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Wokingham
Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a population of 50,325. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may also have owned lands at Wokefield in Berkshire and Woking in Surrey. In Victorian times, the name became corrupted to ''Oakingham'', and consequently the acorn with oak leaves is the town's heraldic charge, granted in the 19th century. Geologically, Wokingham sits at the northern end of the Bagshot Formation, overlying London clay, suggesting a prehistorical origin as a marine estuary. The courts of Windsor Forest were held at Wokingham and the town had the right to hold a market from 1219. The Bishop of Salisbury was largely responsible for the growth of the town during this period. He set out roads and plots making them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Market Town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market, Market Rasen, or Market Drayton). Modern markets are often in special halls, but this is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place, sometimes centred on a market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. History The primary purpose of a market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wokingham (UK Parliament Constituency)
Wokingham is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in the English county of Berkshire. From its creation in 1950 until 2024, it was represented solely by Conservatives, most notably, John Redwood, who held his position from 1987 until 2024 when he stepped down following the dissolution of parliament. Since 4 July 2024, Wokingham has been represented by Clive Jones, a Liberal Democrat. Constituency profile The seat covers the prosperous town of Wokingham, the southern suburbs of Reading, and a rural area to the west. Residents are significantly wealthier than the UK average, reflected in high property prices. In 2019 the area was ranked as the least deprived constituency in the UK. History Originally, Wokingham was part of a larger constituency of Berkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), increased to three in the Reform Act 1832. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 Berkshire was divided into three county constituencies, No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bellfounding
Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting bell metal in moulds designed for their intended musical pitches. Further fine tuning is then performed using a lathe to shave metal from the bell to produce a distinctive bell tone by sounding the correct musical harmonics. Bellfounding in East Asia dates from about 2000 BCE and in Europe from the 4th or 5th century CE. In Britain, archaeological excavations have revealed traces of furnaces, showing that bells were often cast on site in pits in a church or its grounds. Centralised foundries became common when railways allowed easy transportation of bells, leading to the dominance of founders such as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and John Taylor & Co of Loughborough. Elsewhere in the world a number of foundries are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bishop Of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbury, Wiltshire, City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat is in the Salisbury Cathedral, Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The current bishop is Stephen Lake. History The Diocese of Sherborne (founded ) was the origin of the present diocese; Aldhelm, St Aldhelm was its first bishop. In about 705 the vast diocese of Wessex at Winchester was divided in two with the creation of a new diocese of Sherborne under Bishop Aldhelm, covering Devon, Somerset and Dorset. Cornwall was added to the diocese at the end of the ninth century, but in about 909 the diocese was divided in three with the creation of the bishoprics of Bishop of Wells, Wells, covering Somerset, and Bishop of Crediton (ancient), Crediton, covering Devon and Cornwall, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from the lower Eocene rocks indicate a moderately warm climate, the tropical or subtropical flora. Though sea levels changed during the deposition of the clay, the habitat was generally a lush forest – perhaps like in Indonesia or East Africa today – bordering a warm, shallow ocean. The London Clay is a stiff bluish clay which becomes brown when weathered and oxidized. Nodular lumps of pyrite are frequently found in the clay layers. Pyrite was produced by microbial activity (sulfate reducing bacteria) during clay sedimentation. Once clay is exposed to atmospheric oxygen, framboidal pyrite with a great specific surface is rapidly oxidized. Acid mine drainage, Pyrite oxidation produce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagshot Formation
In geology, the Bagshot Beds are a series of sands and clays of shallow-water origin, some being fresh-water, some marine. They belong to the upper Eocene formation of the London and Hampshire basins, in England and derive their name from Bagshot Heath in Surrey. They are also well developed in Hampshire, Berkshire and the Isle of Wight. The following divisions are generally accepted: *Upper Bagshot Beds — Barton sand and Barton clay. *Middle Bagshot Beds — Bracklesham Beds. *Lower Bagshot Beds — Bournemouth Beds and Alum Bay Beds. The lower division consists of pale-yellow, current-bedded sand and loam, with layers of pipeclay and occasional beds of flint pebbles. In the London basin, wherever the junction of the Bagshot beds with the London clay is exposed, it is clear that no sharp line can be drawn between these formations. The Lower Bagshot Beds may be observed at Brentwood, Billericay and High Beach in Essex; outliers, capping hills of London clay, occur at Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acorn
The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), enclosed in a tough Nutshell, shell known as the pericarp, and borne in a cup-shaped Calybium, cupule. Acorns are long and on the fat side. Acorns take between 5 and 24 months (depending on the species) to mature; see the List of Quercus species, list of ''Quercus'' species for details of oak classification, in which acorn morphology (biology), morphology and phenology are important factors. Etymology The word ''acorn'' (earlier ''akerne'', and ''acharn'') is related to the gothic language, Gothic name ''akran'', which had the sense of "fruit of the unenclosed land". The word was applied to the most important forest produce, that of the oak. Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer spoke of "achornes of okes" in the 14th century. By degrees, popular etym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorian Times
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the ''Belle Époque'' era of continental Europe. Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world. Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Saxon landowner. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Paleolithic, but the low fertility of the sandy local soils meant that the area was the least populated part of the county in 1086. Between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries, new transport links were constructed, including the Wey and Godalming Navigations, Wey Navigation, Basingstoke Canal and South West Main Line, London to Southampton railway line. The modern town was established in the mid-1860s, as the London Necropolis Company began to sell surplus land surrounding Woking railway station, the railway station for home construction, development. Modern local government in Woking began with the creation of the Woking Local Board of Health, Local Board ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wokefield
Wokefield is a hamlet and civil parish in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England, south of Reading. The parish includes the hamlets of Goddard's Green and Bloomfield Hatch. It also includes part of the former parish of Sulhamstead and Grazeley. Geography To the north of the parish are Burghfield and Burghfield Common, to the east is Shinfield, and to the south are Stratfield Mortimer and Mortimer Common. It lies between and above sea level. Wokefield Common Wokefield Common is an area of mixed woodland on the northern border of the parish. It has been declared a Wildlife Heritage Site by West Berkshire Council's Countryside Service, and is described as a quiet site with a network of paths leading through tall pine and broadleaf woodland, ponds, small areas of heather and rich wet gullies. Of particular significance are the heathland areas which support rare species including slowworms, grass snakes and adders. The site is jointly managed by the Countrys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
