The village of Englefield Green was one of the first attractive, leafy, spacious, small scale, self-contained communities to the West of London. It is in an elevated location overlooking the Thames flood plain which includes historical Runnymede and the River Thames to the east, Windsor Great Park to the west and north and Virginia Water to the South. Residents have easy access to boating and river activities, walking, cycling, riding, jogging and golf. The Royal Landscape, with Savill Garden and Valley Gardens attract over 1⁄2 million visitors each year and the Airforces Memorial at Coopers Hill Lane attracts thousands of visitors every year. There are excellent transport links with the M25 at Egham giving access to the M3, M4 and M40. There is a fast railway service from Egham to Waterloo and Heathrow Airport is only 7 miles away.
The 2011 census recorded 10,607 residents (the 2001 census recorded 6,904 non student residents) living in the village, which is bounded by the separate communities of Egham, Old Windsor and Virginia Water.
To one end of the village is Royal Holloway College of the University of London and the other end is home to the Airforces Memorial. The memorial is located on Cooper’s Hill overlooking “the water meadows between Staines and Windsor” where Magna Carta, enshrining basic freedoms in English law, was signed on the 15th June 1215.
The village was built up in the mid 19th century and was originally known as New Egham, for its proximity to the larger Egham village. In more recent years, additional housing estates have been developed to the west of the village centre with a large “active” cemetery and also housing for the elderly e.g. the Hanover and Schroder estates and Torin Court. The village has a number of schools and several churches of different Christian denominations which help to establish the community of Englefield Green as a separate entity.
There are a number of locally owned shops in St Judes Road and Victoria Street, and also a number of pubs and restaurants which need residents’ continued support in order to remain viable. In addition, the Village Green, the Social Hall, Jurgens Centre and the pavilion on The Green are meeting places which give a sense of community.