Three Mile Cross is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Shinfield

Shinfield

Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District.-Geography:...

, to the South of Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

, and immediately North of the adjoining village of Spencers Wood

Spencers Wood

Spencers Wood is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England, south of Reading. The village of Three Mile Cross adjoins it to the north. To the west lies the village of Grazeley.-History:...

, in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

In the 1960s, the M4 Motorway

M4 motorway

The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...

 was built and became a natural barrier between the village and Reading. In the 1980s, the A33

A33 road

The A33 is a major road in England. The road formerly ran from Reading to Southampton, but now consists of three disjoint sections:*Reading to Basingstoke*The A30 road south of Basingstoke to just north of Winchester...

 Swallowfield Bypass

Bypass (road)

A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....

 severed roads to the village of Grazeley

Grazeley

Grazeley is a small village and former civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It lies about four miles south of Reading at . To the East lies the Village of Spencers Wood. To the West lie the villages of Grazeley Green and Wokefield. To the South lies the village of Beech Hill.-Local...

 lying to the West.

It is best known as the home of the famous 19th century authoress, Mary Russell Mitford

Mary Russell Mitford

Mary Russell Mitford , was an English author and dramatist. She was born at Alresford, Hampshire. Her place in English literature is as the author of Our Village...

 who wrote a five volume book of literary sketches entitled Our Village

Our Village

Our Village is a collection of about 100 literary sketches of rural life written by Mary Russell Mitford , and originally published during the 1820s and 1830s. The series first appeared in The Lady's Magazine. The full title is: Our Village: Sketches of Rural Character and Scenery...

which is a series of stories and essays largely about the setting and people of Three Mile Cross.