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Arborfield
Arborfield
	St Bartholomew's parish church
	Arborfield Location within Berkshire
OS grid reference	SU7567
Civil parish	Arborfield and Newland;
Unitary authority	Wokingham;
Ceremonial county	Berkshire;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Reading
Postcode district	RG2
Dialling code	0118
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Wokingham;
Website	Arborfield Village
	List of places UK England Berkshire 51°24′04″N 0°54′58″W / 51.401°N 0.916°W

Arborfield is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Arborfield and Newland, in the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is about 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Reading, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Wokingham. It lies about 1 mile (2 km) west of the village of Arborfield Cross and the two villages have become collectively known as Arborfield, with no signs marking their boundary. In 1931, the parish had a population of 348.^[1] On 1 April 1948 the parish was abolished and merged with Newland to form "Arborfield and Newland".^[2]

Etymology

The name 'Arborfield' is first recorded in 1166 as Edburgefeld, meaning 'Edburga's Field', Edburga being a widespread Anglo-Saxon lady's name. It evolved through variations to the modern Arborfield as first recorded in the 17th century.^[3]^[4]

Notable buildings

Arborfield Hall

The manor house, which originally stood on the site, was occupied by the Bullock family from the mid-12th century.^[3] The last Arborfield Hall, built in 1837, was the home of Sir John Conroy, Controller of the Household of the Duchess of Kent.^[5] It was demolished in 1955.^[5]

Churches

The present Church of England parish church of Saint Bartholomew is a Gothic Revival building designed by J Picton and built in 1863.^[6] The new building replaces an older St Bartholomew's church, known as the 'Wooden Chapel of Edburgefeld',^[4] that had been built in the 13th century and altered probably early in the 18th century.^[7] When the new church was consecrated the roof of the old one was removed and later layers of plaster stripped from the interior walls, revealing Medieval wall paintings of "figure subjects and geometrical and masonry patterns" that "covered the walls".^[8] These have now been lost and the church ruins have greatly deteriorated.^[6] The current church is notable for one of its 6 bells. The number one bell (treble) was cast c.1399 at the Wokingham Bell Foundry, it is notable as being the only Wokingham Foundry bell nearby to Wokingham as well as one of the oldest bells still regularly rung.^[9] The army garrison has its own garrison church, a 20th-century building dedicated to Saint Eligius.

Army garrison

Arborfield is also known for the School of Electronic & Aeronautical Engineering (SEAE) where the British Army train their Electronic, Aircraft and Avionic engineers for RADAR, Telecommunications, Control Equipment, Aircraft (Airframes and Engines) and Avionic (Aviation electronic and weapon system) modalities. Arborfield Garrison is about 1 mile (1.6 km) the other side of Arborfield Cross and which is mostly in the civil parish of Barkham.

International Cocoa Quarantine Centre

Since 1985, Arborfield has also been the home of the International Cocoa Quarantine Centre whose aim is to investigate and reduce diseases in cocoa plants worldwide.