It lies just south of Reading, around 3 miles (4.8 km) from the town centre, and covers an area of 4,313 acres (17.45 km2).

Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming physically separated from Reading when the M4 motorway was constructed in 1971.

The parish consists of a central ridge of high land sloping down to the river Loddon on the east and the Kennet Valley on the west.

The village was named Shining Field, by the Anglo-Saxons, after the sparkling flood-waters which still often cover the meadows down by the Loddon on the Arborfield border.

[6] Later, the local church tower was blown to pieces by Parliamentary soldiers trying to oust a group of Royalists who were hiding there.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) remains on the site though the rest has been converted to residential housing.

[9] It serves the Shinfield Campus of the University of Reading's Thames Valley Science Park.