About Three Mile Cross
Three Mile Cross is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, to the south of Reading, and immediately north of the adjoining village of Spencers Wood, in the English county of Berkshire.
In the 1960s, the M4 Motorway was built and became a natural barrier between the village and Reading. In the 1980s, the A33 Swallowfield Bypass severed roads to the village of Grazeley lying to the west.
Three Mile Cross is best known as the home of the famous 19th-century author, Mary Russell Mitford who wrote a five-volume book of literary sketches entitled Our Village which is a series of stories and essays largely about the setting and people of Three Mile Cross. Three Mile Cross is also home to a successful 100 membership bowling club.
The Swan Inn is a traditional 17th Century pub which started life as three timber-framed artisans cottages. Some 50 years later two of the dwellings became used as an alehouse known as The Globe Inn. The Swan was brought by Frasers Retail (Budgens) in 2023 and has recently re-opened under new management (2024).
Three Mile Cross is also home to a successful 100 membership bowling club. The club is a lawn green bowling and club was formed in 1938 and celebrated its 80th year in 2018.
