Understand
Twyford, Berkshire is a large village of about 10,000 inhabitants about half way between Maidenhead and Reading. The village centre is about one mile south of the A4 and about two miles north of the M4. It is about five miles south of Henley-on-Thames and about five miles north of Wokingham. Although the M4 is close, there is no exit near to Twyford. Travellers from the east will need to leave at junction 8/9 and then travel west along the A4. Travellers from the west can leave at either junction 10 or 11. Twyford has a main line station with a 30 minute fast train or 55 minute slow train to Paddington. It is therefore popular with commuters. A single track branch line also runs from Twyford to Henley.
Twyford blends i.e no seams with Ruscombe to the west. Twyford and Ruscome are separate civil parishes within Wokingham district but are a joint Church of England Parish.
Twyford is named after the two fords now bridges through the Loddon, to the west of the village centre. It is old an old village with a mention in the Domesday Book. During the coaching era before railways it was an important watering hole on the London to Bath road and has a number of older building dating from that time. Prior to about 1960 it was a small village of a few hundred people living in the vicinity of the church St. Mary's and the Station. From 1960 it underwent rapid expansion, both to the north and the south and attracted mainly professional people. As a result, the older inhabitants tend to speak with a wide variety of mainly UK accents but the second generation who grew up in Twyford speak with a Berkshire accent a very mild westy country accent.
Twyford has three churches: C of E, Roman Catholic, and United Reform. It has two primary/junior schools. It is also served by Piggott Secondary School is just north of the A4, between Twyford and wargrave
