Purley on Thames

Mapledurham Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England, about 4 miles upstream of Reading. The lock was first built in 1777 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners and the present lock dates from 1908.Despite its name, the lock is located in the Berkshire village and civil parish of Purley-On-Thames on the south bank of the river, rather than in the Oxfordshire village of Mapledurham on the other side of the river. The lock is accessible from Purley village down Mapledurham Drive, a metalled lane that turns to gravel. The weir stretches across the river, in both counties.The weir runs from the lock island in a long curve across the river between the two villages. However no access is possible across the weir, and without a boat, journeys between the two villages require a lengthy detour via Reading or Pangbourne. The weir still provides a head of water to drive Mapledurham Watermill which is on the opposite side of the river. The weir is also the furthest upstream on the Thames that has a salmon ladder.

Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire, England. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of Reading, Berkshire. Historic buildings in the area include the Church of England parish church of St. Margaret, Mapledurham Watermill and Mapledurham House.

Mapledurham Watermill is a historic watermill in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is driven by the head of water created by Mapledurham Lock and Weir, on the River Thames. The mill was built in the 15th century, and further extended in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade II* listed building and is preserved in an operational state.The mill also houses a micro hydro-electric power station, using a 3.6-metre (12 ft) Archimedes' screw turbine to generate electricity for sale to the National Grid. The turbine produces some 83.3 Kilowatts, which is sufficient to power about 140 homes.

Mapledurham House is an Elizabethan stately home located in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, first listed on 24 October 1951.

Denefield School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Tilehurst (near Reading) in Berkshire, England.

Hardwick House is a Tudor house on the banks of the River Thames on a slight rise at Whitchurch-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is reputed to have been the inspiration for E. H. Shepard's illustrations of Toad Hall in the book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, although this is also claimed by Mapledurham House, Fowey Hall Hotel, Foxwarren Park and Fawley Court.

Arthur Newbery Park is a park in Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire. It is named after Arthur Newbery, who donated the land in 1932. It is one of Reading's oldest parks and was once part of Kentwood Common. Hollows in the park are remains of chalk and clay pits.The park slopes down to the north giving views to the River Thames and across its valley. It is mainly grass, with scattered trees, although there are small wooded areas and a play area. What is now the play area was once a pool, the pool become less popular, then neglected c. 1994.The park is of 26 acres and was once owned by Arthur Newbery, who owned and ran a high class furniture shop located at the junction of Friar Street and Queen Victoria Street in Reading town centre in trade for over forty years. On 14 September 1932, Newbery gifted the park to the mayor of Reading as an open space for the people of Reading. The great and the good were gathered on the late summer afternoon, this being a Wednesday, as it was convenient for the half day closing thus allowing members of the Council who were shopkeepers and the like to attend. Following a small lunch held at Tilehurst Congregational Church at Polsted Road the party, numbering about thirty local dignitaries, walked through the park to the hill overlooking the Thames. Here Newbery made a short speech. Newbery cited the encroaching housing development in the area as his reason for the bequest. A photograph of the occasion appeared in the Reading Chronicle on 17 September, a copy of which is held at Reading Library. The Park was originally known as Hare Moor.The park had two public air raid shelters during World War II but these have since been filled in. Rabbits can still be seen on the odd occasion running wild in the avenue of trees at the bottom bordering Oak Tree Road where Lucas Farm once stood.

Tilehurst railway station is in the suburb and former village of Tilehurst, west of Reading, Berkshire, England. The station is on the extreme northern edge of Tilehurst, and at a much lower level than most of that suburb. The railway line and station occupy a strip of land between the A329 road and the River Thames, with the up relief platform on an embankment above the river bank. The station is on the Great Western Main Line between Reading to the east and Pangbourne to the west, and is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway. It is 38 miles 52 chains (38.65 mi; 62.2 km) from the zero point at London Paddington.

Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundaries of the Borough of Reading and partly in the district of West Berkshire. The part within West Berkshire forms part of the civil parish of Tilehurst, which also includes the northern part of Calcot and a small rural area west of the suburb. The part within the Borough of Reading includes the Reading electoral ward of Tilehurst, together with parts of Kentwood and Norcot wards.

Little Heath is a suburb of the town of Reading, in the county of Berkshire, England. It is part of the larger suburb of Tilehurst (where according to the grid ref the majority of the 2011 Census population was included), forming the south western flank of that suburb and bordering on open countryside to its west.

Tilehurst or Tilehurst Without is a civil parish in the district of West Berkshire, in the county of Berkshire, England. It includes part of the Reading suburb of Tilehurst that lies outside the Reading Borough boundary, together with the northern part of the adjoining suburb of Calcot, and a small rural area west of the two suburbs. The parish is bordered by the Borough of Reading, and the West Berkshire civil parishes of Holybrook, Theale, Sulham, and Purley on Thames. It lies entirely within the Reading West parliamentary constituency.In the 2001 census there were 14,683 residents of the parish. Of these, 7,323 were male and 7,360 female, distributed among 5,571 households. Of these, 11 people lived in communal establishments. The ratio of employed to unemployed residents is approximately 10:1. In addition to this are the 24% of residents who are neither employed nor unemployed but "economically inactive". The average working resident works approximately 40 hours per week in managerial or professional employment.The mean age of a parish resident is 37.47; the median is 38.00.

McIlroy Park is a 12-hectare (30-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Tilehurst, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council. Along with Blundells Copse and Lousehill Copse it is part of West Reading Woodlands.