 However most of the population lives in the north-east of the parish, around the post office, or in the Arborfield Garrison, which is largely in Barkham.It is a rural parish, mostly consisting of dairy farmland and woods, despite being surrounded by the town of Wokingham and the large villages of Winnersh, Arborfield Cross and Finchampstead.The toponym "Barkham" is derived from the Old English "bercheham" meaning "birch home" referring to the birch trees on the edge of Windsor Forest.