Burghfield

Burghfield is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, close to the boundary with Reading. Burghfield can trace its history back to before the Doomsday book, and was once home to three manors: Burghfield Regis, Burghfield Abbas and Sheffield (or Soefeld). Since the 1980s the population of Burghfield has nearly doubled with the construction of many new housing estates, and Burghfield has become a popular commuter village for the nearby towns of Reading, Newbury and Basingstoke.

The areas around Pingewood, in the north of the parish, are divided by the M4 motorway, and have also been dramatically altered by gravel extraction in the mid to late 20th century, leading to the loss of many farms and cottages within the hamlet. Some of the pits were left to fill with water, and are now artificial lakes mostly used for various water sports, fishing, and other leisure activities. They are also a haven for migrating geese, water fowl and other wildlife. Other pits have been used for landfill waste.