one of the knights who invaded England in 1066 under William the Conqueror. He was rewarded with holdings throughout Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. He settled in Brimpsfiel ...
from the King, previously Dunn held it from
King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...
in freehold. The value was 100 shillings, later 60 shillings, now £4". The Erleghs, a family of knightly rank who took their name from the manors, held the manors of St Bartholemew and St Nicolas in the latter part of the 12th century through the 13th century and part of the 14th century. John de Erlegh (or John of Earley) was known as the White Knight, hence the renaming of the manor of Erleigh St Nicolas to Whiteknights. The Whiteknights estate was later owned by the Englefields, from 1606 to 1798,'The Buildings of England – Berkshire', Pevsner 1966 and then by the
Marquis of Blandford Duke of Marlborough (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the noted military leader. In historical texts, unqualified use of the ti ...
, later the 5th Duke of Marlborough. The manor of Maiden Erleigh was formed out of the manor of Erlegh, as a gift of land by John de Erlegh to Robert de Erlegh in 1368. Later it was transferred to Charles Hide of Abingdon. In 1673 the estate was sold to Valentine Crome, and after many changes of ownership at the end of the 18th century, it belonged to William Matthew Birt, who was
Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
of the Leeward Islands. In 1818 the property passed to the Rt Hon Edward Golding, MP for Downton in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. In 1878 it was purchased by John Hargreaves, Master of the South Berks Hunt, who created a course where hunt and yeomanry races, similar to modern hunter chases, were run. The course extended over an area now covered by Sutcliffe Avenue, Hillside Road and Mill Lane. The grandstand stood on an area opposite Loddon Infant School. The estate was purchased in 1903 by the millionaire Solly Joel who had a
racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
on the estate. The racecourse was demolished during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the grandstand was re-erected at
Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat ...
. Joel donated a piece of his land to the village to be used for sporting purposes: the park and
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
were opened by the Duke of York, later
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
, as
Sol Joel Park Sol Joel Park is a public park in Earley, a town east of Reading, Berkshire, England, on the Wokingham Road. It was given to the Corporation of Reading in 1927 by Solomon Joel. Its official opening was by the then Duke of York, who subsequently ...
in 1927. Until 1888, Earley extended westwards from the Three Tuns crossroads down the Wokingham Road and into Reading. To enable this section to be linked into the drainage system, Reading extended its boundaries to the Three Tuns crossroads, and this part of Earley was incorporated into the town. At that time, the centre of Earley was the crossroads and Saint Peter's Church. Even today, some residents living over the boundary in Reading think of themselves as belonging to Earley, at least three businesses along the stretch of Wokingham Road lying within Reading
Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
include 'Earley' in their business names. Indeed, this area of Reading Borough still forms part of the ecclesiastical
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 ...
of Earley St Peter, which extends as far as, but does not include, Palmer Park. The University of Reading began as the University College, Reading, an extension of
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1892; it became a university in its own right in 1926 and acquired its new site, which straddles the boundary between Earley and Reading, in 1947. Of the six large
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s on the estate four were designed by Alfred Waterhouse (Erleigh Park 1859, Whiteknights 1868 (now called Old Whiteknights House), Foxhill 1868 and the Wilderness 1873). Waterhouse also designed
Reading School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...
(1865–71) in Erleigh Road, in the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
of Reading, extended Pepper Manor, now 'Old School' in
Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...
, on Shinfield Road, in 1890, and built Grove House on the north of the school site (1892–94). Earley established its own branch of the Women's Institute, Earley WI, in 1938 to enable women in the local area to come together and develop skills, further their education, and improve the local community. Earley grew rapidly both before and after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and was designated a town in 1974. From 1977, the Lower Earley housing estate was constructed by private companies, almost doubling Earley's population to the current level. Two new primary schools were built, together with a large supermarket complex, which opened in 1979, and a sports centre. In 1988 a second shopping area, Maiden Place, opened. An additional secondary school was planned roughly opposite the sports centre next to Rushey Way, possibly on the site next to the police station. However, the school never materialised, and the land was built on.


Listed buildings

Despite its generally 19th- and 20th-century appearance, Earley has some remnants of its older past hidden in amongst the newer development. The following buildings in Earley Town are currently listed by English Heritage as being of special architectural or historic interest (all are listed as Grade II except for Foxhill House): ''On Whiteknights Campus'' * Landscape garden feature, Whiteknights Park – early C19; * North Lodge, Whiteknights Road – early C19 gate lodge; * South Lodge, Whiteknights Road – early C19 gate lodge; *
Foxhill House Foxhill House is a Gothic revival style building on what is now the Whiteknights campus of the University of Reading at Earley, adjoining the English town of Reading. It currently houses the University's School of Law. Foxhill House is a grad ...
, Whiteknights Park – 1868 large house in red brick diaper pattern, now the School of Law (formerly a students' hall of residence) (Listed Grade II*); * Former stables and coach house immediately north east of Foxhill House, Whiteknights Park (now also part of the School of Law); * The Lodge, Whiteknights Road – 1868 red brick lodge to Foxhill; * Blandford Lodge, Chancellors Way, Whiteknights Park – late C19 (1870s?) grey brick; * Reading War Room ('The Citadel'), University of Reading, Whiteknights – 1953 concrete war room; ''Elsewhere in Earley'' * Rushy Mead, Cutbush Close – late C16 timber-framed house altered in C19 and C20; * Radstock Cottage, 1 Radstock Lane – early C17 timber-framed cottage altered and extended in mid C20; * Sindlesham Farmhouse – early C18 altered C20, brick rendered and painted; * The George Inn, Loddon Bridge Road – C18 inn now public house; * 25 Church Road – 1820s cottage red and grey chequered brick; * Church of St Peter, Church Road – c.1844 grey vitreous brick, aisles and chancel added 1882–83; * Bridge at Sindlesham Mill – mid C19 road bridge over mill stream; * Sindlesham Mill, Mill Lane – mid C19 watermill now restaurant and club;


Geography

Earley is bordered by the B3270, Lower Earley] Way, to the south and south-east; the boundary then follows the - railway line until it turns north to run to the east of the B3350 (Church Road and Pitts Lane) as far as the gyratory system where the B3350 joins the A4 road (England), A4; the boundary then runs north to the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. The boundary then runs upstream along the Thames as far as the
River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which ...
, then follows the Reading-Waterloo railway line again, until it meets the B3350; it then runs north-west along Whiteknights Road, cuts irregularly across the University of Reading Whiteknights Campus, and then runs to the east of the A327 ( Shinfield Road) until it meets up again with the B3270. The extension of the Reading borough boundaries in 1888 had the result that the section of Earley lying to the north of the railway line (sometimes referred to as Old Earley or North Earley) is connected to the larger part to the south by only a narrow corridor of land. The
Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
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 ...
lies to the west, the River Thames to the north-west, Woodley to the north-east,
Winnersh Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the ...
to the east, and
Arborfield Arborfield is a village on the A327 road in Berkshire about south-east of Reading, about west of Wokingham. It lies in the civil parish of Arborfield and Newland in the Borough of Wokingham, about west of its sister village of Arborfield Cr ...
and Shinfield to the south. Lower Earley is often spoken of as a town in its own right, but it is just a development at the southern end of the town. The name Lower Earley is however very old, having originally been applied to the low-lying land between the old Maiden Erlegh Estate and the
River Loddon The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of . Th ...
which runs along the eastern edge of the borough.


Governance

Earley is in the
parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
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 ...
, except for the Whitegates Town Ward, comprising the part of Earley lying north of the - railway line, which is in Reading East. Earley was originally a liberty in the
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 ...
of
Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book '' Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geo ...
. It became an independent ecclesiastical parish in 1854 and later a
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 ...
. Earley has two levels of local government: Earley
Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
, created from the former Parish Council in 1974, based at Radstock House in Radstock Lane, and
Wokingham Borough Council Wokingham Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or perform ...
based at Shute End in Wokingham. There are 25 councillors representing eight wards on the Town Council and 12
Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
Councillors (out of 54 on the Borough Council) representing four Earley wards (Hillside; Hawkedon; Maiden Erlegh; and Bulmershe and Whitegates). The Bulmershe and Whitegates ward also includes the Bulmershe ward of Woodley Town Council. The Town Wards do not coincide with the Borough Wards: Cutbush and Hawkedon Town Wards make up the Hawkedon Borough Ward; Hillside and Radstock the Hillside Borough Ward; Redhatch, St Nicolas and Maiden Erlegh the Maiden Erlegh Borough ward; and Whitegates together with the Woodley Town Ward of Bulmershe make up the Bulmershe and Whitegates Borough Ward.
Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
elections are held every four years; the last one was in 2019.
Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
Elections are held by thirds with one in 3 years out of every 4 for the three member wards and one year with no election.


Amenities

Earley town council runs Sol Joel Park, leased from Reading Borough Council for 50 years, Meadow Park off Meadow Road, Bulmershe Park (jointly with Woodley), the
BMX track BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...
near Paddick Drive which was opened in 2011, two community centres and Maiden Erlegh Lakes, which was declared a local nature reserve in 1997. The council has a large allotment at Culver Lane and a lawn cemetery at Mays Lane. The council also provides the bus shelters at the main Reading bound stops. Within Earley, the council operates the Waterside Centre, a
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...
centre in Thames Valley Park, and the Loddon Valley Leisure Centre. They also own Chalfont Park and Laurel Park in Earley, both of which include
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
pitches. Even after its recent development, Earley has some remnants of ancient woodland within its boundaries, including Pearman's Copse and Redhatch Copse.


Transport

Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of loca ...
railway station is on the line from to .
Winnersh Triangle Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the ...
railway station, which opened in 1986, is also near Earley. Earley is served by
Reading Buses Reading Buses is a bus operator serving the towns of Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham and the surrounding areas in the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire, England, as well as parts of Greater L ...
who provide a number of bus services to and from the centre 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 ...
, namely the 4, X4, 19a, 19b, 19c; and the 21, a 24-hour service. The 17 bus runs 24 hours a day from the junction at the Three Tuns, through Reading town centre, towards
Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundarie ...
. can be reached by bus on the Wokingham Road or by train from Earley or Winnersh Triangle stations. Earley is to the north of the M4 motorway which connects
London 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 majo ...
with
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
.


Economy

Earley is home to the Thames Valley Park which is alongside the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
to the east of the
A329(M) The A329(M) is a motorway in Berkshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) long and runs from the west of Bracknell to the north west of Winnersh. It is one of a small number of parts of the motorway system in England that are managed by ...
motorway. The park houses offices of many major companies including the UK headquarters of
BG Group BG Group plc was a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. On 8 April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire BG Group for $70 billion, subject to regulatory and ...
,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
,
ING Direct The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale bankin ...
and
SGI SGI may refer to: Companies *Saskatchewan Government Insurance *Scientific Games International, a gambling company *Silicon Graphics, Inc., a former manufacturer of high-performance computing products *Silicon Graphics International, formerly Rac ...
together with offices of Oracle Corporation,
Computacenter Computacenter plc is a British multinational that provides computer services to public- and private-sector customers. It is a UK company based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituen ...
,
David Lloyd Leisure David Lloyd Leisure is Europe's largest health, fitness and leisure business by revenue, operating 130 clubs across nine countries. History David Lloyd established David Lloyd Leisure in 1982 and opened the first club, aimed at providing a fa ...
,
Cybersource Cybersource is a payment service provider founded in 1994. In November 2007, Cybersource acquired the U.S. small business payment services provider Authorize.Net for $565 million. On April 22, 2010, Visa Inc. acquired Cybersource for $2 billion ...
, JP Executive Recruitment,
Open Text In semiotic analysis (the studies of signs or symbols), an open text is a text that allows multiple or mediated interpretation by the readers. In contrast, a closed text leads the reader to one intended interpretation. The concept of the open te ...
,
Regus IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a British holding company.IWG PLC
Bloomberg. Accessed June 2021.
It provide ...
,
Websense Forcepoint, an American multinational corporation software company headquartered in Austin, Texas, that develops computer security software and data protection, cloud access security broker, firewall and cross-domain solutions. Forcepoint was fo ...
and Worktube CV. The neighbouring Suttons
Business Park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typicall ...
houses more service and high tech companies such as
Rentokil Initial Rentokil Initial is a British business services group based in Crawley, England. It was founded in 1925 as a pest-control business but subsequently expanded and diversified, in part through organic growth under the leadership of Sir Clive Thom ...
, Service Point, HP Invent, MOOG, FPS and Royal Mail. One of the main industries located in Earley was Sutton Seeds, whose headquarters were in
London 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 majo ...
Road, at the northern end of what was once the A329(M) motorway spur (now the A3290). The building was partly taken over by the civil engineering consultancy
Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners was a British firm of consulting civil engineers, based at Queen Anne's Lodge, Queen Anne's Gate and subsequently Telford House, Tothill Street, Westminster, London, until 1974, when it relocated to Earley House, 427 ...
in June 1974, when it relocated from London. Sutton Seeds finally departed in 1975 to its new base in
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...
.


Education

Earley has 6 primary schools, Aldryngton, Earley St Peters, Hillside, Radstock, Whiteknights and Hawkedon, and
Maiden Erlegh School Maiden Erlegh School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Earley (near Reading) in Berkshire, England. It was established in 1962 as a Comprehensive school secondary school to serve the families of Wokingham. Today i ...
, a coeducational secondary school. In addition, the following schools all have children from Earley and Lower Earley within their designated catchment areas, as defined by
Wokingham Borough Council Wokingham Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or perform ...
:
The Emmbrook School The Emmbrook School is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school located in Emmbrook, Berkshire, Emmbrook, Wokingham, Berkshire, England, for students between 11 and 18 years of age. There are around 1,378 students at the school, wi ...
,
Forest School Forest School or Forrest School may refer to: Educational philosophy * Forest school (learning style), a learner centred outdoor learning approach. Religious philosophy * Thai Forest Tradition, a Theravada school of Buddhism in Thailand. * Sri La ...
,
The Holt School The Holt School is a secondary school located on the outskirts of Wokingham, Berkshire, England, on Holt Lane. It is a girls' school and currently teaches over 1,200 girls ranging from age 11–18. Boys are admitted to the sixth form. There a ...
and
The Piggott School The Piggott School is a Church of England academy secondary school in Wargrave in Berkshire, England. The school has approximately 1,516 pupils and around 185 teaching staff. The school specialises in Modern Languages and Humanities. It has been ...
.


Religion

The parish church is Earley St Peter's in Church Road. Trinity church in Chalfont Close is a partnership between the
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
,
United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...
and
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
churches. St Nicholas is another Anglican church in Sutcliffe Avenue. The
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
church is in Maiden Place in Lower Earley. The
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church of Our Lady of Peace & Blessed Dominic Barberi is on the Wokingham Road. The Aisha Masjid
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
& Islamic Centre is on London Road, the Jamia Masjid mosque is on Alexandra Road and the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith and Sri Guru Singh Sabha
Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...
are on Cumberland Road.


Notable people

* Henry Addington, Viscount Sidmouth (1757–1844); Speaker 1789,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
1801, donated land for and endowed Earley St Peters Church, owned Erleigh Court) * The
Marquis of Blandford Duke of Marlborough (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the noted military leader. In historical texts, unqualified use of the ti ...
, later
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA (6 March 1766 – 5 March 1840), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British nobleman, politician, peer, and collector of antiquities and books. He was the first one to specifi ...
acquired the Whiteknights estate in 1798. * Owen Buckingham,
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
; owner of Erlegh Court from 1708 to 1720 * John of Earley or de Erleigh (fl. 1180–1215), squire to
William Marshal William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...
, knight in the courts of Henry II and
Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
* Francis Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet (1808–1878); first Jewish Barrister and QC, MP for
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 ...
, owner of Whiteknights. * Isaac Goldsmid, 1st Baronet (1778–1859); financier, owner of Whiteknights Estate, first Jewish
Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
. *
Baron Hirst Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
(1863–1943); lived at
Foxhill House Foxhill House is a Gothic revival style building on what is now the Whiteknights campus of the University of Reading at Earley, adjoining the English town of Reading. It currently houses the University's School of Law. Foxhill House is a grad ...
. With Gustav Byng, he founded a company selling electrical appliances, the forerunner of GEC, Hirst was MD of GEC in 1900 and chairman in 1910. * Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860-1935), MP and diplomat, lived at Foxhill House during the early years of the 20th Century, until 1919. *
Solomon Joel Solomon Barnato "Solly" Joel (23 May 1865 – 22 May 1931), born in London, England, moved to South Africa in the 1880s where he made his fortune in connection with diamonds, later becoming a financier with interests in mining, brewing and rail ...
(1865–1931); businessman, was the owner of Maiden Erlegh estate from 1903. * General Sir Richard Denis Kelly KCB (1815–1897); lived at 'Shrublands' in Earley, and is buried in St Peter's Churchyard Earley) *
William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell (17 October 174528 January 1836) was an England, English judge and jurist. He served as Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1798 to 1828. Background and education Scott was born at Heworth, Tyne and Wear, ...
(1745–1836;
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
; MP for Oxford University, lived at Erleigh Court from 1828 until his death on 28 Jan 1836. * Alfred Waterhouse (1813–1905; architect, designer and owner of Foxhill House, first chairman of Governors at
Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...
, designed
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 ...
and
Reading Town Hall Reading Town Hall is the town hall of Reading, Berkshire, England. The town hall was built in several phases between 1786 and 1897, although the principal facade was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1875. Situated close to the site of Reading ...
s.


References


External links


Earley Town Council




{{authority control Towns in Berkshire Borough of Wokingham Civil parishes in Berkshire Sonning