Swallowfield

Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated 5 mi south of the town of Reading, and 1 mi north of the county boundary with Hampshire.

The civil parish of Swallowfield also includes the nearby villages of Riseley and Farley Hill, and is in turn is within the Borough of Wokingham.

Swallowfield Park is a stately home situated in an estate half a mile north east of the village. The current mansion has been converted into exclusive apartments.

Swallowfield has been the home of a number of famous persons including Thomas 'Diamond' Pitt, the Governor of Fort St. George ; William Backhouse, the Rosicrucian philosopher ; Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon ; and, in his childhood, Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon. The 19th century authoress, Mary Russell Mitford retired to the village and is buried in the churchyard.