Coley, Berkshire
Coley | |
---|---|
Wolseley Street and Coley Primary School | |
Location within Berkshire | |
OS grid reference | SU709728 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Royal Berkshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
Coley is an inner-town district near the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It is often referred to as Old Coley, to distinguish it from the adjacent, and much more recent, suburb of Coley Park.
The district has no formal boundaries, but the historically the name referred to the area roughly bounded by Castle Street, Castle Hill and the Bath Road to the north, Berkeley Avenue to the south and west, and the River Kennet and Bridge Street to the east. Coley is bordered to its south and west by Coley Park, to its north by West Reading, and to its east by Katesgrove and the Inner Distribution Road.
The district lies entirely within the borough of Reading, within
Coley is split between the Church of England parishes of All Saints Church and St Giles' Church, although neither church is actually within the district.[2][3]
The
Coley formerly had a railway
Old Coley housed one of Reading's largest slum communities, built in the area between Wolseley St and Castle St. Centred around the Coley Steps, courts and back-to-back housing accommodated a population of about 1,500. The slums were eventually cleared in the 1930s, with residents rehoused in the new council estates of Whitley and Norcot. In 1989 the Coley Local History Group recorded the memories of its residents in two publications "Talking of Coley" (
References
- ^ "RBC Wards 2004 A4" (PDF). Reading Borough Council. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
- ^ "All Saints, Reading". Church of England - A Church Near You. Retrieved 14 February 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "S Giles, Reading". Church of England - A Church Near You. Retrieved 14 February 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Coley Park & Beyond - Rambling along the Coley branch line". Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "70K Coley Park". 12 June 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ John Copsey; Chris Turner (Spring 2010). "Reading Central Goods Depot (Coley Branch)". Great Western Railway Journal. 10 (74): 84–117. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ISBN 1-85306-990-6.
- ISBN 0903810026.