Place Name
Parts of Tilehurst, now a suburb of Reading in Berkshire, were once owned by Magdalen College, Oxford, which acquired land in the area in the 15thCentury. The name, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Tigelhurst, means the wooded hill. This land, part of a broader portfolio of rural estates owned by the college, provided income to support its activities. The college’s influence in Tilehurst lasted for centuries, particularly through the leasing and management of farmland. Magdalen was also responsible for appointing clergy to the local parish church, St Michael’s. Both parts of Tilehurst and this part of the former All Farthing manor were originally owned by Thomas Sheppard, who was a Doctor of Divinity from Magdalen College, and later his widow Sophia, who like her husband became a generous benefactor to his former college. The college began to develop it for housing from the early 1930s, naming it after places and people that were connected with the college. Magdalen is one of the wealthiest colleges in Oxford.
