Finchampstead is a village and civil parish in Wokingham Borough in Berkshire, England. Bordering northeastern Hampshire to the south, its northern extremity is south of Wokingham, west of Bracknell, south-east of Reading, and west of central London. It is an affluent area, with the village ranking as Britain's 31st wealthiest. It has a high standard of living and is rated as one of the most desirable places to live in the United Kingdom.
History
The Church of England parish church of St James is on top of a prominent hill and has an old Roman earthwork around it. The parish is in Wokingham Borough, a unitary authority.
Geography
Finchampstead parish extends from The Throat on the southern edge of Wokingham, just past the Inchcape Garage, down to the Tally Ho pub on the River Blackwater which forms the southern border with Eversley and its county Hampshire, over Eversley Bridge. Finchampstead Bridge is further east, just above Eversley Cross. To the east of the parish is Sandhurst and to the west are Swallowfield, Arborfield and Barkham. The Roman road from London to Silchester traverses the parish from West Court through to Roman Ride off the A321. to the boundary with Crowthorne, and thence to Pinewood and Bracknell. California is the name of this northern part of the parish. the Queen's Oak and the Tally Ho. The Tally Ho incorrectly describes itself as being in Eversley. The village hall is Finchampstead Memorial Hall, which was built in 1960. The parish has a scout group. There is a children's playground area in the park. There are additional amenities in the parish at California Crossroads.
Transport
Reading Buses service No 3 or "The Leopard Bus," links northern Finchampstead with Wokingham and Reading.
Churches
The parish church of St James is almost entirely Norman, football, netball and running. The village also has some tennis courts. Finchampstead Football Club plays in the Hellenic Football League, and the Memorial Ground is the home ground of both the football and cricket clubs. There is a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest at California.
Notable people
- Catherine Bramwell-Booth, granddaughter of The Salvation Army founders, lived in Finchampstead with two of her sisters, Olive Booth and Dora (Dorothy) Booth. The three are buried with their sister Mary Bramwell Booth and alongside their brother Bramwell Bernard Booth and his wife Jane in St James' churchyard. Catherine died aged 104, Olive 98 and Dora 95.
- Christine Keeler lived on the Nine Mile Ride.
- Ernest Macnaghten, former chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council retired to Haygates in Finchampstead. He died there in 1948.
- Laura Marling, singer-songwriter, grew up and attended primary school in Finchampstead.
- Alfred Stowell Jones, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions at Delhi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, is buried in the churchyard of St James'.
- John Watson, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions at Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny, is buried in St James' churchyard.
In popular culture
In the Netflix show Black Mirror, the episode Bête Noire features a home in The Ridges, doubling for Verity’s mansion. The Memorial Ground and Sports Club were used for the Matthew Vaughn produced film Stuntnuts: The Movie. The local petrol station, Cresswells Garage, has featured in the Amazon Prime thriller The Devil's Hour and the E4 miniseries Dead Set.