Shinfield

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Village in central Berkshire well connected to Reading. Between 1894 and 1974, it was in the Wokingham District, now in Reading Borough.

There are a large number of manors 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 in Theale hundred).

The village was named Shining Field, by the Anglo-Saxons, after the sparkling flood-waters which still often cover the meadows down by the Loddon on the Arborfield border. The manor was one of the many owned by Catherine of Aragon in Tudor times. Yet she is said to have stayed there on occasion, possibly whilst visiting Reading Abbey. During the Civil War, King Charles is said to have stayed at Goodrest House (now part of Crosfields School). Later, the local church tower was blown to pieces by Parliamentary soldiers trying to oust a group of Royalists who were hiding out there. The fine brick replacement can still be seen today. The churchyard is the last resting place of Mary Russell Mitford's parents. She was a famous authoress and all three lived together at Three Mile Cross in the parish.

Shinfield Village is centred around the village green (School Green), surrounded by two pubs, a few shops, the village school and recreation grounds. Its residential housing has increased considerably in during the first years of the 21st century.

The parish consists of a central ridge of high land sloping down to the Loddon on the east and the Kennet Valley on the west. The soil is mostly London Clay, with patchy spreads of valley and plateau gravel.