Winnersh

Winnersh is a village and civil parish, a part of Wokingham Borough, in the English county of Berkshire. The parish is roughly bounded on the north-east by the A329(M), to the north-west by the river Loddon, Old Forest Road and Simons Lane on the south east and Bearwood Road on the south-west. This also encompases the estate village of Sindlesham.

Character

Winnersh was largely developed during the railway age. The South Eastern Railway built the North Downs Line in 1849, but the station now known as Winnersh was not opened until 1910, and was originally named "Sindlesham and Hurst Halt", so clearly Winnersh as a village did not exist in the form that it is today (the station is fairly central in the current village). The station was renamed Winnersh Halt in 1930.

Housing and then light industry followed the railway, and now Winnersh has two stations, Winnersh and Winnersh Triangle, the latter also being the name of the industrial estate that it serves. Modern Winnersh exists mostly as a sleeper town. Relentless housing development on all sides will soon see Winnersh exist as part of an urban continuum between Reading and London.

Today the centre of the area is best known by the "Winnersh cross-roads", the junction of the A329, the Wokingham to Reading road, and the B3030 (King Street Lane towards Sindlesham, Robin Hood Lane towards Hurst).

Much of modern Winnersh includes areas that were formerly parts of the villages of Sindlesham and Merryhill Green. Most of Merryhill Green was destroyed by the construction of the A329(M).

The Emm Brook river runs through Winnersh.

Name

The name "Winnersh" comes from the Old English word 'Winn' meaning meadow or pasture and 'ersc'(or earsh) meaning stubble field or park. This implies that Winnersh consisted of cultivated areas of land centuries ago. It has been mentioned in documents since the late 12th century as a description of the area. Winnersh was originally one of the four 'Liberties' of the parish of Hurst.

Transport

Winnersh is situated on the main road between Reading and Wokingham, and also on the railway line between Reading and London Waterloo. The train station was recently lengthened to accommodate full sized trains on this service.

There is also a regular bus service that runs every 30 minutes (weekdays) through the centre of the village between Reading and Bracknell via Wokingham.

Amenities

In 2004 the main Sainsbury's superstore, which stands at the Winnersh crossroads, was expanded - almost doubling in size. It is one of the biggest superstores in the area.

The Reading Showcase Cinema multiplex is just inside the Western edge of Winnersh. It is particularly noted for being built on a flood plain for the river Loddon, but the building is raised to a sufficient level as to be unaffected.

The Forest School is in Winnersh and was relocated there in 1957. Many of the boys come from the large catchment area to attend the school.

Dinton Pastures is next to the northern edge of the Winnersh area.

The local kebab van at Winnersh crossroads provides late-night foods, and used to be known for its excellent chili sauce

Population

The 2001 census recorded 7,939 people living in 2,953 households in the Winnersh ward. Of these homes, 2,444 were Owner Occupied, 290 were Social Rented homes, 195 were Privately Rented and 24 homes were Rent Free. Below are some other facts the census data revealed about Winnersh:

7,431 people live in an unshared house or bungalow, 238 people live in flats or maisonettes, 182 live in caravans or other temporary structures.

The 2001 census also recorded the following ethic breakdown: White 94.19%, Asian 3.22%, Mixed 1.04%, Black 0.58%, Chinese 0.37%, Other 0.58%

The religious breakdown in 2001 was as follows: 5,716 Christian, 32 Buddhist, 77 Hindu, 17 Jewish, 84 Muslim, 99 Sikh, 38 Other Religion, 1,397 No Religion, 479 Religion not stated.

There were 5,842 people of employable age (between 16 and 74) in Winnersh of which 4,339 were in employment. Of people who were not working 588 people were retired, 371 people were looking after their families, 200 people were full time students, 120 people were sick or disabled and only 103 people were unemployed.

Sport and leisure

In 2006 the year 11 team at the Forest School won the English Schools Football Association cup - and the team reached the final for the second year running in 2007, but lost to Nottingham's Rushcliffe School in the last minute of extra time.

In the media

Golden Globe-winning BBC sitcom The Office namechecks Winnersh when Ricky Gervais as David Brent muses on his future: "My world does not end with these four walls. Slough's a big place, and when I'm finished with Slough, there's Reading, Aldershot, Bracknell, you know, I've got -- Didcot, Yateley. You know. My -- Winnersh, Taplow. And because I am my own boss, I can.. Burghfield."

References

Winnersh Parish Council

Hurst Village Society

Winnersh - Wokingham District Council

British History Online - Hurst Parish

Elisabeth Lister talks about life in Winnersh on the BBC's WW2 People's War website

Winnersh Census Data at the Office of National Statistics

FirstGroup - Bus Timetable for Winnersh (line 190)

Category:Villages in Berkshire Category:Wokingham Category:Civil parishes in Berkshire Category:M4 corridor