Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on 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, s ...

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a p ...

, England. Situated on the county border with

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, it is south of Wallingford and north-west of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. It had a population of 3,187 in the 2011 census and was estimated to have increased to 3,335 by 2019. Most land is farmland, with woodland on the

Goring Gap The Goring Gap is a topographical feature on the course of the River Thames. The Gap is located in southern England where the river, flowing from north to south, cuts through and crosses a line of chalk hills in a relatively narrow gap between ...

outcrop of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

. Its riverside plain encloses the residential area, including a high street with shops, pubs and restaurants. Goring & Streatley railway station lies on the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...

, providing trains between London, , and . The village church is dedicated to St

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

with a nave that was built within 50 years of the saint's death, in the early 13th century, along with a later bell tower. Goring faces the smaller Streatley across the Thames; the two are linked by

Goring and Streatley Bridge Goring and Streatley Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England. The bridge links the twin villages of Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and Streatley, Berkshire, Streatley, Berkshire, and is adjacent to Goring Lock. The present bri ...

Geography

Goring is on the left bank of the

in the

between the

Berkshire Downs The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in southern England, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Berkshire Downs are wholly within the traditional county of Berkshire, although split between ...

and

, about north-west of

and south of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Across the river is the

village of Streatley, often seen as a twin village. They are linked by

and its adjacent lock and weir. The

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...

and the Ridgeway cross the Thames at Goring.

Transport

The

serves Goring & Streatley railway station;

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

operates trains between

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great Western Ra ...

, and

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, located south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. Historically part of Berkshire, the town is noted ...

. The service runs every 30 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, and every hour on Sundays. GWR provide the service with

British Rail Class 387 The British Rail Class 387 ''Electrostar'' is a type of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Bombardier Transportation. They are part of the Bombardier Electrostar, Electrostar family of trains. A total of 107 units were built, with t ...

electric trains, and because work on electrification from Didcot to has been suspended since 2019, the trains no longer run beyond Didcot Parkway. A separate diesel service runs between Didcot and Oxford. The local bus service between Goring and Wallingford is run by a Goring-based

community interest company A community interest company (CIC, pronounced "see-eye-see", or colloquially, "kick") is a form of social enterprise in the United Kingdom intended "for people wishing to establish businesses which trade with a social purpose..., or to carry on ...

, ''Going Forward Buses'', which was established in December 2016. The bus service to Wallingford runs hourly during the working day from Monday to Friday.

Early history

The name Goring first appears 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Garinges'', then as ''Garingies'' in a charter once held in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. It translates as "Gara's people".

Religious sites

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

St Thomas of Canterbury Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

displays

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...

of the early 12th century,Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, p. 614. with the bell-stage of a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

added in the 15th century. This has a

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

of eight bells, one dating from 1290. The wood for the

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

was taken from , one of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's fleet at

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * The Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England Trafalgar may also refer to: Places * Cape Trafalgar, a headland in ...

. A church hall was added in 1901.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, p. 615. The Anglican Churches of Goring, Streatley and South Stoke form a united

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

. A

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of Augustinian nuns was built late in the 12th century with its own priory church adjoining St Thomas's. This survived until demolished with the early 16th-century Dissolution of the Monasteries. The foundations of the priory church,

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, dormitory,

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

and parlour were excavated in 1892. Goring Free Church belongs to the

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist ...

. The congregation was founded in 1788 and its first

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

built in 1793. At its centenary in 1893, a new church building was added and the original chapel converted into a church hall. It holds two Sunday services. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

of Our Lady and St

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

was designed by the architect William Ravenscroft and built in 1898. It now forms a single parish with the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King in

Woodcote Woodcote is a village and civil parish in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, about southeast of Wallingford and about northwest of Reading. It is in the Chiltern Hills, and the highest part of the village is above sea ...

Amenities

Goring United

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Club plays in the

Reading Football League The Thames Valley Premier Football League is a football competition based in England. It has a total of five divisions – the Premier Division, then Divisions One to Four. It was founded in 1989 as the Reading Senior League, as a merger of the ...

. Goring-on-Thames

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Club, founded in 1876, has two teams in the Berkshire Cricket League. Goring has a lawn

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

club with teams that play in two local leagues. Goring and Streatley Golf Club is located in adjoining Streatley. Goring-on-Thames' ''Decorative and Fine Arts Society'', founded in 1987, belongs to the

National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), operating under the name The Arts Society, is a national organisation in the United Kingdom promoting education in the arts and the preservation of artistic heritage. It was ...

. Goring has a

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

Awards

Oxfordshire Village of the Year 2009

On 10 July 2009, Goring was named

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

's Village of the Year, ahead of 11 other villages and succeeding

. The £1000 prize was put towards the village's hydro-electric project to generate electricity from the River

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 th ...

. The competition considered the depth of infrastructure and activity in the village and at Goring's £1 million hydro-electric plans.

Calor success

Goring-on-Thames was the winner in the Sustainability and Communications category and the Overall Regional Winner of the 2011

Calor Village of the Year The Calor Village of the Year comprised 4 annual competitions organised by gas provider Calor to identify the villages that best met the following criteria: "a well-balanced, pro-active, caring community which has made the best of local opportuni ...

regional heat for South England.

Notable residents

In the summer of 1893,

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

stayed at Ferry House in Goring with

Lord Alfred Douglas Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford University he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carr ...

. While there, Wilde began writing his play ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'', which includes a main character named Lord Goring. An enlarged Ferry Cottage became the retirement home of Sir Arthur Harris, wartime leader of

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

, from 1953 until his death in 1984. He was buried in Burntwood Cemetery in Goring. In order of birth: *

Sir John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Ro ...

(1753–1837), architect, was born in Goring. *

Thomas Rome Thomas Rome (1838 – 14 May 1916) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Rome was born in 1838 in England and ventured to Australia in 1863 with his brother, Charles. He gained pastoral experience working in Taabinga before ...

(1838–1916), Australian politician, died in Goring. * Digby Willoughby (1845–1901), military mercenary, died in Goring. *

Aubrey Strahan Sir Aubrey Strahan KBE FRS (20 April 1852 – 4 March 1928) was a British geologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1903. He was Director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain from 1914–1920. He won the Wollaston Me ...

(1852–1928), geologist, retired to Goring. *

Noel Denholm Davis Noel Denholm Davis (1876–1950) was a British artist, who worked chiefly as a portrait painting, portraitist. He was born in Nottingham, England, in 1876 and studied at Nottingham School of Art, and then the Royal Academy Schools. He spent a ...

(1876–1950), portrait painter, died in Goring. * Thomas Miller (1883–1962), first-class cricketer, died in Goring. *

C. H. Dodd Charles Harold Dodd (7 April 1884 – 21 September 1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting " realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant ...

(1884–1973), theologian who directed the translation of the

New English Bible The New English Bible (NEB) is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published in 1961 and the Old Testament (with the Apocrypha) was published on 16 March 1970. In 1989, it was significantly revised and republished as the ...

, died in Goring. *

Henry Harwood Admiral Sir Henry Harwood Harwood, (19 January 1888 – 9 June 1950) was a Royal Navy officer who won fame in the Battle of the River Plate during the Second World War. Early life Following education at Stubbington House School, Harwood ent ...

(1888–1950), World War II admiral *

Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, (13 April 1892 – 5 April 1984), commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press and often within the RAF as "Butcher" or "Butch" Harris, was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chi ...

(1892–1984), World War II RAF air marshal *

William Allmond Codrington Goode Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode (8 June 1907 – 15 September 1986) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Singapore from 1957 to 1959, Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore in 1959, and Governor of North Borneo f ...

(1907–1986), first

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

of Singapore, died in Goring. * Ken Walker (1922–1989), first-class cricketer, died in Goring. *

Anton Rogers Anthony Rodgers (10 January 1933 – 1 December 2007) was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film, in television dramas and sitcoms. He starred in several sitcoms, including ''Fresh Fields'' (ITV, 1984–8 ...

(1933–2007), actor *

Sir John Thomson ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

(1941–1994), RAF Air Chief Marshal *

Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...

(1941–2012), composer, pianist and rock/classical pioneer, lived in Goring in later life. *

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

(born 1945), musician (

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

) *

Pete de Freitas Peter Louis Vincent de Freitas (2 August 1961 – 14 June 1989) was an English musician and producer. He was the drummer in Echo & the Bunnymen, and performed on their first five albums. Career De Freitas joined the Bunnymen in 1979, replaci ...

(1961–1989), musician (

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

), ashes buried in Goring. *

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

(1963–2016), musician, vocalist and producer. Michael lived at Mill Cottage close to the river in his later years. He was found dead there at the age of 53 in the early hours of 25 December 2016.

Freedom of the parish

The privilege of Freedom of the Parish of Goring on Thames has been awarded to: *Stephanie Bridle, 16 October 2017, for work as a parish councillor * Janet Hurst: 12 April 2020, for work on the Britain in Bloom competition and

Local History Society

Nearby places

Twin towns

Bellême Bellême () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810–1877), ...

since 1979 *

Stühlingen Stühlingen (; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Stüelinge'') is a town in the Waldshut (district), Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the border with Switzerland, with a border crossing to the village of Ob ...

References

Sources

* *

External links

Goring Parish Council
– the official Parish Council website
Goring Neighbourhood Plan
– the local plan for community development
Genie Newsletter
– Free community newsletter serving the Goring Gap
Visit Goring & Streatley
– information about local businesses and amenities for visitors
Goring Gap News
– the local community-run newspaper
Going Forward Buses
– the

that runs the local bus service
Goring in Bloom
– the voluntary group that maintains the flowers
Goring Gap Environmental Organization
– information about the environment around Goring
Goring and District Twinning Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goring-On-Thames Villages in Oxfordshire Populated places on the River Thames Civil parishes in Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire District