Purley on Thames

Purley lost most of its old houses due to emparkment around 1800 and redevelopment in the 20th century. It is bounded to the north by a stretch of the River Thames, to the east by West Reading and part of Tilehurst in Reading Borough, to the west by Pangbourne and to the south by Tilehurst and Sulham. After the sale of the estate of Purley Magna in the 1920s most of the eastern part of the parish has been developed but there is easy access to rural areas to the west and south. The area encompassing the other manors has also retained a rural character.

Changes in the 20th century began with ribbon development along the Oxford Road and Long Lane and in recent years these properties have been redeveloped with modern housing estates. The Purley River Estate was sold off in small plots in the 1930s and for many years suffered much non-planned development. As a result of the guidance plan agreed during the 1960s, it has gradually developed from self built, timber dwellings and converted railway carriages, to an area with more conventional 'everyday' houses. The gradual upgrading of the area has resulted in a diverse range of housing styles.

Previously a rural village, Purley is essentially a suburb of Reading, though within the boundaries of West Berkshire Council. The majority of homes in Purley are detached houses, with minorities of small housing and shared ownership properties and several council estates. The area is largely unaffordable for most of the population - as of 2016, the average price of a property in Purley is £413,268 and the median UK wage is £26,500; the average house price is thus nearly 16 times the average salary.[2][3]

Due to its proximity to the River Thames, Purley has suffered severe flooding.[4] It is not widely known that the part of Purley closest to the river has changed radically, with most properties having been built since the 1970s and, with a very few exceptions, it was a condition of planning approval that the houses were built at or above the 1947 flood level. Some builders chose to make the whole of the ground floor as garaging and other non-habitable areas with the living accommodation being on the first floor. Some gardens and roads flood on occasion but very few houses have been damaged. Homes that have been damaged by flooding are generally those whose owners have chosen to use as accommodation the non-habitable areas. The flood alleviation scheme in the form of a clay Bund and a Pumping Platform [5] was completed by the Environment Agency in late 2014.

Moss Hall Wood

Purley has two primary schools with three other primary schools and Denefield Academy within a short distance of its boundaries.

It is within easy reach of Tilehurst and Pangbourne stations on the GWR and has a frequent bus (no 16) service to Reading its major neighbour and an infrequent service (no 143).

It is bounded to south and west by the North Wessex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty and to the north by the Chilterns AONB and has a good range of habitats from river and woodland supporting a diverse range of creatures.

The Thames Path National Trail beside the river and a set of 12 designated footpaths provide many opportunities for ramblers. There are two recreation areas with a bowling green and Pike Shaw woods in the ownership of the Parish Council.

There are three community halls: The Barn, the Memorial Hall and St Mary's Church, which host a large number of clubs and societies

The population has around 88% White British ethnicity, 4% other white ethnicity; residents identifying with an Asian ethnicity constituted 3%, with a Caribbean or African ethnicity 1% and those with a mixed ethnicity, 2%.[6] This differs according to the individual area within Purley; in the Sovereign social housing block, for example, 44% of children are of mixed Afro-Caribbean and White descent, with all of these children living with their non-minority, single mothers.

The parish is crossed from east to west by both the GWR and the A329. Although the main line railway passes through Purley, it is mostly hidden in a deep cutting and the nearest stations are those at Tilehurst and Pangbourne.

The civil parish of Purley on Thames stretches roughly 1.5 km both north-south and east-west and is within the area of West Berkshire Council (Unitary). It has its own Parish Council of 13 elected members with the Parish Office at Goosecroft (off Beech Road) The eastern half is almost completely redeveloped but the western half includes meadow land alongside the Thames and agricultural land on the north slope of the escarpment. There are small settlements in the extreme west (around Sulham Home Farm) and in the north west around Springs/Westbury Farms. The parish also includes Mapledurham Lock on the Thames. The parish is within the Reading West parliamentary constituency.[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Purley on Thames.

• Purley on Thames Parish Council
• Purley Local History Society
• Purley History