Berkshire's greatest author and playwright, Mary Russell Mitford lived in Three Mile Cross for most of her life. She had been reduced to living in a cramped labourer's cottage with her two parents, after her father had gambled away all their money. Her most famous work, Our Village, was based on rural life here and her little cottage, still to be seen today, was where most of her books were written:
Julian (1823)
The Foscari (1826)
Rienzi (1828)
Charles I (1834)
Our Village (1832)
Belford Regis (1835).

Mary became firm friends with Elizabeth Barrett Browning who helped gain her a civil pension of £100 a year; but financial worries continued even after the death of her father. His debts had to be paid by public subscription.