History of Holybrook
The Holy Brook runs for six miles as a channel of the River Kennet, flowing to the north of the main channel from Arrowhead at Theale and then rejoining it in the centre of Reading, just downstream of the Abbey Mill by the prison. It powered the watermill of Reading Abbey, hence its name of the Holy Brook. A side stream of the brook runs into the Kennet again at Calcot and also powered the Calcot water mill, which was owned by Reading Abbey. Some parts of the channel are natural, whilst other parts were created in mediaeval times to supply water to water mills and fish ponds.
Although the mills have long ceased their original function, walking through the woods of the beautiful Linear Park and along the banks of the Holy Brook down to the old mill, one is reminded of the words of Sarah Doudney's thought-provoking poem, 'The Water Mill':
Listen to the water mill,
Through the livelong day;
How the clicking of the wheel
Wears the hours away.
Languidly the autumn wind
Stirs the withered leaves;
On the field the reapers sing,
Binding up the sheaves;
And a proverb haunts my mind,
And as a spell is cast,
'The mill will never grind
With the water that has passed.'
The Holy Brook and Kennet flow through Linear Park within the parish now known as Holybrook, which was formed in the year 2000 from that part of the parish of Theale which was to the east of the M4 motorway. Holybrook Parish is the fourth largest town/parish council in terms of population (just over 7,000) within the unitary authority of West Berkshire.
Adam Sowan has published a very interesting book entitled "The Holy Brook or the Granator's Tale" which gives an account of the brook's history and a guide to walking along it. It costs £4.99, is fully illustrated, and published by Two Rivers Press 2003, ISBN 978-1-901677-34-8. You can contact Two Rivers Press on www.tworiverspress.com or obtain the book from the RISC shop in London Street, Reading.
The parish boundaries run from the M4 in the west as far as Horncastle in the east, adjoining the boundary of Reading Borough Council, and from the A4 Bath Road at Calcot in the north to the Reading/Newbury railway line and Holy Brook in the south. Calcot is a small village on the A4 about three miles west of Reading and it originally formed part of the Manor of Tilehurst. It now straddles the A4 Bath Road and falls into both Holybrook and Tilehurst parishes.
Holybrook parish consists mainly of two large housing developments, built in the 1970's, the Fords Farm and Beansheaf estates, and as such has no traditional village centre. However, the Holybrook Community Centre and the Kennet Valley Free Church attempt to instil a sense of community into what is essentially a large and transient population.
The main feature of the parish is the beautiful Linear Park, lovingly maintained by the Friends of Linear Park, details of whom can be found on a separate page. There is a huge tree-ringed grass area, maintained by West Berkshire Council and complete with a children's playground. The park hosts cricket matches in the summer and football in the winter. The walks through the woods along by the stream and down to Calcot Mill and beyond are a delight, with a rich diversity of wildlife. The area is also ideal for picnics, and there are three other children's playgrounds within the park as you walk through.
The parish office is situated overlooking the Linear Park, and has three well-maintained halls which are widely used by the community and beyond for all sorts of activities, details of which may be found elsewhere on this website. It has an elected Council of fifteen members who have been appointed by election or by co-option. Councillors strive to work with the residents and organisations to provide the service parishioners require and, through the Parish Plan, to develop a ten year vision of what we hope will be a strong, vibrant community.
MONUMENTS WITHIN THE PARISH
There are two water pumps on the Bath Road and a wartime pill box within the parish. The water pumps appeared along the Bath Road at the end of the 18th century for watering the roads to keep the dust down; they now have protection orders on them. Similarly the old wartime pillbox in the meadows at Holybrook is now protected.