| Twyford | |
|---|---|
 On the Old Bath Road, looking into Twyford from its western boundary. | |
  Twyford Location withinBerkshire | |
| Population | 6,618 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU790755 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG10 |
| Dialling code | 0118 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Twyford Parish Council |
| 51°28′37″N0°52′01″W / 51.477°N 0.867°W /51.477; -0.867 | |
Twyford is a large village andcivil parish in theBorough of Wokingham inBerkshire, England. It had a population of 6,618 in the 2011 Census.[2] It is in theThames Valley and on theA4 betweenReading andMaidenhead, close toHenley-on-Thames andWokingham.
The village'stoponym isAnglo-Saxon in origin, and meansdoubleford.[3] It is a common name inEngland. Twyford had two fords over two branches of theRiver Loddon,[4] on the OldBath Road to the west of the centre. According to the chroniclerGeoffrey Gaimar, after KingÆthelred of Wessex and his brother, the future KingAlfred the Great, were defeated by theVikings at theBattle of Reading in 871, they escaped by a ford over the River Loddon at Twyford which was not known to their pursuers.[5]William Penn, founder ofPennsylvania, who was a well knownphilanthropist who donated his life savings to LoddonVillage Hall, spent the final years of his life in Ruscombe Fields, a property close to Twyford, and is remembered by a residential street named 'Pennfields'.[6]
Twyford was primarily an agricultural settlement until the coming of the railway in 1838 put it on theGreat Western main line to the west and subsequently made it a junction for theHenley Branch Line. However, its position on theBath Road had always brought activity which was centred on the King's Arms, an important coachinginn.[7] The opening of a by-pass in 1929 finally ended the east–west flow of main road traffic through the centre, but Twyford is still on a busy north–south route fromWokingham in the south toHenley-on-Thames in the north. The greatest expansion, however, has taken place since theSecond World War, particularly in the last 50 years, with the construction of several estates north and south of the village.
The population of Twyford in the2011 Census was 6,618. Of this, 20.84% were aged 0–15, while 19.96% were aged 65+, leaving a relatively small working age population compared to the rest ofWokingham Borough. There are 2,611 individual dwellings in the ward of Twyford, the majority of which are detached. In 2011, 72.31% of residents aged 16–74 were in employment, the majority of whom held Managerial, Professional or Technical positions. Only 0.5% were registered as actively seeking employment.
The average life expectancy at birth is 80.1 years for males and 84.7 years for females. Twyford is also home to the global headquarters of the international construction and services company,Interserve, which employs 75,000 people worldwide. Twyford is also a place of great community spirit and has many annual events. Popular in recent years have been the annual TwyfordBeer Festival, and Twyfest, which is a week long festival of different events from live music, school discos, quiz nights and talent shows.
Twyford has its ownparish council, and is also in theBorough of Wokingham, and theceremonial county ofBerkshire. Before this it was inWokingham Rural District and thehundred ofCharlton. Until 1895 Twyford was part of theparish ofHurst in theliberty ofBroad Hinton. From the 13th century until 1844 Broad Hinton was a detached part ofWiltshire.
Twyford has beentwinned withCuincy in northernFrance since March 2018.[8]
Twyford is situated in theThames Valley. The town ofReading is 6 miles (10 km) to the west, withMaidenhead 7.5 miles (12 km) to the east,Henley-on-Thames 5 miles (8 km) to the north, andWokingham 5 miles (8 km) to the south.London is 35 miles (56 km) to the east.Twyford railway station is on theGreat Western Main Line andElizabeth line, the station is served by mainly half hourly semi fast trains from GWR (serving Twyford, Maidenhead & Slough) betweenReading/Didcot Parkway andLondon Paddington stations and also by Elizabeth Line trains betweenReading andAbbey Wood. There is also abranch line toHenley-on-Thames. The Great Western Main Line has been electrified and Twyford has been served by a new fleet of electric trains since the start of 2018. These links make Twyford very popular withcommuters. A direct rail link toHeathrow Airport is also being planned.
Twyford has tworecreation grounds, both owned and managed by the parish council.[9] The King George V Playing Field, between London Road and Wargrave Road hasfootball pitches, threetennis courts,children's playgrounds, a youth shelter and is where the yearly fireworks are held by TwyfordRound Table. Askate park and ball court in the field was completed in July 2008. Stanlake Meadow, off Waltham Road, has football pitches, acricket square used by Twyford & Ruscombe Cricket Club[10] and apavilion which is also used as anursery school.[11] Twyford also has a youth football club called Twyford Comets which plays on both recreation grounds.[12] Indoor sports clubs use theparish hall, Loddon Hall. This is a joint facility with the neighbouringparish ofRuscombe. Twyford has atennis, cricket,bowls, andbadminton clubs.[citation needed]
In 2015, the Cycle Chilterns project created acycling guide to Twyford town and the surrounding area with cycling information and facilities, places to visit and a variety of cycle routes. The Twyford Cycling Guide can be downloaded and printed out from the website. Twyford has a number of schools[11] and is also served bygrammar schools inReading. One of the oldestpubs in Berkshire is located in Twyford. The Duke of Wellington was built around 1450, and early records indicate it has been in use as a public house since the early 17th century. It would then have had a different name as there were noDukes of Wellington before the nineteenth century.[13]Loddon Nature Reserve, under the management of theBerkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, is on the edge of the village.[14]
