Bracknell is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies 11 miles to the east of Reading, 9 miles south of Maidenhead, 10 miles southwest of Windsor and 25 miles west of central London. Bracknell is the third largest town in Berkshire. The name Bracknell is derived from the Saxon Braccan Heal or Braccan Heale, first recorded in a charter boundary of 942 AD. In the Middle Ages, Bracknell developed into two small market villages, Old Bracknoll and New Bracknoll.