| Streatley | |
|---|---|
| Village andcivil parish | |
 Streatley nucleus and riverside beyond. | |
  Streatley Location withinBerkshire | |
| Area | 13.14 km2 (5.07 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,060 (2011 census)[1] |
| • Density | 81/km2 (210/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU5980 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG8 |
| Dialling code | 01491 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Streatley Parish Council |
| 51°31′23″N1°09′00″W / 51.523°N 1.15°W /51.523; -1.15 | |
Streatley is a village andcivil parish on theRiver Thames inBerkshire, England. The village facesGoring-on-Thames. The two places share in their shops, services, leisure, sports and much of their transport. Across the river isGoring & Streatley railway station and the village cluster adjoinsa lock and weir. The west of the village is a mixture of agriculture and woodland plus agolf course. The village has a riverside hotel. Much of Streatley is at steeply varying elevations, ranging from 51 to 185 m (167 to 607 ft)above ordnance datum (AOD) atStreatley Warren, a hilltop point on its western border forming the eastern end of theBerkshire Downs. ThisArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty is topped by the 87 mi (140 km)The Ridgeway path, which crosses the Thames atGoring and Streatley Bridge.
Streatley is centred 9 mi (14 km) north-west ofReading and 17 mi (27 km) south ofOxford. Its developed area occupies half of the narrowGoring Gap on theRiver Thames and is directly across the river from theOxfordshire village ofGoring-on-Thames. The two villages are connected byGoring and Streatley Bridge, with its adjacentlock and weir, and are often considered as a single settlement.Goring & Streatley railway station on theGreat Western Main Line is in Goring and serves both villages.[A ][B ]
The village is mostly surrounded byNational Trust land:Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down. Nearby villages includeAldworth, Goring-on-Thames,Lower Basildon,Moulsford andPangbourneThe Ridgeway long-distance path passes through the village, which is the finishing line for the annual "Ridgeway 40" walk and trail run.[2] TheThames Path,Icknield Way and the Ridgeway cross the Thames at Streatley.
Being in such a vital crossing point on the Thames, a settlement at Streatley has existed for a long time. The village is mentioned in theDomesday Book.Neolithic tools have been found at the base ofLough Down andBronze Age artefacts in the village. Asarsen stone, traditionally thought to be the remains of aRoman milestone, is still present at the Bull crossroads.[3] Long before the bridge was built aferry used to operate between the two villages. Sixty people were drowned at Streatley in 1674 when a ferry capsized in theflash lock.[4] The iron wheel pump, on the forecourt ofThe Bull, was the only reliable water source in the great freeze of 1895, and water was sold from this point for sixpence a bucket.
Two-thirds of Streatley used to be owned by theMorrell family ofbrewers fromOxford, whose resistance to change enabled the village to withstand the railway line and extra houses that went toGoring-on-Thames. Thewatermill was originally owned by the nuns of Goring. In later years it was used to drive a generator to provide electricity for the estate. However, it burned down in 1926 and was not rebuilt.[5] On the death ofEmily Morrell, in 1938, the estate was sold, and themanor house and some other houses in the village became part of theRoyal Veterinary College, which had moved out of London duringThe Blitz. The college left in 1958.[6] A bomb exploded in a postman's bag on abicycle in the village in 1979. It was targeted at a retired judge in the village, but went off early, when the postman's bicycle fell over.[7][8] The incident appeared to be the work of theIRA.
Streatley is acivil parish with an electedparish council. Besides the riverside village of Streatley, theparish covers an area of theBerkshire Downs to the west, and includes the small cluster of dwellings namedStichens Green.[9] The parish is bordered to the north and east by theOxfordshire parishes ofMoulsford,South Stoke andGoring. To the west and south, it is bordered by theBerkshire parishes ofBasildon,Ashampstead andAldworth.[9] The parish falls within the area of theunitary authority ofWest Berkshire. Both the parish council and the unitary authority have responsibilities for various aspects oflocal government. The parish used to form part of theNewburyparliamentary constituency, but moved to the new constituency ofReading West and Mid Berks in 2024.[9]
Streatley has onepublic house,The Bull at Streatley on the Reading Road. Its garden is the unusual burial site for amonk and anun executed in 1440 for "misconduct" and contains an ancientyew tree.[10] Near theBull is ayouth hostel.
There is a four-starhotel and restaurant in the village – the Swan at Streatley. During the 1970s, it was owned by thedrag artistDanny La Rue. The hotel was then purchased by Diplomat Hotels ofSweden, before being sold in 2001 to Nike Group Hotels, part of theBracknell-based Nike Group of Companies, whose Chairman isJohn Nike. Since 2012, the hotel has been owned by Rare Bird Hotels, backed byPunch Taverns andPizza Express entrepreneurHugh Osmond. The restaurant area is now branded as Coppa Club. During the summer small electric boats can be rented from here to explore theThames.
Goring and Streatley Golf Club is in the village, founded in 1895. It has a 6,355-yard, par 72golf course, designed in part byHarry Colt, and has views of the Thames andRidgeway. Streatley Hill is a destination forcycling hill climbs – the annualDidcot Phoenix Cycle Club andReading Cycle Club Hill Climb competitions take place every September. The hill featured in theTour of Britain in 2008 as a designatedKing of the Mountains climb.
TheChurch of England parish church ofSaint Mary in Streatley used to be part of theReading Episcopal Area of theDiocese of Oxford, but has now moved to theDorchester Episcopal Area, crossing the oldWessex-Mercia boundary for the first time in 1400 years. In the churchyard is the grave of anAnglo-Saxon warrior, whose body was discovered under the oldbowling green in 1932 and reburied in the cemetery.[11] The village has aChurch of Englandprimary school with a feeder pre-school attached to it. The church is a Grade IIlisted building.[12]
The annual Goring and StreatleyRegatta was held each July on the Streatley side of the river. In the 19th century, it was a serious regatta to rivalHenley orMarlow, but changed to a local regatta for amateur teams of inhabitants of the two villages. It came to a halt after COVID.[13]
A torchlight procession of villagers and visitors merges with another stream from Goring eachChristmas Eve, in a night-time spectacle that continues onto Streatley Recreation Ground for a carol service.
There is a biannual Arts Festival called the Goring Gap Festival.[14]
The village is the subject of the poem "A Streatley Sonata" byJoseph Ashby-Sterry[15] composed in the late 19th century:
And when you're here, I’m told that you
Should mount the hill and see the view;
And gaze and wonder, if you'd do
Its merits most completely;The air is clear, the day is fine,
The prospect is, I know, divine –
But most distinctly I decline
To climb the hill at StreatleyBut from the Hill, I understand
You gaze across rich pasture-land;
And fancy you see Oxford and
P'r'aps Wallingford and Wheatley:Upon the winding Thames you gaze,
And, though the view’s beyond all praise,
I'd rather much sit here and lazeThan scale the Hill at Streatley!
The village is mentioned inJerome K Jerome'sThree Men in a Boat:
We had intended to push on to Wallingford that day, but the sweet smiling face of the river here lured us to linger for a while; and so we left our boat at the bridge, and went up into Streatley, and lunched at theBull, much to Montmorency's satisfaction....
It is an ancient place, Streatley, dating back, like most river-side towns and villages, to British and Saxon times. Goring is not nearly so pretty a little spot to stop at as Streatley, if you have your choice; but it is passing fair enough in its way, and is nearer the railway in case you want to slip off without paying your hotel bill.
Nearest Places (by Civil Parish) | |
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