Winnersh
| Winnersh | |
| Berkshire | |
|---|---|
 Loddon Lily statue near Winnersh crossroads | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU780704 |
| Location: | 51°25’41"N, -0°52’46"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 7,939 (2001) |
| Post town: | Wokingham |
| Postcode: | RG41 |
| Dialling code: | 0118 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Wokingham |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Wokingham |
Winnersh is a village in Berkshire, 2 miles northwest of Wokingham in the east of the county. Reading is 4 miles to the northwest.
The M4 motorway forms a distinct barrier to the south and the A329(M) to the north. A more pleasant boundary mark, the River Loddon, runs to the of Winnersh. The parish extends beyond the M4 to cover the estate village of Sindlesham.
The Emm Brook and the Loddon rivers run through Winnersh.
Name
The name "Winnersh" comes from the Old English words 'Win ersc' meaning "Pasture park". The village 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.
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 commuter town.
Winnersh has only one pub, The Pheasant standing at Winnersh crossroads. The Pheasant also has a hotel annex which serves a number of businesses on Winnersh Triangle industrial estate.
Dinton Pastures, a country park, is next to Winnersh, on the northern side of the A329(M) in Hurst.
Winnersh Meadows a country park on the southern side of the A329(M) contains an orchard, a wildflower meadow and various wetland habitats for Great Crested Newts.
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).
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Winnersh) |