Shinfield and District Local History Society was formed in 1982 to carry out research into the history of Shinfield, to publish the results of this research, to cultivate an interest in the village's history and to assemble a collection of historical artefacts and documents. The Society's interests cover the whole of Shinfield parish, including Grazeley, Ryeish Green, Three Mile Cross, Spencers Wood, School Green and Shinfield Rise. Contact with other groups in Berkshire is maintained through the Society's membership of the Berkshire Local History Association.

The Society has engaged in a number of projects, the most successful of which was work on oral history. This resulted in our first publication: Those were the days! in 1995.

Our second book, A Walk Around Our Village, describing a walk around Shinfield Parish based on the 1756 estate map and illustrated with old photographs, was published in 2002.

Other work in which the Society has been involved includes:

• a survey of St Mary's detached cemetery
• the story of Louisa Parsons, a Nightingale nurse buried in St Mary’s detached cemetery
• population studies from parish registers
• the architectural history of the Dower House
• dating field boundaries by hedge counting
• the history of Shinfield Eisteddfod/Festival
• the history of local pubs
• in 2019 we produced material on various aspects of Shinfield’s history for display in St Mary’s Church as part of the church’s 950th anniversary celebrations.

Committee

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