Pinkneys Green is a semi-rural village near the town of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

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 sits within the ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Cookham Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...

Location

Pinkneys Green is about two miles northwest of Maidenhead town centre, although it is located within the boundaries of the town. The village is located east of the A404 and north-west of the suburb of Highway. Cookham Dean and Bisham are to the north, Burchett's Green and Stubbings to the west, and Cox Green to the south.

History

Established as a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

circa 1650, it had become known as Pinkneys Green by the early 1700s, although it is unclear whether the name derives specifically from Ghilo de Pinkney, a Norman knight who supported

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, or in reference to the Pinkney family as a whole. This prominent family, whose main estates were in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, owned the original manor of Pinkneys Court, then in the

, from the 12th to the 15th century. The wooded Maidenhead Thicket, owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, is at Pinkneys Green. The banks and ditches of a small

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

farmstead, called 'Robin Hood's Arbour' may be seen there. The Thicket was originally a much larger area of wilderness, famous as the haunt of highwaymen in the 17th and 18th centuries. Maidenhead's coaching inns grew rich on the travellers' fear of crossing the Thicket at night.

Character and amenities

Pinkneys Green is a dormitory residential area and contains very few businesses or services. It has two public houses and a restaurant, and it is only a short distance from Maidenhead town centre and railway station. Pinkney's Green Common is owned by the National Trust. Carters Steam Fair used to stop at Pinkneys Green each year in the Spring, commencing an annual " road run".

Scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

have been in Pinkneys Green since 1909. Pinkneys Green Scouts on Winter Hill Road has over 135 members. The first Girl Guide company in the world was the 1st Pinkneys Green Guides ( Miss Baden-Powell's Own). Ellington Morris - Maidenhead's

Morris Dance Morris dancing is a form of English folklore, English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A ban ...

team - are based in Pinkneys Green. Formed in 1972, the side practices throughout the winter at the scouts hut and perform their traditional

Mummers play Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...

on Boxing day followed by dancing out from May 1 at pubs, fetes and events in the area throughout the summer. The side dances traditional Cotswold dances together with their own Ellington tradition.

Sports

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 ...

has been played on Pinkneys Green since 1885.

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (28 March 1935 – 16 August 2023) was an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other ta ...

officially opened the new Pinkneys Green Cricket Club pavilion in May 2007 following the destruction of the previous one in an arson attack in February 2004. Pinkneys Green F.C. was founded in 1978. The club currently plays in the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an area in South East England that extends along the River Thames west of London towards Oxford. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub on the M4 corridor, with a high concentration of technology companies ...

Sunday Football League Division 2.

References

External links

{{authority control Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Villages in Berkshire Maidenhead