Theale, Berkshire
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Coordinates: 51°26′13″N 1°04′37″W / 51.437°N 1.077°W
| Theale | |
 Theale High Street |
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 Theale
Theale shown within Berkshire |
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| OS grid reference | SU641713 |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | Theale |
| Unitary authority | West Berkshire |
| Ceremonial county | Berkshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Reading West |
| List of places: UK • England • Berkshire | |
Theale is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village has many of the attributes of a small town, with a high street lined with shops, pubs and restaurants.
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[edit] Location
Theale is located 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the centre of the large town of Reading and is separated from the suburbs of that town by the M4 motorway. The town of Thatcham is 9.5 miles (15 km) to the west. Theale is located on the old Bath Road, which crosses the motorway here at junction 12 (Reading West). Theale railway station is near the centre of the village and is served by local services from Reading to Newbury, Great Bedwyn and two weekday long distance services to Exeter and Taunton.
[edit] Development
Theale owes much of its past and present prosperity to its good road communications links. In the pre-railway era, the village was an important staging post on the old Bath Road, as witnessed by the number of old pubs to be found on its High Street, and the former brewery that served them. One local legend claims that Theale got its name, "The Ale" from when it was the first staging post out of London along the Bath Road. Another claims that the village once held the record for having the most Public Houses in the smallest area - and indeed at one time the village was home to at least nine (The Bull (formerly The Wheel of Fortune), The Falcon, The Angel (now gone, once on the site of the old United Reform Church chapel, now itself replaced by flats), The Crown, The Red Lion, The Lamb, The Volunteer, The Railway Arms (now gone, once opposite the station car park) and The Thatcher's Arms). Neither story is true. The name derives from an original Saxon meaning of a causeway over wet land.[1]
Today the proximity of Reading and the motorway junction has attracted a number of distribution companies and offices; to the east of the village centre is the Arlington Business Park - home to businesses including Pepsi and Abbey business centres. The same advantages have brought significant amounts of new housing to the village.
The motorway has had another influence on Theale, in that the land it sterilises provides an effective and obvious psychological boundary between the village and the suburbs of Reading.
[edit] Government
Theale is a civil parish with an elected parish council. The civil parish formerly stretched further to the east, but in 2000 that part that was to the east of the M4 motorway was split off to become Holybrook parish. Following this change, the parish is bordered by the parishes of Tidmarsh with Sulham, Tilehurst, Holybrook, Burghfield, Sulhamstead and Englefield.[2]
Theale parish falls within the area of the unitary authority of West Berkshire and both the parish council and the unitary authority are responsible for different aspects of local government. Theale forms part of the Reading West parliamentary constituency.[2]
Historically, Theale was part of the parish of Tilehurst.[3]
[edit] Culture
- Theale featured in the film The Borrowers. The Old Brewery was used during the scenes when the two borrower children escape from their home.[4]
- Singer Lyn Paul's family lived in the house overlooking the canal bridge. Lyn Paul represented Great Britain with the group The New Seekers in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest where they came 2nd.
- Singer-songwriter Kate Bush lived in Shenfield Mill, on an island in the River Kennet by the canal swing bridge, until late 2011. There was a recording studio in the grounds, and photos of the house featured on her album "Aerial".
- The village High Street was also used to film sequences for the 2004 film The Lazarus Child.[5]
- Singer-songwriter John Martyn's highly influential 1977 album One World was recorded across a lake of "a house in Theale". The house was Woolwichgreen Farm, then owned by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records.[6][7]
[edit] Sport
Today, Theale's main sporting successes come from local side Theale Tigers who run, among others, football and basketball teams for boys and girls aged 5 to 18. The Theale teams are generally very successful in their relative age groups, and have thereby become renowned throughout the area, particularly their football sides.
Theale FC won the FA Sunday Cup in 1992. They enjoyed great support throughout the tournament and the final was held at Elm Park.
During the 1990s Theale Green Sports Centre played host to the Theale Triathlons, Bananathon Duathlons and the Tuesday Trot 10k Running Series organised by Banana Leisure. This included Britain's first-ever "Novices Only" Triathlon. Over 38,000 competitors took part in more than 150 events with many of the world's top triathletes and duathletes competing, these included Spencer Smith, Scott Ballance, Stuart Hayes, Julian Goater, Ali Taylor, Jessica Harrison and others.
Theale golf club which is situated on the outskirts of the village and is a 18 hole par 72 course measuring 6,395 yards (5,848 m). It is the home of the "Annual Handicapped Golf Classic". This competition is played on or around the shortest day of the year (usually 20 or 21 December) and the current title holder is Tim Foote of Southampton.
In 1997 Theale cricket club merged with Tilehurst cricket club to form Theale and Tilehurst Cricket Club which is situated on the Englefield Road. Theale and Tilehurst Cricket Club runs 5 senior and 4 youth cricket teams with the aim to provide cricket for all standards in a friendly and safe environment. League cricket is played in the Thames Valley Cricket League and social highlights include the annual T&T Kwik Cricket competition with participation from many local schools.
[edit] Food and drink
Theale has a number of pubs and restaurants, including a number of free houses as well as pubs tied to Fuller's and Wadworth Brewery. The village has Chinese, Indian, and French cuisine restaurants.
North of the village, in North Street, was the Thatcher's Arms. The pub closed in mid-2009, and was sold for conversion into a private house. In September 2010, West Berkshire Council refused permission to convert the building into a private dwelling, however an appeal in April 2011 granted permission and the building is now a private residence.
[edit] References
- ^ "Theale History". Theale.com. http://thealevillage.com/?page_id=149. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. http://www.election-maps.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). "Theale". Royal Berkshire History. Nash Ford Publishing. http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/theale.html. Retrieved 07 December 2010.
- ^ "The Borrowers". The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118755/locations. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "The Lazarus Child". The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368836/. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "All about John Martyn Webpage". John Hillarby. http://www.martin-kingsbury.co.uk/articles/john%20martyn.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "John Martyn - Small Hours". http://pruningsfromthevines.blogspot.com/2010/10/small-hours.html#!/2010/10/small-hours.html. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Theale, Berkshire |
- Theale village community website
- Businesses in and around Theale
- Theale Parish Council
- Theale and Tilehurst Cricket Club
