Sonning Common is a village 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 authorit ...

in a relatively flat, former common land part of the Chiltern Hills in

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

, centred west south-west of Henley-on-Thames and north of Reading.

History

During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

the village itself did not exist: being an area of open land east of the route between Reading – occupied alternately by the Parliamentarians and

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

– and

Oxford 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 ...

, which was the King's headquarters. In 1647 after the end of the first civil war, the King was imprisoned at nearby Caversham House (now the location of

BBC Monitoring BBC Monitoring (BBCM) is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation which monitors, and reports on, mass media worldwide using open-source intelligence. Based at New Broadcasting House, the BBC's headquarters in central London, it has ...

in Caversham); however he was allowed out under escort to play bowls at an

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 ...

(latterly called "The King Charles Head") near Cane End, approximately one mile west of Sonning Common. His route between these places would have brought him close to the present-day village. The site of the village has been called "Sonning Common" since at least the 1640s, long before any fixed settlement existed. The name is literal, at the time gradually losing its earlier status of common grazing land belonging to Sonning Parish. Both places have intermittently been spelt 'Sunning' as seen on maps such as that of the

A4 road This is a list of roads designated A4. A4 is the name of several roads: * A004 road (Argentina), a road connecting Buenos Aires-La Plata highway with the Juan María Gutiérrez circle * A4 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Vienna and Nickels ...

from 1786, indicating contemporary pronunciation was as in the other three ancient parishes named after Sunna (Saxon chief) — the letter combination 'un' was avoided in

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

as a result of Norman handwriting.

Amenities

Serving as a meeting place to explore by footpaths the Chiltern Hills nearest to the large town of Reading, Sonning Common has a community of volunteers who guide regular Sonning Common Health Walks. Sonning Common has a Herb Farm (with a Saxon layout maze), Thames Valley Gymnastics Club and a health centre. Two neighbouring parishes, Kidmore End and Rotherfield Peppard, have their war memorial halls on the parish boundaries. The civil parish help maintain a pond with a duck-house in the middle called "Duckingham Palace", three children's playgrounds and a Millennium Green, public land, at the southern end of the village between Kennylands Road and Peppard Road. Wood Lane has a health centre, village hall, and most shops including: an Indian restaurant, a Chinese take-away,

fish and chip Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...

shop, sandwich shop,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, florist, supermarkets, petrol station, dental practice and general/charity stores. Public houses: *The ''Bird In Hand'' *''The Butchers Arms'' *The ''Hare and Hounds''. Duckingham Palace

Churches

Churches are

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

(

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

's (

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 let ...

), and Sonning Common Free Church.

Education

Sonning Common has a primary school, and Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge is the secondary school in the village. Sixth form students usually travel to

The Henley College (Henley-on-Thames) The Henley College is a sixth form college in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It was founded as a tertiary college in 1987 and changed its status to a sixth form college in 2010. History and origins The college's roots date back to 1 ...

. There is also Bishopswood School which is a special school serving the wider area.

Performing arts

The village has an amateur dramatic group, The Chiltern Players.

Demography

The greenspace is mainly beech woodland with clearings and fields straddled by many paths. The Sonning Common Magazine is a not-for-profit community digital and delivered magazine to 1,850 addresses in the village every other month.

Nearest places

Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{authority control Villages in Oxfordshire Civil parishes in Oxfordshire