Goring-on-Thames

Goring (right) at the end of the nineteenth century

Goring is on the left bank of the River Thames, in the Goring Gap which separates the Berkshire Downs and the Chiltern Hills. The village is about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Reading and 16 miles (26 km) south of Oxford. Immediately across the river is the Berkshire village of Streatley, and the two are often considered as twin villages, linked by Goring and Streatley Bridge and its adjacent lock and weir. The Thames Path, Icknield Way and the Ridgeway cross the Thames at Goring. The Great Western Main Line railway passes through Goring, and Goring & Streatley railway station in the village is served by Great Western Railway trains running between London Paddington, Reading and Didcot.

The name of Goring is first seen in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Garinges. It appears as Garingies in a charter once held in the British Museum. It means "Gara's people".[3]

Church of St Thomas of Canterbury

The Church of England parish church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury is Norman, built early in the 12th century.[4] The bell-stage of St Thomas's bell tower was added in the 15th century[4] and has a ring of eight bells,[5] one of which dates from 1290. The rood screen is carved from wood taken from HMS Thunderer (1783), one of Nelson's fleet at Trafalgar.[6] The church hall was added in 1901.[7] The Anglican Churches of Goring, Streatley and South Stoke form a United Benefice.[8] A priory of Augustinian nuns was built late in the 12th century with its own priory church adjoining St Thomas's.[4] The priory survived until the early part of the 16th century[9] when it was suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then demolished. The foundations of the priory church, cloister, dormitory, vestry, chapter house and parlour were excavated in 1892.[7]

Goring Free Church is a member of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion.[10] The congregation was founded in 1788 and its first chapel was built in 1793.[10] At its centenary, in 1893, a new church building was added[7] and the original chapel became the church hall.[10] It holds Sunday services at 10.30 am and 6.30 pm.[11]

The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and Saint John was designed by the architect William Ravenscroft and built in 1898.[7] It is now part of a single parish with the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King in Woodcote.[12]

Flint House, on a hill is a large flint cobblestone house in a Tudor style converted partly to offices and used by police forces nationally for the purpose of rehabilitation.[13]

Goring United Football Club plays in the Reading Football League.[14] Goring-on-Thames Cricket Club was founded in 1876.[15] Two of its teams play in the Berkshire Cricket League.[16] Goring has also a lawn tennis club with teams that play in two local leagues.[17] Goring and Streatley Golf Club is located in the adjoining village of Streatley.

Goring on Thames Decorative and Fine Arts Society was founded in 1987 and is a member of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies.[18] Goring has a Women's Institute.[19]

The local bus service between Goring and Wallingford is run by the Goring-based community interest company Going Forward Buses, established in December 2016.

In the summer of 1893, Oscar Wilde stayed at Ferry House in Goring with Lord Alfred Douglas. While there, Wilde began writing his play An Ideal Husband, which includes a main character named Lord Goring.

An enlarged Ferry Cottage became the retirement home of Sir Arthur Harris, wartime leader of RAF Bomber Command, from 1953 until his death in 1984.[23] He was buried in Burntwood Cemetery in Goring.[24]

The singer George Michael lived at Mill Cottage close to the river in his later years. He was found dead there at the age of 53 in the early hours of 25 December 2016.[25]

In order of birth:

• Sir John Soane (1753–1837), architect, was born in Goring.
• Thomas Rome (1838–1916), Australian politician, died in Goring.
• Digby Willoughby (1845–1901), military mercenary, died in Goring.
• Aubrey Strahan (1852–1928), geologist, retired to Goring.
• Noel Denholm Davis (1876–1950), portrait painter, died in Goring.
• Thomas Miller (1883–1962), first-class cricketer, died in Goring.
• C. H. Dodd (1884–1973), theologian who directed the translation of the New English Bible, died in Goring.
• Henry Harwood (1888–1950), World War II admiral
• Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet (1892–1984), World War II RAF air marshal
• William Allmond Codrington Goode (1907–1986), first head of state of Singapore, died in Goring.
• Ken Walker (1922–1989), first-class cricketer, died in Goring.
• Anton Rogers (1933–2007), actor
• Sir John Thomson (1941–1994), RAF Air Chief Marshal
• Jon Lord (1941–2012), composer, pianist and rock/classical pioneer, lived in Goring in later life.
• Pete Townshend (born 1945), musician (The Who)
• George Michael (1963–2016), musician, vocalist and producer[26]

The privilege of Freedom of the Parish of Goring on Thames has been awarded to:

• Stephanie Bridle, 16 October 2017, for work as a parish councillor.[27]
• Janet Hurst: 12 April 2020, for work on the Britain in Bloom competition and Goring Gap Local History Society.[28]

• Bellême  France since 1979
• Stühlingen  Germany

• Page, William, ed. (1907). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 2. pp. 103–104.
• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 613–616. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Goring-on-Thames.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Goring and Streatley.

• Goring Gap News
• Goring and Streatley Amenity Association
• Goring and District Twinning Association
• Goring Civil Parish Council - about Goring-on-Thames
• Community of Goring and Streatley - local news and events website
• Going Forward Buses CIC