Goring-On-Thames
Encyclopedia
Goring-on-Thames is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 in South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. Its council is based in Crowmarsh Gifford, just outside Wallingford....

, about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south of Wallingford.

Geography

Goring is on the north bank of the River Thames, in the Goring Gap
Goring Gap
The Goring Gap is a British geological feature located on the River Thames approximately 8 miles upstream from Reading.Half a million years ago the River Thames flowed on its existing course through Oxfordshire, but then turned northeast to flow through Hertfordshire before eventually reaching the...

 which separates the Berkshire Downs
Berkshire Downs
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in southern England, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

 and the Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...

.
The village is about 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 and 16 miles (25.7 km) south of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

. Immediately across the river is the Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 village of Streatley
Streatley, Berkshire
Streatley is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England.-Location:Streatley is about from Reading and from Oxford. It is in the Goring Gap on the River Thames and is directly across the river from the Oxfordshire village of Goring-on-Thames...

, and the two are often considered as twin villages, linked by Goring and Streatley Bridge
Goring and Streatley Bridge
Goring and Streatley Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England. The bridge links the twin villages of Goring-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, and Streatley, Berkshire, and is adjacent to Goring Lock....

 and its adjacent lock and weir
Goring Lock
Goring Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England at the Goring Gap in the Chiltern Hills. The lock is located on the Oxfordshire bank at Goring-On-Thames, with Streatley, Berkshire on the opposite side of the river. It is just upstream of Goring and Streatley Bridge...

. The Thames Path
Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail, opened in 1996, following the length of the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton. It is about long....

, Icknield Way
Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...

 and the Ridgeway cross the Thames at Goring. The Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...

 railway passes through Goring, and Goring & Streatley railway station
Goring & Streatley railway station
Goring & Streatley railway station is a railway station serving the twin villages of Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and Streatley, Berkshire in England. The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western .-History:...

 in the village is served by local First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

 trains running between Reading and Oxford.

Religious sites

The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of Saint Thomas of Canterbury is Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

, built early in the 12th century. The bell-stage of St. Thomas's bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

 was added in the 15th century and has a ring
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....

 of eight bells. The church hall was added in 1901.

A priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...

 of Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...

 nuns was built late in the 12th century with its own priory church adjoining St. Thomas's. The priory survived until the early part of the 16th century when it was suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

 and then demolished. The foundations of the priory church, cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...

, dormitory, vestry, chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....

 and parlour were excavated in 1892.

Goring Free Church is a member of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina, Countess of Huntingdon as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist Methodist movement of George Whitefield...

. The congregation was founded in 1788 and its first chapel was built in 1793. At its centenary in 1893 a new church building was added and the original chapel became the church hall.

The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

 and Saint John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...

 was designed by the architect William Ravenscroft
William Ravenscroft
William Ravenscroft was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1586 and 1628.Ravenscroft was the son of George Ravenscroft. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1578, aged 17 and was awarded BA in 1580. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1580. In 1586,...

 and built in 1898. It is now part of a single parish with the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King in Woodcote.

Amenities

Goring United Football Club plays in the Reading Football League
Reading Football League
The Reading Football League is a football competition based in England. It has a total of six divisions – the Senior Division, the Premier Division, then Divisions One to Four....

. Goring-on-Thames Cricket Club was founded in 1876. Two of its teams play in the Berkshire Cricket League. Goring has also a lawn tennis club with teams that play in two local leagues.

Goring on Thames Decorative and Fine Arts Society was founded in 1987 and is a member of the National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies Goring has a Women's Institute.

Oxfordshire Village of the Year 2009

On 10 July 2009 Goring was named Oxfordshire's Village of the Year, ahead of 11 other villages and taking the title from neighbouring Woodcote. The £1000 prize will be put towards the village's hydro-electric project to generate electricity from the river Thames.

The competition looks at the depth of the infrastructure and activity within the village and Goring's plans to raise £1m to fund the hydro-electric project was instrumental to its success.

Calor Village of the Year - South England Regional Winner 2009/2010

Goring-on-Thames was the Overall Regional Winner as well as winner in the Sustainability and Communications categories of the Calor Village of the Year
Calor Village of the Year
The Calor Village of the Year comprised 4 annual competitions organised by gas provider Calor to identify the villages that best met the following criteria: "a well-balanced, pro-active, caring community which has made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for...

regional heat for South England.

External links

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