History of the parish

The ancient parish of Tilehurst was 5,259 acres (2,129 hectares) in size. Its northern boundary was the River Thames; to the East it reached all the way along the Oxford Road to what is now the Reading West railway bridge; to the South and West it encompassed Calcot and Theale.

The term ancient parish is normally used to describe a parish which can be identified in the early middle ages.  Ecclesiastical Parishes originated as the basic unit of ecclesiastical administration, the area served by a parson to whom dues were paid by the inhabitants.

As manorial courts gradually fell into decay and various legislation was passed, ecclesiastical parishes gradually became units of secular administration as well, particularly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  Parish vestries, theoretically composed of all parish ratepayers, were authorised to levy rates for poor relief and the maintenance of highways as well as church maintenance, and they also appointed the parochial officers, the beadle, church-wardens and overseers of the poor, to conduct the parish business.

Until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, ancient parishes carried on both ecclesiastical and civil functions.  These were gradually split until in 1894 Parish Councils were created to undertake all the most local forms of civil government.

Sitting within the Archdeaconry of Berkshire, the ancient parish of Tilehurst was originally under control of the Diocese of Lincoln until 1540, when it was transferred to the Diocese of Salisbury.  Although the Diocese of Oxford had been created in 1542, the Berkshire Archdeaconry (including Tilehurst Parish) did not transfer from Salisbury to Oxford until 1836.

Key to Numbered Parishes in diagram:
26 Tidmarsh
27 Sulham
28 Stanford Dingley
29 Woolhampton
30 Sulhamstead Abbots (3 parts)
31 Sulhamstead Bannister (2 parts)

In earlier years, the parish of Tilehurst was geographically as large as the combined Reading parishes of  St Lawrence, St Mary and St Giles.

The parish of Tilehurst has, in common with other parishes in areas of rapid development, a history of churches/chapels being built within its boundaries which go on to become separate parishes.

Holy Trinity Church, Theale

Theale Parish was created out of Tilehurst Parish in 1820.  The church of Holy Trinity, Theale was built in 1832 by Mrs Sophia Sheppard, supported by her brother Dr Martin Routh (Rector of Tilehurst at that time), and was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury.  It replaced a brick chapel-of-ease built in 1799 by her late husband, Dr Sheppard, who died in 1814.  As Rector of Tilehurst, Dr Routh was in charge of Theale Parish from 1820 to 1854.  The ecclesiastical parish was separated from Tilehurst in 1855, and the civil parish of Theale was formed in 1894.

St George's Church, Tilehurst

The church of St George, Tylehurst was built in 1886 and consecrated by the Bishop of Oxford.  It replaced a temporary iron church, with a seating capacity of one thousand, which had been erected in 1880 to meet the needs of the expanding population, including the troops at Reading Barracks.  The civil governance of the new parish transferred into Reading in 1889.  St George's church was not technically a daughter church of St Michael's, but was built on land given by the Rector of Tilehurst.

St Mary Magdalen Church, Tilehurst

The church of St Mary Magdalen, Tilehurst was first built in Weald Rise and dedicated in 1935.  A second church was built in Rodway Road in 1956.  After the first church burned down in 1960, the present church was built and dedicated in 1963.  It gained separate Parish status in 1976.

St Birinus Church, Tilehurst

The church of St Birinus, Calcot was built off Langley Hill in 1950 as a daughter church of St Michael's.  It became a parish in its own right in 1980.  The church had celebrated 50 years of worship around the time of the millennium but, in October 2007, it ceased to be a separate parish.  The church building is now the responsibility of St Catherine's of Siena, and the area it served has been split between St Catherine's, St Michael's and St Matthew's, Southcote.

St Catherine Of Siena Church, Tilehurst

The church of St Catherine of Siena, Tilehurst was built in Wittenham Avenue in 1964 as a daughter church of St Michael's.  It had previously started life as a Mission Hall in Little Heath Road.  It achieved separate Parish status in 1976.

St Matthew's Church, Southcote

The Southcote housing estate was developed from the late 1950s.  The church of St Matthew's, Southcote was built in Southcote Lane in 1967, having started as a Mission Hall in 1965.  The church serves an area which is partly in Reading Borough (originally St Mary's Parish) and partly in Calcot (originally St Michael's Parish).

Cornwell Community Church, Tilehurst

In 1984 St Catherine's gave rise to a daughter church of its own - the Cornwell Community Church.

Further information about the parish of Tilehurst is available from the British History website.

The following summary of Tilehurst is taken from Kelly's Directory of 1877.

TILEHURST is a village and parish 39 miles by rail and 42 by road from London and 3 west from Reading, in the hundred of Reading, union of Bradfield, county court district of Reading, rural deanery of Bradfield, archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford.  The river Kennet passes on the south.  The church of St. Michael, in the Decorated Gothic style, is a handsome stone building consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, porch and tower with spire containing 6 bells; it also has an alabaster reredos and carved oak stalls and stained windows; it was almost entirely rebuilt in the year 1856; the north [sic] aisle and the base of the tower, on which rests an elegant spire, are the only remains of the old building.  The register dates from the year 1559.  The living is a rectory and vicarage, yearly value £1,000, in the gift of Magdalen College, Oxford and held by the Rev. John William Routh, M.A. of that college.  There is a National school, built by the late Mrs. Sheppard, of Amport, Hants; £80 yearly is paid by Magdalen College, Oxford; an Infant school has been added.  There is an Independent chapel.  There are some almshouses, endowed in 1851 by the late Mrs. Mary Lyne, of Burghfield, for six poor widows, or single women, who shall have been born in the parishes and attained the age of sixty, three from each of the parishes of Burghfield and Tilehurst.  The poor's land of 30 acres produces £29 yearly.  Fronting the Bath road stands Calcot House, the property of John Henry Blagrave, esq. D.L. ; the surrounding park is well stocked with deer.  Prospect House, one mile from Reading, the property of Capt. Liebenrood and residence of William Banbury, esq. is a large brick building standing in a fine undulating park of 120 acres, and commanding extensive views of the surrounding country.  John Henry Blagrave, esq. who is lord of the manor, and Captain Liebenrood are the principal landowners.  The soil is light; subsoil gravel.  The crops are various.  The area is 4,164 acres; rateable value £20,421; the population in 1871 was 1,556.

CALCOT is a hamlet about two miles west from Reading.

THEALE was separated ecclesiastically from Tilehurst in 1855.

Parish Clerk, Thomas Walker.

POST & MONEY ORDER OFFICE & Savings Bank - Joseph Maskell, receiver. Letters arrive from Reading at 5.35 a.m.; dispatched at 9 p.m.

National School, Thomas Walker, master; Mrs. Emma Walker, mistress

Allright  John,  Priory
Banbury  William,  Prospect house
Blagrave  John Henry, J.P., D.L.,  Calcot park
Brooks  Mrs.  Calcot place
Brown  Miss,  Battle cottage
Dawson  Miss
Fulbrook  Stephen,  Prospect Park cottage
Hawkes  Charles,  Battle house
Gosling  Mrs.  Langley cottage
Routh  Rev. John William, M.A. [rector],  Rectory
Stokes  Samuel
West  Mrs. Grove  villa
Wilkins  William

Armstrong  James,  Bird-in-Hand
Ashby  Frederick,  beer retailer. Common
Carr  Walter,  Royal Albion
Chapman  Charles,  shopkeeper
Church  John,  blacksmith
Cox  William,  plumber, Common
Cutting  William,  farm bailiff to William Banbury, esq, Honey end
Dobson  George,  beer retailer, Calcot
Evans  Mary (Mrs.),  Horncastle inn
Fidler  George,  wheelwright
Gardener  John,  Pond House
George  James,  farmer
Giles  Edward,  grocer, Common
Grace  Ambrose,  farmer
Hunt  Charles,  beer retailer, Common
IIsley  Thomas,  carpenter
Jones & Flack,  market gardeners
Maskell  Joseph,  grocer
May  Daniel,  farmer,  Groveland farm
Minchin  William Coles,  farmer, Norcut
Osborn  John,  beer retailer, Common
Painter  Caleb,  farmer, Beanstack farm
Quelch  William,  Plough, Common
Simmonds  John,  blacksmith
Smith  John,  miller, Calcot
Smith  Matthew,  blacksmith, Church end
Stacey  William,  farmer, Common
Woodards  Isaac,  beer retailer, Calcot
Wooderson  Richd.,  shopkeeper, Armour
Wright  George,  farmer, Langley
Young  Walter,  New inn