Calcot, Berkshire
Calcot, or Calcot Row, is a suburb west of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Calcot is situated along the A4 Bath Road between the old hamlet of Horncastle and Junction 12 of the M4 motorway. The suburb of Tilehurst lies to the north and in the hills above Calcot, while the village of Theale lies to the west across the motorway. The recent housing estates of Beansheaf Farm and Fords Farm lie to the south, and may be considered part of Calcot.[1]
Local government
Although unquestionably a suburb of Reading, Calcot is not within the Borough of Reading. Rather it is split between the civil parishes of Holybrook and Tilehurst, with that part of Calcot north of the Bath Road in Tilehurst parish and that part south in Holybrook parish. The whole of Holybrook parish and the part of Calcot within Tilehurst parish, form the Calcot electoral ward of the unitary authority of West Berkshire. Both parishes have elected parish councils and, together with the unitary authority, are responsible for different aspects of local government. Calcot is part of the Reading West parliamentary constituency.[1][2]
Statistics
The Calcot ward of West Berkshire has an area of 324 ha and a total population of 9,093 living in 3,554 dwellings.[3]
Schools
There are two schools in Calcot sharing the same grounds, Calcot Junior School and Calcot Infant School which incorporates a nursery. When children leave primary school at 11 they attend secondary schools in neighbouring villages.
Places of interest
Calcot Park is a large country house and estate, to the north east of Calcot. Over the years the estate has been the home to Sir Peter Vanlore, Frances Kendrick, and to John Blagrave (a relative of the famous mathematician John Blagrave who built the present house in 1759). Today the house has been converted into apartments and grounds have become a golf course.[4]
Calcot Mill is a former watermill situated on the Holy Brook to the south of Calcot. On the site of a mill originally owned by Reading Abbey, the current mill has been converted into apartments.
References
- ^ a b Ordnance Survey (2006). OS Explorer Map 159 – Reading. ISBN 0-319-23730-3.
- ^ "Ward Boundaries effective from May 2003" (PDF). West Berkshire Council. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ "Neighbourhood Statistics home page". National Statistics. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ "Berkshire History : Calcot Park (Tilehurst)". Nash Ford Publishing. 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
