Wokingham

Coordinates: 51°24′36″N 0°50′24″W / 51.410°N 0.840°W / 51.410; -0.840

Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about 39 miles (63 km) west of central London. It is about 7 miles (11 km) east-southeast of Reading and 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Bracknell. It contains an area of 557 acres (0.9 sq mi) and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403. It is the seat of the Borough of Wokingham, and forms part of the wider Reading/Wokingham Urban Area.

Before 1844, the north of the parish of Wokingham was part of a detached portion, or exclave, of the county of Wiltshire, the border of which is some 30 miles (48 km) to the west. The Counties (Detached Parts) Act of that year resulted in its transfer to the county of Berkshire.

Wokingham was a borough before the 1974 reorganisation of local government, when it merged with Wokingham Rural District to form the new Wokingham District. What had been Wokingham Borough became Wokingham Town, but retained its mayor. The District Council applied for borough status, which was granted and came into force on 9 March 2007. As of this date, the District (which stretches from the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire borders in the north to the Hampshire border in the southwest) has also been able to elect a mayor.

Wokingham (UK Parliament constituency)

Wokingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

1950-1955: The Municipal Borough of Wokingham, and the Rural Districts of Easthampstead and Wokingham.

1955-1974: The Municipal Borough of Wokingham, the Rural Districts of Easthampstead and Wokingham, and the County Borough of Reading ward of Park.

1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Wokingham, the Rural District of Easthampstead, and in the Rural District of Wokingham the civil parishes of Remenham, Ruscombe, St Nicholas Hurst, Twyford, Wargrave, and Wokingham Without.

1983-1997: The District of Wokingham wards of Bulmershe, California, Charvil, Coronation, Emmbrook, Evendons, Hurst, Little Hungerford, Loddon, Norreys, Redhatch, Remenham and Wargrave, St Sebastian's, Sonning, South Lake, Twyford and Ruscombe, Wescott, Whitegates, and Winnersh.

Borough of Wokingham

The Borough of Wokingham is a local government district in Berkshire, United Kingdom. It is named after its main town, Wokingham. Other places in the district include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Earley, Finchampstead, Hurst, Sonning, Remenham, Ruscombe, Shinfield, Twyford, Wargrave, Three Mile Cross, Winnersh, Spencers Wood and Woodley.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as Wokingham District, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the borough of Wokingham and Wokingham Rural District. It is governed by Wokingham Borough Council (formerly Wokingham District Council), which has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1998, following the abolition of Berkshire County Council under the Banham Review. The district was granted borough status in 2007, following a petition to the Queen.

Government

The local authority is Wokingham Borough Council. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined.