Welcome to the website of The Wokingham
Society
We hope you will find this website informative and
interesting and that we can perhaps persuade you to
join the Society. You will see from our aims that we
work to protect Wokingham town's past, present and
future. This covers our heritage, our environment and
facilities for the benefit of the residents and
workforce.
Wokingham is an attractive town with a good history.
We hope you will enjoy the website pages and that we
can convince you of the town's and the Society's
value.
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Who are we
The Wokingham Society is an independent,
non-political organisation (charity no. 274988),
affiliated to Civic Voice, the Open Spaces Society
and Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust.
It aims to help protect the environment and character
of the town of Wokingham,influence local development
planning, encourage conservation of historic
buildings, other traditional features and the town's
nature resources, support local business and try to
ensure that civic amenities are maintained and
improved.
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The 2011 Wokingham Society AGM was held on
Wednesday 16th November in the Bradbury Centre,
Wokingham Methodist Church, Rose Street.
Jack Meatcher, a well-known local authority on the
history of railway development in Wokingham from the
mid-19th century, gave a talk, WOKINGHAM AND ITS
RAILWAY. For a report of the talk click here.
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Open Evenings
Councillor Gwynneth Hewitson, Chair of the
Wokingham Cultural Partnership and member of the Town
Council's Amenities Committee with special
responsibility for arts and culture was the speaker
at our Open Evening held on Wednesday 21 September
2011.
Click here to read a report of the meeting
Councillor Angus Ross, Wokingham Borough Council
Executive Member for Planning and Strategic
Highways,was the speaker at our Open Evening held on
Wednesday 21 March 2012. Councillor Ross spoke on the
subject of the future of Wokingham’s roads and
traffic issues in the light of plans for new
developments in the town centre and north and south
Wokingham.
To read a report of the meeting click here.
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The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Celebrations
The Society will be pleased to know that we are
making a positive contribution to the celebrations
planned by Wokingham Town Council for the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations on
Saturday and Sunday, June 2nd and 3rd.
The Society’s is providing a commemorative
plaque which will be placed outside the Town Hall on
the pavement close to the one commemorating the
Queen’s Golden Jubilee. It will be formally
unveiled on Tuesday 29 May 2012 by the High Steward
of Wokingham, Lady Elizabeth Godsal. Well-known
Society member, Jim Bell, has written a book on the
history of Jubilee celebrations in Wokingham since
the Golden Jubilee of King George III; he is also
setting up a display on the theme which will be held
in the More Arts shop in Peach Street at the time of
the celebrations. Our Secretary, John Griffin, is a
member of the Town Council’s Jubilee working
party and he reports that the events planned so far
promise to make the first weekend in June memorable
and exciting.
Copies of Jim Bell’s book on past
jubilees are now available for £3.50 from: The
Town Hall Information Centre; Bookends; Wokingham
Library; Cantley House Hotel; Emmbrook Post Office;
St Paul’s Church Rooms; and at the Jubilee
Exhibition in More Arts Gallery, Peach Street.
Highlights will be a concert on Elms Field on
Saturday night involving a choir of up to 250 singers
including the acclaimed Reading Tamesis Chamber Choir
and a very talented and exciting new orchestra, the
Docklands Sinfonia. There will also be musical and
cultural events and performances for all ages and
tastes in music and Performing Arts on Sunday
afternoon and evening, again on Elms Field. Street
artists will be performing outside the Town Hall and
at other venues in the Town Centre where there will
also be a variety of activities for children.
On Sunday morning there will be a parade by Soldiers
from the REME unit at Arborfield Garrison followed by
a Civic Parade and Service in All Saint’s
Church. After a celebratory ringing of the bells
Peach Street and Denmark Street will be the venue for
the Big Lunch, which it is hoped will be supported by
Wokingham residents of all ages in true festive
spirit. Full details of the order of events will be
posted on the Society’s website in due course
and it is hoped that our members will share in the
feeling of community togetherness and goodwill which
the organisers hope the celebrations will
generate.
Society members will be interested to read the
information about the Saturday Concert posted on the
following website www.wokinghamjubileechorus.co.uk.
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Chairman's Welcome
As Chairman of the Wokingham Society I welcome
you to our website. We were established in the
1960s at a time when in Wokingham, as elsewhere,
many valued and useful buildings and facilities
were under threat from widespread and often
thoughtless redevelopment. While it has not always
been possible to prevent the loss of individual
landmarks, the Society’s voice has been
significant in helping to preserve other local
historic features, and to ensure that development
has been sensitive to the town’s
heritage.
We, along with other organisations and many
individuals, have been intensively involved in the
dialogue about plans to regenerate the town centre
and to build extensive housing developments to the
north and south of the town. We will continue to
work closely with the local councils, residents and
business community to ensure that the changes are
made with sensitivity to the heritage and natural
environment of the area and that the necessary
infrastructure - for schools, shops, roads and
transport - is put in place to meet the needs of
all who live or work in or who visit Wokingham.
The Society has a proud tradition of offering help
to local activities through its grants system and,
although the economic downturn has to some extent
reduced our capacity to provide such funds, we do
continue to respond to requests for assistance and
look forward to increasing our provision as soon as
the financial situation improves. The Grants
section of this website illustrates the causes we
have been able to help in the past, and explains
how local people or organisations can apply for
funding.
To encourage those who use or visit the town to
appreciate Wokingham's rich heritage, the Society
regularly erects blue plaques on notable buildings
and other structures to mark the life of
individuals or the original use of that location in
the history of the town. The link at the bottom
right of this page takes you to where you can find
an electronic version of our blue plaque trail
guide.
We do hope you find our website interesting and
helpful. If you have any questions or want to offer
any thoughts please do contact me via the link to
Chairman.
My best wishes to you
Peter Must
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Wokingham Heritage Weekend
The Wokingham Society enjoyed an active role in
celebrating Wokingham’s heritage on Sunday,
September 11th. Jim Bell, a local historian and
member of the Society, was instrumental in helping
to organise events and exhibitions in the Town Hall
on the theme of the 1950s.
Click here to read an article about
the Heritage Weekend
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New Wokingham Station and Station Link
Road
Wokingham Borough Council has approved plans for
a new station in Wokingham to replace the existing
buildings. The Society's Committee had raised
concerns about the lack of attention to the
consultation process and also conveyed its views on
the plans put forward; these were responded to in
the Officers' Report which accompanied notice of
the decision. As a separate but closely related
issue Network Rail has itself approved the
provision of lifts from each platform to the
bridge, thus enabling those with mobility problems
to access the station more easily. The Council has
also been consulting the public on its proposals
for a new link road to run past the station from
the reading Road to Wellington Road. The Society's
Committee has taken the view, on behalf of its
members, that the better way of reducing traffic at
bottlenecks around the station level crossing is to
build a route connecting Barkham Road to the
Woosehill spine road. To see the Committee's
response, click here.
As a separate but closely related issue Network
Rail has itself approved the provision of lifts
from each platform to the bridge, thus enabling
those with mobility problems to access the station
more easily.
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Blue Plaques Trail Guide Leaflet
There are now 15 blue heritage plaques placed by
the Society on buildings throughout Wokingham
town.
Full details of these and a location map can be
seen by clicking here and for the insert for the latest
two plaques here or going through the Achievements
section.
Copies of the booklet itself (and insert for the
latest two, Tudor House and Montague House) can be
obtained from the Town hall Information Office and
the Library.
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If you care about Wokingham come and join
us
For information on membership of The Wokingham
Society, click Join
WS, email The
Wokingham Society or pick up a leaflet from the
Wokingham Information Centre in the Town Hall.
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