Woodley, Berkshire
| Woodley | |
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 Woodley Shopping Centre |
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 Woodley
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| Woodley shown within Berkshire | |
| Population | 35,470 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU7673 |
| • London | 35 mi (56 km) E |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG5 |
| Dialling code | 0118 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Woodley is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is a suburb of Reading, situated 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the town centre and is joined to the neighbouring suburb of Earley, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west, and 4 miles (6.4 km) from the market town of Wokingham. Nearby are the villages of Sonning, Twyford, Winnersh, Hurst and Charvil.
The toponym Woodley is derived from Old English words meaning "a clearing in the wood". Anciently, Woodley was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Sonning.
In the west of Woodley, Old Bulmershe Manor was the home of the Blagrave family and probable birthplace of the 17th-century mathematician, John Blagrave. The adjoining house of Bulmershe Court, otherwise Woodley Lodge, was built in 1777 by James Wheble. The house was subsequently bought by Henry Addington, at that time Speaker of the House of Commons and later Prime Minister. He lived there when not in London and was visited by prominent figures of the age, including William Pitt the Younger and, it is said,King George III. In the Second World War the house was used by the US Army. In the 1960s it was demolished and replaced by a teacher training college that subsequently become part of the University of Reading. The area was sold in 2013/2014 and is now a new housing estate of houses, flats and a care home.
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Wikipedia