Caversham, Berkshire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caversham is a suburb in the unitary authority of Reading, England, although, historically, Caversham was part of Oxfordshire. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, within the county of Berkshire, on the opposite bank from the rest of Reading. Caversham Bridge, Reading Bridge and Caversham Lock (pedestrian only) provide crossing points, with Sonning Bridge a few miles east of Caversham.

Caversham was an urban district of the administrative county of Oxfordshire until 1911, when it became part of the county borough of Reading, and the ceremonial county of Berkshire.^[1]^[2]

Caversham spreads across from the River Thames floodplain (to the east) and up the foothills of the Chilterns. There are distinct areas known as Caversham Heights (residential) on the hill, Caversham (the shopping area and immediate residential surrounds), Lower Caversham (residential and light industrial) to the south east and Caversham Park (residential) to the north east. Caversham Park (sometimes referred to as Caversham Park Village) is an area that was developed in the 1960s on what was parkland.

In the Middle Ages, Caversham Manor was one of the demesnes of William Marshal (1146 or 47 – 1219), Earl of Pembroke and Regent of England. It was the place of his death. During the same period, pilgrims came to Caversham to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham, somewhere near the present church, as well as the chapel of St. Anne on the bridge and her well, whose waters were believed to have healing properties. Only the well survives. It is now dry and surrounded by a protective wall, topped with a domed iron grill. A modern shrine to Our Lady has been re-established at the RC Church of Our Lady and St. Anne.

The fortified manor house was replaced by Caversham Park in the 16th century. Several houses have stood on the site, notably the home of William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan. BBC Monitoring, is housed in the present Caversham Park House, built in 1850. It is the section of the BBC World Service that supplies news, information and comment gathered from the mass media around the world. It is also home to the BBC Written Archives Centre and BBC Radio Berkshire.