Reading, Berkshire

Coordinates: 51°27′15″N 0°58′23″W / 51.45417°N 0.97306°W / 51.45417; -0.97306
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"Reading, Berks" redirects here. For the city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, see Reading, Pennsylvania.

Reading
Borough of Reading
Town, borough and unitary authority
East Reading Skyline
Map of Reading
Official logo of Reading
Coat of arms of Reading Borough Council
Motto(s): 
A Deo et Regina
With God and Queen
Borough of Reading shown within Berkshire
Borough of Reading shown within Berkshire
Reading is located in England
Reading
Reading
Coordinates: 51°27′15″N 0°58′23″W / 51.45417°N 0.97306°W / 51.45417; -0.97306
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Ceremonial countyBerkshire
Historic county
Admin HQReading
Settled871 or earlier
Town status1086 or earlier
Areas of the town
List
(Town) (part)
Government
 • TypeUnitary authority
 • BodyReading Borough Council
 • MPMatt Rodda (L)
Olivia Bailey (L)
Yuan Yang (L)
Elevation
200 ft (61 m)
Population
 (2022)
 • Borough
174,820
 • Rank120th (of 296) (borough)
 • Density11,210/sq mi (4,327/km2)
 • Urban
337,108
DemonymRedingensian
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
 • Religion
List
Grid Ref.
SU713733
ONS code
  • 00MC (ONS)
  • E06000038 (GSS)
ISO 3166-2GB-RDG
NUTS 3UKJ11
Websitereading.gov.uk

Reading (/ˈrɛdɪŋ/ ⓘ RED-ing)[2] is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. Most of its built-up area lies within the Borough of Reading, although some outer suburbs are parts of neighbouring local authority areas. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet.

Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance.[3] It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centres, including the Oracle, the Broad Street Mall, and the pedestrianised area around Broad Street. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and participates in many other sports.

Reading dates from the 8th century. It was a trading and ecclesiastical centre in the

medieval England with royal connections, of which the 12th-century abbey gateway and significant ancient ruins remain. By 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tenth in England for taxable wealth. The town was seriously affected by the English Civil War, with a major siege and loss of trade, but played a pivotal role in the Glorious Revolution, whose only significant military action was fought on its streets. The 18th century saw the beginning of a major ironworks in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway and the development of the town's brewing, baking and seed-growing businesses, and the town grew rapidly as a manufacturing
centre.

Etymology

The earliest known name for Reading is Readingas, from the 8th century. The name probably comes from the Readingas, an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means Reada's People in Old English (the Anglo-Saxons often had the same name for a place and its inhabitants).[4]

The demonym for a person from Reading is Redingensian, giving the name of the local rugby team

Redingensians, based in Sonning, and of former members of Reading School.[5][6]

History

Main article: History of Reading, Berkshire
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Reading, Berkshire.

Origins

The earliest map of Reading, published in 1611 by John Speed
Caversham by Joseph Farington
in 1793

Occupation at the site of Reading may date back to the

King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes' defences. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and that account provides the earliest known written record of the existence of Reading. The Danes remained in Reading until late in 871, when they retreated to their winter quarters in London.[8][9]

After the

Norman conquest of England, William the Conqueror gave land in and around Reading to his foundation of Battle Abbey. In its 1086 Domesday Book listing, the town was explicitly described as a borough. The presence of six mills is recorded: four on land belonging to the king and two on the land given to Battle Abbey.[9] Reading Abbey was founded in 1121 by Henry I, who is buried within the Abbey grounds. As part of his endowments, he gave the abbey his lands in Reading, along with land at Cholsey.[9][10]

The town grew around a crossing of the River Kennet, about 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream from its confluence with the River Thames. In 1312, King

dissolution of the monasteries. The last abbot, Hugh Faringdon, was subsequently tried and convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn and quartered in front of the Abbey Church.[13][14]

By 1525, Reading was the largest town in

Parliamentary forces succeeded in April 1643.[16] The town's cloth trade was especially badly damaged, and the town's economy did not fully recover until the 20th century.[9][17] Reading played a significant role during the Glorious Revolution: the second Battle of Reading was the only substantial military action of the campaign.[9][18]

The 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the

turnpike roads which helped it establish its location on the major coaching routes from London to Oxford and the West Country. In 1723, despite considerable local opposition, the Kennet Navigation opened the River Kennet to boats as far as Newbury. Opposition stopped when it became apparent that the new route benefited the town. After the opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810, one could go by barge from Reading to the Bristol Channel.[20] From 1714, and probably earlier, the role of county town of Berkshire was shared between Reading and Abingdon.[21][22] In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was one of the southern termini of the Hatfield and Reading Turnpike
that allowed travellers from the north to continue their journey to the west without going through the congestion of London.

During the 19th century, the town grew rapidly as a

H & G Simonds),[28][29] bulbs (1837–1974, Suttons Seeds),[28][30] and biscuits (1822–1976, Huntley and Palmers).[28][31][32]

20th century

The town continued to expand in the 20th century, annexing Caversham across the River Thames in Oxfordshire in 1911, as well as most of Tilehurst to the west at the same time. Reading suffered much less physical damage than many other English towns and cities during the two world wars of the 20th century, although many citizens were killed or injured. In one significant air raid on 10 February 1943 a single Luftwaffe plane strafed and bombed the town centre, causing 41 deaths and over 100 injuries.[33]

The

hypermarkets in the outskirts of Reading. A major town-centre shopping centre, The Oracle, opened in 1999, is named after the 17th-century Oracle workhouse, which once occupied a small part of the site. It provides three storeys of shopping space and boosted the local economy by providing 4,000 jobs.[36][37]

21st century

As one of the largest

the Diamond Jubilee;[38][39][40][41] and in 2022 to mark the Platinum Jubilee.[42][43]

Governance

suburbs are outside the borough boundaries in West Berkshire and Wokingham. These outer suburbs belong to civil parishes, in some cases with their own town status.[44]

Reading has elected at least one

Member of Parliament to every Parliament since 1295.[45] Since the 2024 general election, the borough of Reading has been divided between the parliamentary constituencies of Reading Central, Reading West and Mid Berkshire (which also covers part of West Berkshire), and Earley and Woodley (which also covers part of the borough of Wokingham).[44]

Reading is the site of venues for both the Crown Court,[46] administering criminal justice, and the County Court,[47] responsible for civil cases. Lesser matters are dealt with in a local magistrates' court.[48]

Administrative history

The Abbey Gateway

Reading was an

dissolution of the abbey in 1538 the borough was granted a new charter in 1542.[9] The borough boundaries were then set out in a subsequent charter from Elizabeth I in 1560. The borough covered the whole of the parish of St Laurence and parts of the parishes of St Giles and St Mary. The part of St Giles' parish outside the borough was known as the hamlet of Whitley, and the part of St Mary's parish outside the borough was known as the tithing of Southcote.[49]

The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country.[50] The borough boundaries, which had not been changed since 1560, were enlarged in 1887 to take in Southcote, Whitley, the north-western parts of Earley, and the eastern end of the parish of Tilehurst.[51][52] When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Reading was considered large enough for its existing borough council to provide county-level services, and so Reading was made a county borough, independent from Berkshire County Council.[50]

The borough boundaries were enlarged again in 1911 to take in Caversham on the north bank of the Thames from Oxfordshire (except the Caversham Park area, which was transferred to the parish of Eye and Dunsden), and most of the parish of Tilehurst (including the main village at Tilehurst Triangle and the area around the parish church at Churchend) to the west.[53]

Local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which saw Reading redesignated as a non-metropolitan district, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services in the borough for the first time. Ahead of those reforms, the borough council campaigned to have Reading's boundaries enlarged to take in Earley, Woodley, Purley on Thames, the residual Tilehurst parish (covering the parts of Tilehurst which had not been transferred into the borough in 1911), and the eastern part of the parish of Theale.[54] The government decided to make no change to Reading's boundaries, leaving them as they had been since last reviewed in 1911.[55] Shortly after the 1974 reforms came into effect, a more limited review of the borough's boundaries north of the Thames was carried out, which saw the Caversham Park area and part of the parish of Mapledurham on the western side of Caversham transferred into the borough of Reading in 1977.[56]

The borough council became a unitary authority in 1998, when the county council was abolished under the

Banham Review, which saw the borough council take over county-level functions, effectively restoring the council to the powers it had held when Reading was a county borough prior to 1974.[57] As part of those reforms, the Local Government Commission had initially recommended expanding Reading's boundaries to include Earley, Tilehurst parish, Purley on Thames and the parts of the parishes of Shinfield, Burghfield and Theale north of the M4 motorway, but it was ultimately decided to leave Reading's boundaries unchanged.[58]

Reading's boundaries south of the Thames therefore have not changed since 1911, despite the urban area having now expanded well beyond the borough boundaries. Cross-boundary working between the borough council and the neighbouring councils which cover the suburban and adjoining rural areas is sometimes criticised, particularly over matters such as transport and school catchment areas.[59][60][61]

The former hospitium
Reading Town Hall

Prior to the 16th century, civic administration for the town of Reading was situated in the Yield Hall, a

Hospitium of St John, the former hospitium of Reading Abbey.[62] For some 400 years up to the 1970s, this was to remain the site of Reading's civic administration through the successive rebuilds that eventually created today's Town Hall.[63] In 1976, Reading Borough Council moved to the new Civic Centre.[64] In 2014, they moved again to civic offices in a refurbished existing office building on Bridge Street, in order to facilitate the demolition and redevelopment of the previous site.[65]

Geography

Broad Street

Reading is 42 miles (68 km) north of the English south coast. The centre of Reading is on a low ridge between the

flood plain. The Kennet, which naturally divided into multiple shallow streams through the centre of Reading, was embanked as part of the construction of the Kennet and Avon Canal in the 18th century, allowing the development of wharves. The floodplains adjoining Reading's two rivers are subject to occasional flooding.[66][67]

Tilehurst
West Reading
Whitley
Whitley Wood
class=notpageimage|
Location of suburbs of Reading

As Reading has grown, its suburbs have spread: to the west between the two rivers into the foothills of the

Thames into the Chiltern Hills as far as Caversham Heights, Emmer Green and Caversham Park Village. Outside the central area, the floors of the valleys containing the two rivers remain largely unimproved floodplain. Apart from the M4 curving to the south there is only one road across the Kennet flood plain. All other routes between the three built-up areas are in the central area.[68]

Climate

Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Reading has a

Reading University Atmospheric Observatory on the Whiteknights Campus, which has recorded atmospheric measurements and meteorological observations since 1970.[69]
The local absolute maximum temperature of 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) was recorded on 19 July 2022 and the local absolute minimum temperature of −14.5 °C (5.9 °F) was recorded in January 1982.

Climate data for
Reading University
, elevation: 62 m (203 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 15.5
(59.9) 		19.6
(67.3) 		22.8
(73.0) 		26.9
(80.4) 		28.5
(83.3) 		34.0
(93.2) 		37.6
(99.7) 		36.4
(97.5) 		29.6
(85.3) 		27.8
(82.0) 		18.1
(64.6) 		15.8
(60.4) 		37.6
(99.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 8.0
(46.4) 		8.5
(47.3) 		11.2
(52.2) 		14.2
(57.6) 		17.4
(63.3) 		20.4
(68.7) 		22.7
(72.9) 		22.3
(72.1) 		19.3
(66.7) 		15.1
(59.2) 		11.0
(51.8) 		8.4
(47.1) 		14.9
(58.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2) 		5.4
(41.7) 		7.4
(45.3) 		9.7
(49.5) 		12.7
(54.9) 		15.6
(60.1) 		17.8
(64.0) 		17.5
(63.5) 		14.8
(58.6) 		11.5
(52.7) 		7.8
(46.0) 		5.4
(41.7) 		10.9
(51.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8) 		2.2
(36.0) 		3.5
(38.3) 		5.1
(41.2) 		8.0
(46.4) 		10.8
(51.4) 		12.9
(55.2) 		12.7
(54.9) 		10.4
(50.7) 		7.9
(46.2) 		4.7
(40.5) 		2.5
(36.5) 		6.9
(44.4)
Record low °C (°F) −14.5
(5.9) 		−11.6
(11.1) 		−7.2
(19.0) 		−3.5
(25.7) 		−2.0
(28.4) 		1.5
(34.7) 		4.9
(40.8) 		3.4
(38.1) 		0.6
(33.1) 		−4.4
(24.1) 		−8.3
(17.1) 		−13.4
(7.9) 		−14.5
(5.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 65.2
(2.57) 		45.6
(1.80) 		40.3
(1.59) 		48.7
(1.92) 		43.5
(1.71) 		47.2
(1.86) 		48.9
(1.93) 		56.9
(2.24) 		49.7
(1.96) 		73.8
(2.91) 		73.1
(2.88) 		65.4
(2.57) 		658.2
(25.91)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 11.8 9.7 8.6 9.3 8.1 7.7 8.1 8.5 8.2 10.6 11.8 11.5 113.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours 55.6 76.5 119.7 170.2 199.9 199.0 205.5 190.5 145.3 106.6 60.2 48.5 1,577.5
Average ultraviolet index 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 4 4 3 2 2 3
Source 1: Met Office[70] WeatherAtlas[71]
Source 2: Starlings Roost[72][73]
Reading
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
61
 
 
8
2
 
 
41
 
 
8
2
 
 
45
 
 
11
3
 
 
48
 
 
14
5
 
 
46
 
 
17
8
 
 
45
 
 
20
11
 
 
46
 
 
22
13
 
 
52
 
 
22
13
 
 
50
 
 
19
10
 
 
72
 
 
15
8
 
 
66
 
 
11
4
 
 
63
 
 
8
2
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.4
 
 
46
35
 
 
1.6
 
 
46
35
 
 
1.8
 
 
51
38
 
 
1.9
 
 
56
40
 
 
1.8
 
 
63
46
 
 
1.8
 
 
68
51
 
 
1.8
 
 
72
55
 
 
2.1
 
 
72
55
 
 
2
 
 
66
51
 
 
2.8
 
 
59
46
 
 
2.6
 
 
51
40
 
 
2.5
 
 
46
36
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches

Demography

Population pyramid of Reading in 2021
Borough of Reading population growth rate from 1801 to 2011

In mid-2018, the area covered by the Borough of Reading had 174,820 inhabitants and a population density of 4,327 per square kilometre (11,207/sq mi).

ethnic group.[77] In 2010, it was reported that Reading had 150 different spoken languages within its population.[78][79] Reading has a large Polish community, which dates back over 30 years,[80] and in October 2006 the Reading Chronicle printed 5,000 copies of a Polish edition called the Kronika Reading.[81][82][83]

Ethnicity

Ethnic Group Year
1971 estimations[84] 1981 estimations[85] 1991[86] 2001[87] 2011[88] 2021[89]
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
White: Total 123,700 94.9% 119,084 92.3% 116,652 90.5% 124,240 86.8% 116,387 74.7% 116,886 67.2%
White: British – – – – – – 115,363 80.6% 101,725 65.3% 93,167 53.5%
White: Irish – – – – – – 2,866 2% 2,269 1.5% 2,040 1.2%
White:
Gypsy or Irish Traveller
 – – – – – – – – 90 – 107 0.1%
White: Roma – – – – – – – – – – 573 0.3%
White: Other – – – – – – 6,011 4.2% 12,303 7.9% 20,999 12.1%
Asian or Asian British
: Total 		– – – – 5,920 4.6% 8,478 5.9% 21,161 13.6% 30,841 17.7%
Asian or Asian British: Indian – – – – 1,748 1.4% 2,425 1.7% 6,514 4.2% 10,777 6.2%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani – – – – 2,771 2.2% 3,828 2.7% 6,967 4.5% 8,279 4.8%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi – – – – 214 0.2% 359 0.3% 695 0.4% 1,132 0.6%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese – – – – 497 0.4% 1,030 0.7% 1,603 1.0% 2,694 1.5%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian – – – – 690 0.5% 836 0.6% 5,382 3.5% 7,959 4.6%
Black or Black British: Total – – – – 5,196 4% 5,931 4.1% 10,470 6.7% 12,532 7.2%
Black or Black British: African – – – – 764 0.6% 2,222 1.6% 6,087 3.9% 7,665 4.4%
Black or Black British: Caribbean – – – – 3416 2.7% 3,181 2.2% 3,279 2.1% 3,293 1.9%
Black or Black British: Other Black – – – – 1016 0.8% 528 0.4% 1,104 0.7% 1,574 0.9%
Mixed or British Mixed: Total – – – – – – 3,399 2.4% 6,180 4% 8,962 5.1%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean – – – – – – 1,677 1.2% 2,718 1.7% 3,555 2.0%
Mixed: White and Black African – – – – – – 317 0.2% 802 0.5% 1,249 0.7%
Mixed: White and Asian – – – – – – 734 0.5% 1,428 0.9% 2,117 1.2%
Mixed: Other Mixed – – – – – – 671 0.5% 1,232 0.8% 2,041 1.2%
Other: Total – – – – 1,109 0.9% 1,048 0.7% 1,500 1% 5,002 2.8%
Other: Arab – – – – – – – – 680 0.4% 1,282 0.7%
Other: Any other ethnic group – – – – 1,109 0.9% 1,048 0.7% 820 0.6% 3,720 2.1%
Ethnic minority: Total 6,586 5.1% 9,980 7.7% 12,225 9.5% 18,856 13.2% 39,311 25.3% 57,337 32.8%
Total 130,286 100% 129,064 100% 128,877 100% 143,096 100% 155,698 100% 174,223 100%

Religion

Religion 2001[90] 2011[91] 2021[92]
Number % Number % Number %
Christian 89,618 62.6 77,848 50.0 68,987 39.6
Buddhist 688 0.5 1,876 1.2 2,887 1.7
Hindu 1,417 1.0 5,661 3.6 8,757 5.0
Jewish 415 0.3 355 0.2 329 0.2
Muslim
 5,730 4.0 11,007 7.1 15,481 8.9
Sikh 781 0.5 947 0.6 1,194 0.7
Other religion 518 0.4 701 0.5 1,241 0.7
No religion 31,486 22.0 45,931 29.5 63,287 36.3
Religion not stated 12,443 8.7 11,372 7.3 12,062 6.9
Total population 143,096 100.0 155,698 100.0 174,226 100.00

Economy

Main article: Economy of Reading, Berkshire
WorldCom
before its demise
The front of the store on Broad Street
The central lake makes a virtue of the necessity of flood alleviation measures
Green Park wind turbine viewed from Lime Square

Reading is a commercial centre in the

London commuter belt, Reading is a net inward destination for commuters. During the morning peak period, there are some 30,000 inward arrivals in the town, compared to 24,000 departures.[94] Major companies Microsoft, Oracle[95] and Hibu (formerly Yell Group)[96] have their headquarters in the Reading area. The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town.[97] PepsiCo[98] and Wrigley[98]
have offices.

Global pharmaceutical giant

business parks including Thames Valley Park in nearby Earley, Green Park Business Park and Arlington Business Park
.

Reading town centre is a major shopping centre. In 2007, an independent poll placed Reading 16th in a league table of best performing retail centres in the United Kingdom.

Waterstone's is a conversion of a nonconformist chapel dating from 1707.[113] Besides the two major shopping malls, Reading has three smaller shopping arcades, the Bristol and West Arcade, Harris Arcade and The Walk, which contain smaller specialist stores. An older form of retail facility is represented by Union Street, popularly known as Smelly Alley.[114][115] Reading has no indoor market, but there is a street market in Hosier Street.[116] A farmers' market operates on two Saturdays a month.[117] The old Victorian Corn Exchange now provides an alternative access to a shopping centre.[118]

Culture

Festivals

Aerial view of Reading Festival 2007

Every year Reading hosts the Reading Festival, which has been running since 1971.[119][120] The festival takes place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom aside from the Glastonbury Festival. Reading Festival takes place at Little Johns Farm in Reading, Richfield Avenue.[121] For some twenty years until 2006, Reading was also known for its WOMAD Festival until it moved to Charlton Park in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.[122][123]

The Reading

LGBT
festival in Kings Meadow.

Venues

The

concert hall that houses a Father Willis organ.[127] Reading theatre venues include The Hexagon and South Street Arts Centre.[128][129] Reading Repertory Theatre is based at Reading College: its Royal Patron is Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.[130]
Amateur theatre venues in Reading include Progress Theatre,[131] a self-governing, self-funding theatre group and registered charity founded in 1947 that operates and maintains its own 97-seat theatre.[132] Rabble Theatre[133] in Caversham and Reading Rep[134] on London Road offer classic and contemporary performances. Jelly[135] is an artist-led organisation that has been committed to improving access to the arts since 1993.

Cultural references

The Abbey Gateway, where Jane Austen went to school

topographical accuracy, it is still possible to follow the steps of the novel's characters in present-day Reading. Reading also appears in the works of Thomas Hardy where it is called 'Aldbrickham'.[139] It features most heavily in his final novel, Jude the Obscure
, as the temporary home of Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead.

Reading Gaol from 1895 to 1897. While there, he wrote his letter De Profundis. After his release, he lived in exile in France and wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol, based on his experience of the execution of Charles Wooldridge, carried out in Reading Gaol whilst he was imprisoned there.[140][141] In March 2021, street artist Banksy claimed responsibility for a painting on the wall of the jail. It depicted an inmate escaping with bedsheets and a typewriter, said to resemble Oscar Wilde.[142]

Reading was the location of the world's first commercial studio for photograph printing, which was set up by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1844.[143]

Ricky Gervais, who is from Reading, made the film Cemetery Junction, which, although filmed elsewhere in the United Kingdom, is set in 1970s Reading and is named after a busy junction in East Reading.[144][145][146] Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crimes Division novels, The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear, are also placed in Reading. The BBC Two sitcom Beautiful People, based on the memoirs of Simon Doonan, is set in Reading in the late 1990s.

Landmarks

The Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens

The

The Blade, a fourteen-storey building completed in 2009, is 86 m (282 ft) tall and can be seen from the surrounding area.[148] Jacksons Corner with its prominent sign, former home of Jacksons department store, occupies the corner of Kings Road and High Street, just south of the Market Place.[149]

Reading has two

listed buildings, in a wide variety of architectural styles that range from the medieval to the 21st century. The scheduled monuments are Reading Abbey and High Bridge, whilst the Grade I listed buildings are Reading Abbey, the Abbey Gateway, Greyfriars Church, St Laurence's Church, Reading Minster, and the barn at Chazey Farmhouse on the Warren.[150][151]

Media

Reading has a local newspaper, the Reading Chronicle, published on Thursdays. The town's other local newspaper, the Reading Post, ceased publication on paper in December 2014, in order to transition to an online only format under the title getreading. As of 2018, getreading joined the InYourArea local news network.[152] A local publishing company, the Two Rivers Press, has published over 70 book titles, many on the topic of local history and art.[153][154] Three local radio stations broadcast from Reading: BBC Radio Berkshire, Heart South and Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire and North Hampshire. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian, BBC London & ITV London can also be received. Reading has one local television station, That's Thames Valley, which broadcasts local news throughout the Greater Reading area.

Public services

The Royal Berkshire Hospital original frontage, built in 1839 with bath stone[155]

Parks and open spaces

Reading has over 100 parks and playgrounds, including 5 miles (8 km) of riverside paths. In the town centre is Forbury Gardens, a public park built on the site of the outer court of Reading Abbey. The largest public park in Reading is Prospect Park, an estate in west Reading previously owned by Frances Kendrick but acquired by Reading Corporation in 1901. This is complemented by Palmer Park, a purpose built public park in east Reading gifted to the town by the proprietors of Huntley & Palmers in 1889.[156][157][158]

A string of open spaces stretch along one or other side of the River Thames throughout its passage through Reading. From west to east these are

local nature reserves: Clayfield Copse in Caversham, with the other four McIlroy Park, Blundells Copse, Lousehill Copse and Round Copse all in Tilehurst[159][160][161]

Healthcare

The principal

Circle Hospital at Kennet Island.[165][166][167]

Utilities

Mains water and sewerage services are provided by

aquifers, and as a consequence the water is hard.[168][169][170]

The commercial energy supplier for electricity and gas is at the consumer's choice.

power station in Vastern Road from 1895 to the 1960s. The power station was initially owned and operated by the Reading Electric Supply Company Limited, then from 1933 by the Reading Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.[172]

The

FTTP) broadband internet connections at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s.[173]

Education

See also:
List of schools in Reading
Part of the University of Reading's main Whiteknights Campus
The Museum of English Rural Life's rear garden, with the original East Thorpe House in the centre

primary schools within the borough, together with a number of private schools and nurseries.[175] Alfred Sutton Boys' School closed in the mid-1980s.[176] Reading College has provided further education in Reading since 1955, with over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses.[177] English language schools in Reading include Gateway Languages, the English Language Centre, ELC London Street and Eurospeak Language School
.

The

Greenlands Campus.[179] The University of West London maintains a presence in the town for its higher education students, principally in nursing, but has now divested itself of its previous ownership of Reading College and its further education students.[180]

Libraries and museums

The Reading Borough Libraries service dates back to 1877.[52] Initially housed in Reading Town Hall, the central branch of the library was relocated to a new building on King's Road in 1985.[181]

The

Whiteknights Campus.[185][186][187] The small Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock tells the story of Reading's two rivers. The Museum of Berkshire Aviation has a collection of aircraft and other artefacts relating to the aircraft industry in the town.[188][189]

Transport

Main article: Transport in Reading, Berkshire
The River Thames from Caversham Bridge looking eastwards
Aerial view of Reading station in October 2023
A Great Western Railway Class 800 with a service to London

Reading's location in the Thames Valley to the west of London has made the town a significant element in the nation's transport system.

River

The town grew up as a river port at the confluence of the

wharves on the Reading side of the river near Caversham Bridge.[190][191]

Road

Reading was a major staging point on the

Thames is crossed by both Reading and Caversham road bridges, while several road bridges cross the Kennet, the oldest surviving one of which is High Bridge.[192]

Reading has two operational park and ride sites. Mereoak, a short distance south of Junction 11 of the M4, is also a stop for National Express Coaches between London and the West.[193] A site outside the Winnersh Triangle railway station opened in 2015 and is easily accessed from the junction where the A329(M) becomes the A3290.[194]

Rail

Reading is a major junction point of the

Waterloo stations in London. Other stations in the Reading area are Reading West, Reading Green Park, Tilehurst and Earley
.

Reading is a western terminus of the Elizabeth line, which provides stopping services to London Paddington, and means Reading is featured on the London Tube map. Cross-London connections are possible from Reading to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.[197]

Air

There have been two

airfields in or near Reading, one at Coley Park[198] and one at Woodley,[199] but they have both closed. The nearest international airport is London Heathrow, 20 miles (32 km) away. An express bus service named RailAir links Reading with Heathrow,[200] or the airport can be accessed by rail by taking the Elizabeth line to Hayes & Harlington and changing for a connecting service to Heathrow. This journey takes around 45 minutes by rail.[201] London City Airport can be reached via a direct train to Custom House on the Elizabeth line followed by a short bus connection. Gatwick Airport can be accessed via a direct local train operating via Guildford, and Luton and Stansted airports can be accessed with one change in Central London. Further afield, Southampton Airport
can be accessed directly by rail in around 50-70 minutes depending on the service, or reached by road in approximately the same timeframe.

Public transport

Today local public transport is largely by road, which is often affected by peak hour congestion in the borough. A frequent local bus network within the borough, and a less frequent network in the surrounding area, are provided by Reading Buses - one of the few remaining municipal bus companies in the country - and its subsidiaries Newbury & District and Thames Valley Buses. Other bus operators serving Reading include Carousel Buses, Thames Travel and RedRose.[202] ReadiBus provides an on-demand transport service for people with restricted mobility in the area.[203]


Bike sharing

In March 2011, Reading Borough Council approved a bike sharing scheme similar to

London Cycle Hire Scheme, with 1,000 bicycles available at up to 150 docking stations across Reading. However this scheme came to an end in March 2019, with the operator unable to cover the operational costs or find a sponsor to do so.[204][205][206]

Religion

St Mary's Church tower, chequered with flint and ashlar[207]
The interior of the ruined chapter house

St. James. Today all that remains of the abbey are the inner rubble cores of the walls of many of the major buildings of the abbey, together with a much restored inner gateway and the intact hospitium.[209][210]

The medieval borough of Reading was served by three

archdeaconry of Berkshire. There are a total of 18 Church of England parish churches in Reading.[214][215]

Seventh-Day Adventist denomination is also represented in the town, particularly by Reading West SDA Church on Loverock Road, Reading Central SDA Church on Tilehurst Road, and various other churches around Reading.[220][221]

Reading has had an organised

Quaker Meeting House,[223] a Modern Orthodox Judaism community, an active Jewish Society for students at the university, as well as being served by a Reform Jewish community which convenes in nearby Maidenhead Synagogue.[224]

There are presently three

Christadelphian Hall.[235]

Sport

Main article: Sport in Reading, Berkshire
Reading Football Club
The Voco Reading Hotel, pictured when still known as the Millennium Madejski
The Reading Half Marathon 2004 climbing Russell Street in West Reading

Reading is the home of

non-league football club Reading City Football Club now play at Scours Lane after moving from Palmer Park Stadium
at the end of the 2015–16 season. Scours Lane was also renamed to Rivermoor Stadium in 2016.

Reading is home to three senior semi-professional

athletics track. It is used by Reading Athletic Club[243] and the Berkshire Renegades for training.[244] Reading Hockey Club enter teams in both the Men's and Women's England Hockey Leagues
.

Smallmead Stadium in Whitley,[248] which was demolished at the end of 2008. The team is inactive pending the building of a new stadium, which was once hoped to be completed in 2012.[249] The Reading Racers reformed in 2016 and joined the new Southern Developmental League upon its formation in 2017 winning its inaugural season undefeated. The team started back up in Eastbourne and currently races in Swindon
awaiting return to a track in Reading.

The

Grand Prix tournament, one of the sport's "Big Four", from 1984 to 1994.[257][258]

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Reading, Berkshire
See also: Category:People from Reading, Berkshire

Twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in England

Reading is twinned with:[259]

Though not twinned with Reading, two suburbs of the New Zealand city of Dunedin — Caversham and Forbury — were named after places in and around Reading by early New Zealand settler and Reading native William Henry Valpy.

See also

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Bibliography

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