In this podcast, I tell the strange story of a flying machine built in Wokingham in 1909 by local inventor Jesse Farbrother. The machine was made of wood and canvas and was designed to take off vertically! Its sudden disappearance and the disappearance of Jesse has been shrouded in mystery. Was there an explosion or…

Over The Hill

The Wokingham Whale

What are the local events that have made the biggest impression or impact on you? How has the town changed in the last 50 or so years? In this episode, I explore the history of Wokingham in the recent past, from 1969 onwards. Traffic jams, the Royal Princes, and the demise of the Ritz cinema…

In Living Memory

Have you ever wondered when Wokingham was founded, or indeed why it was established where it is? Wokingham’s early history starts in the Anglo Saxon period. The town developed during the medieval period with a market and annual fairs. In this episode of Wokingham A Potted History I explore the foundation of the town, try and explain why it was located here in the first place, and describe how a priest called Alerud should be considered one of Wokingham’s founding fathers.

The Founding of Wokingham

Wokingham’s past, in terms of leisure activities, is not completely wholesome. The local historian Arthur Heelas writing in 1928 said: ‘The sporting instincts of the inhabitants of the district have always been well developed, although not necessarily applied in the right direction.’ The wrong direction included bull baiting and bare-knuckle fighting.It wasn’t until the Victorian…

Wokingham at Play

At one point in time, Wokingham could boast 45 public houses, as well as three major breweries and a couple of inns. Our oldest pubs, such as the Queen’s Head, The Duke’s Head as well as The Roebuck and the Red Lion, can take us back to the 18th century. Others came with the railway in the Victorian era. In this short podcast, I look at the history of the pubs and breweries in Wokingham and the town’s ongoing enthusiasm for beer and wine.

Wokingham’s Pubs and Breweries

Wokingham was the epitome of the Home Front in WW1 and WW2. A small market town trying to maintain life as normal while everything was in turmoil. As the young men and women went off to war, the town was inundated with new arrivals: Belgium refugees, Canadian soldiers and the build-up of troops for D…

Wokingham at War

Wokingham is a market town on the edge of Windsor Forest in England. It is where I have lived most of my life; it is where my family has grown up. And until recently, it is a place that I knew very little about. Like many, perhaps, I worked five days a week; weekends were…

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Over The Hill

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