History of

Emmer GreenBy Asma Mohammad

4NAM

Contents

About Emmer green & its location

History

Housing in Emmer green

The Emmer Green Book

Education

St Barnabas Church

Chalk Mine

Emmer GreenEmmer Green is a suburb of Reading in the English

county of Berkshire. It is situated immediately north of

Caversham on the border with Oxfordshire, the county

in which both places formerly stood.

Emmer Green is bordered by the extensive nature

reserve at Clayfield Copse and Blackhouse Woods

and also by the tip of the South Downs at Bugs Bottom

(also known as Hemdean Bottom). There is a cycle

path to Wallingford and access to Balmore Park which

overlooks Caversham, with views as far as the Madjeski

Stadium wind turbine.

Map of Emmer Green

Emmer Green has five former mansions. Two are now

converted for residential use.

Rosehill House & Notley Place - Standing in 14 acres of

ground, was once part of Caversham Manor, the first

building being erected in 1791. The house has since

been converted into flats and a housing estate built on

the grounds.

Caversham Park - is owned by the BBC

Grove House - has become Highdown School

Caversham Place - was designed by the architect

Clough Williams-Ellis for Major-General Sir Cecil Pereira

History

At one time the whole of Emmer Green was rural. Post World

War II housing became a priority and building continued

apace. It was in latter years that over-development was

deemed undesirable. Emmer Green Residents’ Association

was set up in May 1984, primarily to try to monitor planning in

the area by supporting Reading Borough Council in their fight

to preserve a valued stretch of open countryside.

The Hemdean Valley (Bugs Bottom) was the area that

sparked things off. Subsequent interests have included the

redevelopments of the Bison Flats in Scott Close, Gorselands

(former allotments), Wordsworth Court (built on the site of the

former Reading Athletics Club). Lately the focus has been on

garden grabbers and small scale infill development. Housing is

always going to be a fine balance between providing roofs

over people's heads and preserving the status quo.

Housing in Emmer Green

In the year 2000 Emmer Green Residents' Association

organised and hosted an exhibition on the history of

Emmer Green, as part of the Millennium celebrations.

The exhibition was hailed a triumph and many visitors

asked for a book. There are 120 pages (including 8 in full

colour in the first edition) in the book, plus a detailed

index.

The Emmer Green Book

There are two primary schools

Emmer Green Primary School

The Hill Primary which is situated between

Emmer Green and Caversham

There is one Secondary school

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre

Education – Primary School

The first proper school in Emmer Green wasbuilt from brick and flint on the corner ofGrove Road and School Lane in October1877. Its name changed over the years, butthe two-room school was finally closed in1933 due to lack of support. Children fromEmmer Green then had to attend schools inCaversham.

In the 1950s, the current Emmer Green

Primary School was built in Grove Road. The

building was extended in the 1980s, and had

temporary classrooms added in the 1990s to

cope with demand for places.

Emmer Green Primary School

Highdown School was established as a comprehensive school in

September 1971. On 1st November 2010, Highdown School became

an independently run academy after being judged outstanding by

Ofsted. Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is an academy in

Emmer Green on the outskirts of Reading, Berkshire, England. It has a

capacity for approximately 1450 students aged 11–18.Highdown

School has three Grade II listed buildings within its grounds. The main

building was altered and extended by Richard Norman Shaw from

1878-80.

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre

Always a prominent local landmark, the first St.

Barnabas Church building was constructed in the

latter part of the 19th Century in the form of a

corrugated iron mission church. This is still used as

the present church hall and has just been

refurbished.

A replacement church was started inthe 1920s and was consecrated on29th June 1929. The congregation andthe community continue to hold thepresent church building in considerableaffection and by its location St.Barnabas still possesses something ofthe character of the “village church”about it.

St. Barnabas Church

The Emmer Green (Hanover) Chalk Mine is an extensive

abandoned subterranean chalk mine at Emmer Green, north

of Reading in Berkshire, located just north of the junction ofPeppard Road & Kiln Lane. The mine is so named because the

land is now owned by the Hanover Housing Association who

have a development adjacent at Wordsworth Court.

The mine is one of a number of known mines in the EmmerGreen and Reading area where chalk mining was once an

important industry. It is likely other abandoned mines remain

undiscovered. The area was once known as Rose Hill and

contained brickfield and chalk mining works.

The mine was discovered in 1977 during building works.Access is through a 50ft fixed steel ladder in a narrow vertical

shaft below a locked iron cover.

Emmer Green (Hanover) Chalk Mine

There is a marked difference in the

floor level in some parts of the mineThe highest section of the mine, here

the height is over 20 feet

Emmer Green (Hanover) Chalk Mine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmer_Green

http://www.egra.co.uk/index.html

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-

sites/sites/h/hanover_chalk_mine/index.shtml

http://www.saintbarnabas.org.uk/

http://www.emmergreenprimary.com/

http://www.highdown.reading.sch.uk

References

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