Holyport
Holyport (pronounced Hollyport) is a suburban village in the civil parish of Bray (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), about 2 miles south of Maidenhead town centre in the English county of Berkshire.
| Holyport | |
|---|---|
 Village green, Holyport | |
  Holyport Location within Berkshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU895775 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MAIDENHEAD |
| Postcode district | SL6 |
| Dialling code | 01628 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Amenities
Despite its size, Holyport possesses a small retail area. The village features a butcher, a newsagent ('The Corner Shop'), a grocery, a chemist and a hairdresser as well as the (award-winning) post office and a doctor's surgery.
In addition to its shops, Holyport boasts four public houses - The George, The Belgian Arms, The White Hart and The Jolly Gardener. Each of these has been established for many years. Also in the village are Holyport Church of England Primary School , Holyport College and Holyport Cricket Club. An hourly bus service operated by Courtney Coaches connects the village to Windsor and Maidenhead.
Holyport has a nature reserve on the edge of the village called Bray Pit.[1]
Notable residents and visitors
Holyport is not as well known as its neighbour, Bray. However it has a few claims to fame of its own. It has one of the world's few real tennis courts (Royal County of Berkshire Real Tennis Club), where Prince Edward first met his wife-to-be, Sophie Rhys-Jones. Holyport was the home of the prestigious stables of Horace Smith, later known as Smith's Stables, where Queen Elizabeth II rode with her sister Princess Margaret in their younger years.[2] There, using a pair of gates set in the middle of a field, the two young princesses learned to open and close gates whilst on horseback.
Monty Python filmed a Maypole dance-related sketch on the green, the film Happy is the Bride was shot here and in Bray, and Joan Collins filmed an advertisement in Holyport some years back. The movie One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing was partly filmed in Holyport. A scene from the 1995 Mr Bean episode, entitled 'Tee off Mr Bean', was filmed on Holyport Green.
Holyport was the final residence of veteran BBC TV presenter Frank Bough until his death in 2020, and for many years the former actor Tom Adams, who died in 2014, was spotted frequently in the village pubs. Stirling Moss, the famous racing driver, lived in the village, and was a member of the Bray and Holyport Scout Group.
Name
The name Holyport is from the Old English horig + port, meaning 'muddy or dirty market-town'. The first element had become 'holy' by the end of the 14th century.[3]
Sport and leisure
The village's soccer team Holyport F.C. plays in the Hellenic football league.[4] and its Cricket Club plays in the Chilterns Cricket League on Saturdays and in Friendlies against local clubs on Sundays.
For one Saturday in June every year the Village Green is transformed for the Holyport Village Fair, a true English village fair for the whole family. This fair has been running since 1946 and draws large crowds from the surrounding area - 2020 is believed to be the first year since the fair's inception that it did not take place.
References
- Opening Times. "Bray Pit | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust". Bbowt.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- In pics: the BBC in Berkshire (13 October 1952). "Berkshire - History - In pics: the BBC in Berkshire". BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- Mills, A.D: A Dictionary of English Place-Names, page 177. Oxford University Press, 1991.
- "Holyport". Pyramidpassion.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
Media related to Holyport at Wikimedia Commons