The geology of local landscapes and small scale features I'm learning geology to understand the processes behind the formation of my local landscape. 

I understand the processes behind big features, such as mountains. But I'm struggling to understand the processes behind small local features, such as hills.

I live in Reading, Berkshire, South-East England, with a typical landscape of rolling of grassy hills and clay strata. Similar to this image below.  

What geological processes would be responsible for the formation of this landscape?



Additional Information

Strata: 

I dug a hole in my garden and found there is a thin layer of soil, then a large amount of clay with a variety of rocks and pebbles. 



Features: 

The main features are a landscape of rolling-hills and grassy plains. 

Question

What geologic processes are responsible for the formation of these low-hills and clay strata? 

Were the hills once mountains, now eroded?
(this is consciously the start of the answer - my regional geology books -cf. above comment, are packed away due to a house move).

The rolling hills are very distinctive of the English Jurassic &amp; Cretaceous. Relatively low dipping rocks - long wavelength folds. The ridges are due to rocks that are more resistant to erosion. For example, the English chalk forms the North Downs and South Downs (and the Yorkshire &amp; Lincolnshire Wolds). Chalk is actually more resistant to erosion that some of the surrounding rocks (don't believe me? Have a look at Beachy Head or Flamborough Point!).  These ridges have influenced pre-Roman history - eg. the Ridgeway follows a series of these ridges.

I may be out of date on this, but the folding is usually blamed on the formation of the Alps. The Alps are a long way off, but their influence can be felt as mild folding. The cause must be after the youngest Cretaceous that is present (which I think is the chalk?) - and there was only really the Alps, the Paleogene North Atlantic Volcanism (eg. Skye, Arran, Mull), and opening of the North Atlantic to choose from.

As for your soils: This is where the Regional guide will help. The soils are much more recent. A decent explanation will probably involve at least one ice age, and river courses which have since changed (eg. the proto-Thames used to flow from the North!)