It is primarily a residential area, although it is also home to the Berkshire Independent Hospital and has previously been the site of government offices.

To the south, the Holy Brook marks the limit of the built-up area, with the water meadows of the Kennet Valley beyond, crossed by the now disused Coley branch line beyond.

[4] By 1727 the estate was heavily indebted, and was sold by William Vachell to Colonel Richard Thompson, who had made his money as a merchant in Jamaica before retiring to the UK in 1711.

McConnell commissioned a new mansion, Coley House, from the architect Daniel Asher Alexander, well known for his work in London Docks.

Around 1840, John Bligh Monck made some changes to Coley House, including a new staircase and, probably, adding the third floor that is now to be seen.

Amongst the pilots trained at Coley Park was W. E. Johns, who went on to create the Biggles series of aviation-based adventure stories.

[12] After the Second World War, the Ministry of Agriculture occupied Coley House and the garden areas in the northern part of the estate.

By the end of the 1960s a row of five shops, a pub, a church and a school had been built on the Coley Park estate.

Subsequently, Coley House itself underwent major restoration works, including the construction of new buildings to the rear and a complete facelift of the roof areas.

Today this Grade II Heritage-listed building contains consulting rooms and other outpatient facilities for the hospital.

The earlier ministry office was refurbished and reroofed for continued use by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but this too eventually succumbed to a further housing development, being closed in 2011 before being demolished and replaced by 71 new homes.