Wokingham

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Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main centre of the Borough of Wokingham, about 39 miles west of central London, between Reading and Bracknell.

In 2021 the parish had about 38,000 residents and the wider built‑up area about 50,000. The name means “Wocca’s people’s home.”

History in brief: Wokingham gained the right to hold a market in 1219 and grew with roads laid out by the Bishop of Salisbury. From the 14th to the 16th centuries it was known for a bell foundry that supplied many churches. In Tudor times it produced silk. The town was raided during the Civil War (1643–44). Bull‑baiting used to take place in the market area, but this was stopped in 1833. The town later shifted from brick‑making to software, engineering and services.

Local government: Wokingham has two levels of local government. Wokingham Town Council runs the town from the Town Hall in Market Place. Wokingham Borough Council handles wider district services from Shute End. The town is part of the Wokingham parliamentary constituency; the MP since 2024 is Clive Jones of the Liberal Democrats.

Geography and growth: The town sits on the Emm Brook in the Loddon Valley. It expanded a lot from the 1960s to the 1990s with new housing areas such as Woosehill, Dowlesgreen, Norreys and Bean Oak. A regeneration project started in 2010 to improve the town centre, and the railway station area was redeveloped by 2015. The built‑up area now extends beyond the old parish boundaries.

Transport: The A329(M) connects Wokingham to Reading and the M4; the A322 continues to Bracknell. Wokingham railway station lies on the Waterloo–Reading line and the North Downs Line, with services run by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway. Most local buses are run by Thames Valley Buses, with some routes by Reading Buses.

Education and culture: Wokingham has four state secondary schools and Westende Junior School (opened in 1974). The Acorns Centre opened in 1995 for autism. The town’s local newspaper is Wokingham Today. A public sculpture, The Water Babies, was added to the library in 1999. The Ballad of Molly Mogg, an 18th‑century tale, is linked to Wokingham.