Caversham, Reading

Coordinates: 51°28′01″N 0°58′23″W / 51.467°N 0.973°W / 51.467; -0.973
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Caversham
2011 census)[n 1][1]
• Density3,597/km2 (9,320/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSU7174
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townReading
Postcode districtRG4
Dialling code0118
PoliceThames Valley
FireRoyal Berkshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Berkshire
51°28′01″N 0°58′23″W / 51.467°N 0.973°W / 51.467; -0.973

Caversham is a village and suburb of

Thames Path
national trail.

Recorded as early as 1086, Caversham was a village part of the Henley district of Oxfordshire[2] (it is located around 6 miles (9.7 km) south east of Henley).[3] With the exception of the centre of Caversham and Emmer Green, which were traditional villages, much of the development occurred during the 20th century. In 1911, it was transferred to Berkshire and became part of the county borough of Reading.

History

View of Caversham through the inner gateway of Reading Abbey in 1791
Bridge Street, looking north from Caversham Bridge c. 1905 by Henry Taunt
St Peter's Church

The first written description of Caversham as Cavesham appeared in the Domesday Book (1086) within the hundred of Binfield.[4] This entry indicates that a sizeable community had developed with a considerable amount of land under cultivation.[5] Robert de Montfort and Henry of Essex fought in front of Henry II under a bridge by the village. The martial Earl of Pembroke, who was a protector of Henry III, died in Caversham in the 13th century.[2]

Some time before 1106 a

Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St. Anne.[7]

In the

ha ha wall below giving a view over the River Thames and much of Reading and Tilehurst
.

In the

BBC Written Archives Centre
is still based on part of the site.

Governance

Caversham is entirely within the

Reading West parliamentary constituency, but after consultation, this proposal was reverted in the 2018 recommendations.[12]

Caversham was an urban district and part of Oxfordshire until 9 November 1911,[13] when it was transferred to Berkshire and became part of the county borough of Reading.[14][15] In 1911 the civil parish had a population of 9858.[16] On 1 April 1916 the parish was abolished and merged with Reading.[17]

Geography

The shopping area and immediate residential surrounds that form Central Caversham are surrounded by more recent developments that form bolt-on additions to the suburb:

Thames Path National Trail except to the west of Caversham, where it reverses banks at Reading Bridge
.

Between Mapledurham on the Thames and Caversham Heights, adjoining their respective golf courses is a western narrow outcrop of the northern foothills that reaches 95m AOD. The low Chiltern Hills on the north bank of the River Thames are therefore higher than the land on the opposite bank, providing wide views to the south.[18] On the northern edge of Caversham is the Local nature reserve of Clayfield Copse.[19] The carved Caversham village sign, carved by a local craftsman, is mounted on a tall Oak post in the village centre.[20]

Demography

Caversham including Emmer Green (the north bank) had: 22.1% of its homes being socially or privately rented in 2011, whereas the borough had 42.4%. This broad area had 20.4% of Reading's population and 23.5% of the borough, with the north bank's homes occupying 29.1% of the footprint of the whole borough's homes. It had 5.7% of the borough's non-domestic buildings footprint. The same figures (where Emmer Green is excluded from analysis) are that Caversham more narrowly defined, as is becoming more common, saw 24.8% of its homes rented against the borough's 42.4%, the same area had 15.3% of Reading's population and 16.4% of the borough's area with its homes occupying 20.6% of the footprint of the whole borough's homes. It had 4.3% of the borough's non-domestic buildings footprint.

At the

2011 census the proportion of homes that were rented as opposed to owned was close to 50% of the average for the borough. The area had 15.3% of Reading's population and 16.4% of the borough's area. In keeping with a suburb, in 2005 the Office for National Statistics
land use statistics published with the census, Caversham had 4.3% of the non-domestic buildings. Almost wholly low rise where developed, its homes occupied 20.6% of the footprint of all homes in the borough.

2011 Census Key Statistics
Output area Population Homes % Owned outright % Owned with a loan % Socially rented % Privately rented km2 km2 Greenspace[n 2] km2 gardens km2 road domestic buildings non-domestic buildings
Caversham[n 1] 23885 8996 36.9% 43.9% 9.1% 15.7% 6.64 1.44 3.17 0.78 0.68 0.09
Caversham including Emmer Green 31734 12284 37.7% 42.9% 8.2% 13.9% 9.5 2.54 4.17 1.07 0.96 0.12
Borough of Reading 155698 62869 22.6% 32.2% 16.3% 26.1% 40.4 13.2 11.9 4.9 3.3 2.1

Transport

Caversham Bridge, Reading Bridge, Christchurch Bridge, and Caversham Lock provide crossing points (the last two for pedestrians only), with Sonning Bridge also available a few miles east of Caversham.

Education

There is one local authority

St. Anne
's RC Primary School, St. Martin's RC Primary School, Micklands Primary School and Thameside Primary School.

There is a shortage of

MP, Rob Wilson, intervened. Following discussions with the EFA, Reading Borough Council was commissioned to work with local stakeholders on alternative sites. Five possibilities were proposed – two parks, a wildlife site, a residential site and a field in adjoining Oxfordshire. The subsequent consultation showed a clear preference for occupying a small part of Mapledurham playing fields (5%).[24]

The consultation is not binding, and there remain some legal difficulties. It is in trust for recreation purposes and was gifted by the late Mr Hewett to residents of

Ofsted in 2011 as 'outstanding'.[25] Chiltern College, once a training school for childminders, now provides training in all aspects of child care, and claims to be the only childcare training college in the United Kingdom
with its own nurseries, school, training college and residential accommodation on campus.

Sport

Caversham AFC is one of the largest youth

football clubs in the area with many of its girls' and boys' youth teams competing in the top divisions of local leagues. Caversham AFC's main ground is Clayfield Copse, commonly referred to as "Swan's Lair" because the mascot for the team is a swan. In previous seasons, Highdown School has been used as Caversham AFC's training ground. The club colours are red and black. Their main rivals are Caversham Trents FC who also have boys teams competing in many of the same divisions as their AFC counterparts who are also known to use Highdown School as their training ground. The club colours are blue and white and their main ground is Mapledurham Playing Fields. The Albert Road recreation ground offers facilities for tennis, croquet, and bowls
.

Religious sites

There are many

.

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Excludes Reading 001A, B and D which are Emmer Green
  2. ^ Comprises cultivated fields, woodland, pasture and public parks/common.

References

  1. ^ "Key Statistics: Dwellings; Quick Statistics: Population Density; Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005". Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, John Marius (1870–1872). Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. On visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  3. ^ Measured using Google Maps from the local centre to Henley Market Place
  4. ^ "Caversham | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org.
  5. ^ a b "Caversham Court HLF Application" (PDF). Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
  6. ^ a b "RBH: History of Caversham, Oxfordshire (Berkshire)". www.berkshirehistory.com.
  7. ^ "Church of Our Lady and St Anne - with the Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham". Church of Our Lady and St Anne. Archived from the original on 5 May 2006.
  8. ^ Kingsford 1893.
  9. ^ "RBC Wards 2004 A4" (PDF). Reading Borough Council. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  10. ^ "Initial Proposals for New Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in the South East" (PDF).
  11. ^ "2018 Review". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Caversham.org: History (downloaded 12 April 2015)". Archived from the original on 24 April 2015.
  13. Berkshire Record Office. Charter 750 — A County Borough Archived 1 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine
    . Retrieved 6 October 2005.
  14. ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time (2004). Caversham UD Oxfordshire through time Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 October 2005.
  15. A Vision of Britain through Time
    . Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Reading Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  17. Ordnance survey
    website
  18. ^ "Magic Map Application". Magic.defra.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  19. ^ "The Caversham Village Sign". Stuart King. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  20. ^ "School Places and Admission Arrangements Review (clause 18)" (PDF). Reading Borough Council. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011.
  21. ^ "Mapledurham Playing Fields Consultation Results". Reading Borough Council. 5 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
  22. ^ "The Heights Primary School, Caversham". The Heights Primary School, Caversham.
  23. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "New Bridge Nursery School - Inspection report". Ofsted. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  25. ^ Harris, Cristina (25 November 2017). "Caversham and Mapledurham churches host Christmas events". InYourArea. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  26. ^ "ran Kirby discusses her journey from Caversham Trents to starring for England at UEFA Women's EUROs". englandfootball.com/. England Football. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.

Attribution

External links