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Winnersh

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Winnersh

Winnersh (/ˈwɪnərʃ/) is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Wokingham town centre and around 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the M4 motorway to the south, the A329(M) motorway to the north, and the River Loddon to the west. The parish extends beyond the M4 to cover the estate village of Sindlesham.

The name "Winnersh" comes from the Old English words winn meaning water meadow or pasture and ersc (or earsh) meaning stubble field or park. This implies that Winnersh consisted of cultivated areas of land centuries ago. It has been mentioned in documents since the late 12th century as a description of the area. Winnersh was originally one of the four "Liberties" of the parish of Hurst.

Winnersh was largely developed during the railway age. The South Eastern Railway built the North Downs Line in 1849, but the station now known as Winnersh was not opened until 1910, and was originally named "Sindlesham and Hurst Halt". The station was renamed Winnersh Halt in 1930.

Housing and light industry followed the railway, and now Winnersh has two stations, Winnersh and Winnersh Triangle, opened on 12 May 1986, the latter named after the industrial estate that it serves. Modern Winnersh exists mostly as a dormitory town and forms part of the seven mile long urban corridor along the A329 between Wokingham and Reading. Much of modern Winnersh includes areas that were formerly parts of the villages of Sindlesham and Merryhill Green. Most of Merryhill Green was destroyed by the construction of the A329(M).

One of the main focal points of Winnersh is the Winnersh Crossroads where the Reading Road crosses King Street Lane and Robin Hood Lane. In 1840 it was a farm, known as King Street Farm by 1899. The area was known as Winnersh Corner in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1935 the farm name was changed to Allnatt Farm, and between 1939 and the early 1950s, Sale Tilney, a company importing and selling tractors from America, occupied the site. Following this was the Crimpy Crisps factory, which was on the site for around 20 years. Between 1975 and the early 1990s the site housed the United Kingdom headquarters of Hewlett-Packard. In 1997, a Sainsbury's supermarket was built on the site. This store was subsequently extended in phases over the adjacent Ruralcrafts Garden Centre.

Winnersh is situated on the main road between Reading and Wokingham, while Winnersh railway station and Winnersh Triangle railway station are on the Waterloo to Reading line.

There is also a regular bus service that runs through the centre of the village between Reading and Bracknell via Wokingham.

The Reading Showcase Cinema multiplex is just inside the Western edge of Winnersh. It is built on a flood plain of the River Loddon], but the building is raised to a sufficient level as to be unaffected. Opposite this is the Winnersh Garden Centre, now part of the Wyevale chain.

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