# Shinfield

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{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Berkshire, England}}
{{For|village in Essex|Shenfield}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2009}}
{{Infobox UK place
|static_image_name= Two_pubs_at_Shinfield_-_geograph.org.uk_-_39408.jpg
|static_image_caption = The Bell and Bottle and The Royal Oak facing the village green
 | official_name=         Shinfield
 | country=               England
 | region=                South East England
 | population=            8,136
 | population_ref=  ''(2001)''<br />  11,277  (2011 Census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11128435&c=Shinfield&d=16&e=62&g=6398963&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1480591821595&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|accessdate=1 December 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
 | os_grid_reference=          SU7368
 | coordinates = {{coord|51.408|-0.947|display=inline,title}}
 | post_town=             Reading
 | postcode_area=         RG
 | postcode_district=     RG2, RG7
 | dial_code=             0118
 | constituency_westminster=    [Earley and Woodley](/source/Earley_and_Woodley_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
 | civil_parish=          Shinfield
 | lieutenancy_england=   [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire)
 | unitary_england=       [Wokingham](/source/Wokingham_(borough))
}}

'''Shinfield''' is a village and [civil parish](/source/civil_parishes_in_England) in the [Borough of Wokingham](/source/Borough_of_Wokingham), [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire), England. It lies just south of [Reading](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire), around {{Convert|3|mi|km}} from the town centre, and covers an area of {{convert|4313|acre|km2}}. Shinfield Park is the northern part of the [parish](/source/parish), becoming physically separated from Reading when the [M4 motorway](/source/M4_motorway) was constructed in 1971.

==Geography==
The [parish](/source/parish) includes the roadside [hamlets](/source/hamlet_(place)) of [Ryeish Green](/source/Ryeish_Green), [Spencers Wood](/source/Spencers_Wood), [Three Mile Cross](/source/Three_Mile_Cross), Shinfield Village and [Grazeley](/source/Grazeley) and the southern portion of the suburb of [Reading](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire) called Shinfield Rise. It is surrounded on its eastern and southern boundary by the [River Loddon](/source/River_Loddon). The [M4 motorway](/source/M4_motorway) runs west–east through the northern portion of the parish, near the former [Berkshire County Council](/source/Berkshire_County_Council)'s [Shire Hall](/source/Shire_Hall%2C_Shinfield_Park), now the offices of the [John Wood Group](/source/John_Wood_Group);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www-getreading-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/amec-foster-wheeler-takeover-could-12738447.amp?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQEKAFwAQ%3D%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.getreading.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fbusiness%2Famec-foster-wheeler-takeover-could-12738447|title=Amec Foster Wheeler takeover could mean job losses|date=14 March 2017|publisher=Get Reading|accessdate=18 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk/visit-us/the-story-of-the-bro|title=The Story of the BRO|publisher=Berkshire Record Office|accessdate=18 August 2019}}</ref> the part to the north of the M4 corresponds closely with the part known as Shinfield Park.

The main road through the village, running north–south, is the former A327, running between [Reading](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire) and [Aldershot](/source/Aldershot), with the A327 now bypassing the village centre. Shinfield Village is centred on the [village green](/source/village_green) (School Green), surrounded by a [pub](/source/pub), a shop, the village school and recreation grounds. Its residential housing has increased considerably during the first years of the 21st century. The [parish](/source/parish) consists of a central ridge of high land sloping down to the [river Loddon](/source/river_Loddon) on the east and the [Kennet](/source/River_Kennet) Valley on the west. The soil is mostly [London Clay](/source/London_Clay), with patchy spreads of valley and plateau [gravel](/source/gravel).

==Government==
As well as being part of the [District of Wokingham](/source/Wokingham_(district)), Shinfield is governed by a [parish council](/source/Parish_councils_in_England) consisting of fifteen [parish](/source/parish) councillors, assisted by two full-time administrative staff and several part-time caretaking and maintenance employees. Shinfield has been part of the [Hundred](/source/Hundred_(division)) of [Charlton](/source/Charlton_(hundred)) since before the [Norman Conquest](/source/Norman_Conquest). Hundreds effectively ceased to function after 1886. Between 1894 and 1974, it was in the [Wokingham Rural District](/source/Wokingham_Rural_District). There are many [manor](/source/manorialism)s and supposed manors in the parish: Shinfield, Hartley Dummer alias Arbor, Hartley Battle, Hartley Amys, Hartley Pellitot, Moor Place, Diddenham Court, Hartley Court and Garston. Hartley Dummer is in the hundred of [Theale](/source/Theale%2C_Berkshire). The Diddenham estate was officially a detached part of [Wiltshire](/source/Wiltshire) until [transferred](/source/Counties_(Detached_Parts)_Act_1844) to [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire) in 1844.

==History==
[[File:Iron Age coin, Gold stater (FindID 560546).jpg|thumb|right|An [Iron Age](/source/British_Iron_Age) gold [stater](/source/stater) coin, found in Shinfield and dated to {{circa|60|50}} [BCE](/source/Common_Era)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/560546 |title=Finds record for: SUR-4F5225 |date= 16 May 2013 |last= Williams |first= David |access-date=6 September 2023 |publisher= The Portable Antiquities Scheme}}</ref>]]
[[File:Roman coin, Plated denarius of Tiberius (FindID 515575).jpg|thumb|right|A silver-plated ''[denarius](/source/denarius)'' of [Tiberius](/source/Tiberius), found in Shinfield in 2012 and dated to {{circa|16|37}} [CE](/source/Common_Era)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/515575 |title=Finds record for: SUR-2620F8 |date= 8 August 2012 |last= Williams |first= David |access-date=6 September 2023 |publisher= The Portable Antiquities Scheme}}</ref>]]
The village was named ''Shining Field'', by the [Anglo-Saxons](/source/Anglo-Saxons), after the sparkling flood-waters which still often cover the meadows down by the [Loddon](/source/River_Loddon) on the [Arborfield](/source/Arborfield) border. The [manor](/source/manorialism) was one of the many owned by [Catherine of Aragon](/source/Catherine_of_Aragon) in [Tudor times](/source/Tudor_period).<ref name=rbhshin>{{cite web |url=http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/shinfield.html |title=History of Shinfield, Berkshire |author=Ford, David Nash |year=2001 |work=Royal Berkshire History |publisher=Nash Ford Publishing |accessdate=28 December 2010}}</ref> She is said to have stayed there on occasion, possibly while visiting [Reading Abbey](/source/Reading_Abbey).<ref name=rbhshin/> During the [Civil War](/source/English_Civil_War), [Charles I](/source/Charles_I_of_England) is said to have stayed at Goodrest House (now part of Crosfields School).<ref name=rbhshin/> Later, the local church [tower](/source/bell_tower) was blown to pieces by [Parliamentary](/source/Roundhead) soldiers trying to oust a group of [Royalists](/source/cavalier) who were hiding there.<ref name=rbhshin/> The brick replacement can still be seen today. The church is the last resting place of the parents of author [Mary Russell Mitford](/source/Mary_Russell_Mitford).<ref name=rbhshin/><ref>{{NHLE |num= 1118131 |desc= Church of St Mary |grade= I |fewer-links= yes}}</ref>

[RAF Shinfield Park](/source/RAF_Shinfield_Park) was located in the north of the [Parish](/source/Parish) and was the home of [RAF](/source/Royal_Air_Force) [Flying Training Command](/source/Flying_Training_Command) from 1940 until 1968. It then became the home of the [Meteorological Office](/source/Meteorological_Office) College from 1971 until 2002. The [European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts](/source/European_Centre_for_Medium-Range_Weather_Forecasts) (ECMWF) remains on the site though the rest has been converted to residential housing. The [Cattle Breeding Centre](/source/Cattle_Breeding_Centre) operated at Shinfield from 1943 to 1991.

The [Thames Valley Science Park](/source/Thames_Valley_Science_Park) opened in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 March 2018 |title=Reading science park opens doors as part of £35m project |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-43291306 |access-date=17 October 2025 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> [Shinfield Studios](/source/Shinfield_Studios), a film and television studio complex opened on the site in 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Joe |date=June 19, 2024 |title=UK's newest TV and film studios now fully open |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cprr8e2d5xjo |work=[BBC News](/source/BBC_News)}}</ref>

==Transport==
The Shinfield Eastern Relief Road opened on 31 October 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/shinfield-relief-road-open-15-13799197|title=Shinfield Relief Road to open 15 months late but works continue|first=Hugh|last=Fort|date=24 October 2017|website=BerkshireLive}}</ref>  It serves the Shinfield Campus of the [University of Reading](/source/University_of_Reading)'s [Thames Valley](/source/Thames_Valley) [Science Park](/source/Science_Park).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvsp.co.uk/how-find-us/#shinfield-development |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528045610/http://www.tvsp.co.uk/how-find-us/ |archive-date=28 May 2016 |title=How to Find Us}}</ref>

Shinfield is served by [Reading Buses](/source/Reading_Buses), routes 3 and 600.<ref>{{cite web |title=3 - Reading - Wokingham via RBH |url=https://bustimes.org/services/3-reading-wokingham-via-royal-berkshire-hospital-s |website=bustimes.org |access-date=25 January 2025 |date=7 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=600 - Reading - TVSP/Swallowfield/Riseley via Mereoak Park&Ride |url=https://bustimes.org/services/600-reading-tvspswallowfieldriseley-via-mereoak-pa |website=bustimes.org |access-date=25 January 2025 |date=7 January 2025}}</ref>

==Institutions==
The [Church of England parish church](/source/Church_of_England_parish_church) of [St. Mary](/source/St._Mary) is a Grade I listed building, dating from the 12th century, but rebuilt in the fourteenth, and restored in 1857 by Sir [George Gilbert Scott](/source/George_Gilbert_Scott).<ref>{{cite web |title=Church of St Mary, Shinfield - 1118131 |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1118131?section=official-list-entry |website=historicengland.org.uk |access-date=25 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
Shinfield Baptist Church started in 1908, but was renamed in 2022 as the Shinfield Community Church.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Story |url=https://www.shinfieldbaptist.org.uk/Groups/308510/Our_Story.aspx |website=www.shinfieldbaptist.org.uk |access-date=25 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Ji-Min |title=Church plans to develop building to accommodate community |url=https://wokingham.today/church-plans-to-develop-building-to-accommodate-community/ |access-date=25 January 2025 |work=Wokingham Today |publisher=Wokingham Paper Ltd}}</ref>

There are several nursery, infant and junior schools in the parish.

==Notable residents==
*Shinfield is the current home of [Glenn Little](/source/Glenn_Little) ([Wrexham](/source/Wrexham) FC), James Harper (Reading FC/Arsenal), [Jem Karacan](/source/Jem_Karacan) ([Reading FC](/source/Reading_Football_Club)) and [Brynjar Gunnarsson](/source/Brynjar_Gunnarsson) ([Reading FC](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire)).
*[Lenny Henry](/source/Lenny_Henry) and [Dawn French](/source/Dawn_French) once had a home in Spencers Wood.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Shinfield}}
*[http://www.shinfieldparish.gov.uk/ Shinfield Parish Council]
*[http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/shinfield.html Royal Berkshire History: Shinfield]

{{Wokingham District}}
{{authority control}}

Category:Villages in Berkshire
Category:Borough of Wokingham
Category:Civil parishes in Berkshire

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shinfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinfield) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinfield?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.