The Parish Of Charvil

Charvil is a Civic Parish, nestled between the River Loddon and River Thames between Reading & Maidenhead, in Berkshire.

We know that people were living in the Charvil area at least 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. Archaeologists refer to the gravel terraces at the confluence of the Thames and Loddon as being rich with sites of prehistoric date, particularly Neolithic and bronze age. Several prehistoric religious, funerary and settlement monuments are known around Charvil.

Those communities were basically primitive farmers, and agriculture remained the predominant occupation until early in the 20th century. In 1900 there were only 20 houses in the village. Even the introduction of the Great Western Railway between 1836 and 1838 had little impact on Charvil, although it clearly influenced the growth of Twyford and Reading.

Before the main A4 was built in 1928 the Old Bath Road, an old coaching road, was part of the main route from London to Bath and the West Country. A toll-gate – Twyford Gate, set up in 1736 by the Maidenhead Turnpike Trust – was located near the old Charvil Farm entrance. Maps of 1912 show that Charvil Farm had two exits onto the Old Bath Road, on either side of the toll-gate.

Two or three water pumps were located by the roadside in the turnpike area and these were used by the tenants of the old cottages nearby and, of course, by the many horse-drawn coaches passing through the gate. In later years they were also used by steam engines and for keeping the dusty dirt road well watered during the summer months. The old iron water pump at the entrance to Park Lane is said to have been installed in 1754, and was one of a series placed along the southside of the coaching road. This pump was renovated in the 1970s by Roland Hearn, chairman of the Charvil Parish Council at the time, and is now a listed monument, maintained by the Parish Council.