Langley | |
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St Mary the Virgin parish church |
|
Langley shown within Berkshire | |
Area | 3.6 km2 (1.4 sq mi) |
Population | 17,583 |
• Density | 4,884/km2 (12,650/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | TQ005795 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Slough |
Postcode district | SL3 |
Dialling code | 01753 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Royal Berkshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Langley Village |
Langley, also known as Langley Marish, is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough in Berkshire, South East England. It is 2 miles (3 km) east of central Slough, with which it is contiguous, and 20 miles (32 km) west of Charing Cross in Central London. Langley was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire in 1974. Aside from Colnbrook and Poyle to the south, it is the easternmost settlement in the ceremonial county of Berkshire.
The place-name Langley derives from two Middle English words: lang meaning long and leah, a wood or clearing. Langley was formed of a number of clearings: George Green, Horsemoor Green, Middle Green, Sawyers Green and Shreding Green. They became the sites for housing which merged into one village centred on the parish church in St Mary's Road. The clearings are remembered in the names of streets or smaller green fields.
Marish or Maries commemorates Christiana de Marecis who held the manor for a short time in the reign of Edward I.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is in the Church of England diocese of Oxford. The church is a Grade I listed building and houses the Kedermister Library, given by Sir John Kedermister (or Kederminster), who also endowed the surviving almshouses of 1617 in the village. Other surviving almshouses include the Seymour Almshouses (1679–1688), given by Sir Edward Seymour who was a Speaker of the House of Commons, and those founded in 1839 by William Wild in Horsemoor Green.