Shinfield
Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming physically separated from Reading when the M4 motorway was constructed in 1971.The parish consists of a central ridge of high land sloping down to the river Loddon on the east and the Kennet Valley on the west.The village was named Shining Field, by the Anglo-Saxons, after the sparkling flood-waters which still often cover the meadows down by the Loddon on the Arborfield border.[6] Later, the local church tower was blown to pieces by Parliamentary soldiers trying to oust a group of Royalists who were hiding there.The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) remains on the site though the rest has been converted to residential housing.