Reading ( ) is a town and borough in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, southeast

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Located in the Thames Valley at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the rivers

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and Kennet, the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...

railway and the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

serve the town. Reading is east of

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

, south of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, west of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and north of

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centre, the

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

. 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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team,

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is manag ...

, and participates in many other sports. Reading dates from the 8th century. It was an important trading and ecclesiastical centre in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, the site of Reading Abbey, one of the largest and richest monasteries of medieval England with strong 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 The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, with a major siege and loss of trade, but played a pivotal role in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, 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 Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

trade for which Reading was to become famous. The 19th century saw the coming of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

and the development of the town's brewing, baking and seed growing businesses, and the town grew rapidly as a

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

centre. Reading is also the county town of Berkshire.

History

Early years

View of Reading from Caversham by Joseph Farington, 1793

Occupation at the site of Reading may date back to the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, possibly in the form of a trading port for

Calleva Atrebatum Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain. The modern villa ...

. However, the first clear evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, when the town came to be known as ''Readingas''. The name probably comes from the '' Readingas'', an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

tribe whose name means ''Reada's People'' in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

(the Anglo-Saxons often had the same name for a place and its inhabitants). In late 870, an army of

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

invaded the kingdom of Wessex and set up camp at Reading. On 4 January 871, in the first Battle of Reading, King Ethelred and his brother

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes' defences. The battle is described in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'', 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

. After the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

and the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

gave land in and around Reading to his foundation of Battle Abbey. In its 1086

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

listing, the town was explicitly described as a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

. The presence of six mills is recorded: four on land belonging to the king and two on the land given to Battle Abbey. Reading Abbey was founded in 1121 by

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

, 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. Reading was an important river crossing point: in 1312, King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

directed that its bridges should be kept in good order. It is not known how badly Reading was affected by the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

that swept through

in the 14th century, but it is known that the abbot, Henry of Appleford, was one of its victims in 1361, and that nearby

Henley Henley may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Henley, Dorset, a location * Henley, Gloucestershire, a location * Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England ** Henley (UK Parliament constituency) ** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...

lost 60% of its population. The

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

was largely destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. The last

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Hugh Faringdon Hugh Faringdon, OSB (died 14 November 1539), earlier known as Hugh Cook, later as Hugh Cook alias Faringdon and Hugh Cook of Faringdon, was a Benedictine monk who presided as the last Abbot of Reading Abbey in the English town of Reading. At th ...

, was subsequently tried and convicted of high treason and

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under Edward III of England, King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the rei ...

in front of the Abbey Church. By 1525, Reading was the largest town in

, and tax returns show that Reading was the tenth largest town in England when measured by taxable wealth. By 1611, it had a population of over 5000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth, as instanced by the fortune made by local merchant John Kendrick. Reading played an important role during the

. Despite its fortifications, it had a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

imposed on it in 1642. The subsequent Siege of Reading by

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

forces succeeded in April 1643. The town's cloth trade was especially badly damaged, and the town's economy did not fully recover until the 20th century. Reading played a significant role during the

: the second Battle of Reading was the only substantial military action of the campaign. The 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the

trade for which Reading was to become famous. Reading's trade benefited from better designed

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

roads which helped it establish its location on the major coaching routes from London to

and the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

. 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 The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

in 1810, one could go by barge from Reading to the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

. From 1714, and probably earlier, the role of

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

of Berkshire was shared between Reading and Abingdon. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was one of the southern termini of the

Hatfield and Reading Turnpike The Hatfield and Reading Turnpike was an England, English Toll road, turnpike road created in the 1760s to provide a route that connected the Great North Road (Great Britain), Great North Road (the modern A1) with the A5 road (Great Britain) ...

that allowed travelers 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

centre. The

arrived in 1841, followed by the South Eastern Railway in 1849 and the London and South Western Railway in 1856. The Summer

Assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

were moved from Abingdon to Reading in 1867, effectively making Reading the sole county town of Berkshire, a decision that was officially approved by the

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1869. The town became a

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

under the Local Government Act 1888. The town has been famous for the ''Three Bs'' of beer (1785–2010, H & G Simonds), bulbs (1837–1974,

Suttons Seeds Suttons Seeds is a long established supplier of seeds, bulbs, and other horticultural products. Today based in the English town of Paignton, the company supplies its products worldwide, and until 2014 was part of the Vilmorin Clause & Compagn ...

), and biscuits (1822–1976, Huntley and Palmers).

20th century

The town continued to expand in the 20th century, annexing Caversham across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

in 1911. Compared to many other English towns and cities, Reading suffered little physical damage during either of the two

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s that afflicted the 20th century, although many citizens were killed or injured in the conflicts. One significant air raid occurred on 10 February 1943, when a single

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

plane machine-gunned and bombed the town centre, resulting in 41 deaths and over 100 injuries. The

Lower Earley Lower Earley is the southern portion of Earley civil parish and a large suburb of Reading, within the English county of Berkshire. It forms part of (along with neighbouring Earley, Winnersh, Woodley and Shinfield) a large suburban conurbat ...

development, built in 1977, was one of the largest private housing developments in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It extended the urban area of Reading as far as the

M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, which acts as the southern boundary of the town. Further housing developments have increased the number of modern houses and 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.

21st century

As one of the largest

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to be without city status, Reading has unsuccessfully bid for city status on four recent occasions – in 2000 to celebrate the new millennium; in 2002 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

; in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee; and in 2022 to mark the Platinum Jubilee. On 20 June 2020, three people were killed and three others seriously injured in a mass stabbing at Reading's Forbury Gardens that is being treated as a

terrorist incident Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Government

Reading Abbey Gateway restored 2018-04-15 16

Local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

for the town of Reading is principally provided by Reading Borough Council, a single level

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

without

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

es. However, some of the town's outer

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

are in

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...

and

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

unitary authorities. These outer suburbs belong to civil parishes, in some cases with their own town status. Reading has elected at least one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

to every

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

since 1295. Historically, Reading was represented by the members for the

Parliamentary Borough of Reading Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in th ...

, and the parliamentary constituencies of Reading, Reading North, and Reading South. Since the 2010 general election, Reading has been divided between the parliamentary constituencies of Reading East, Reading West,

(which covers

Shinfield Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District. Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming p ...

, most of

Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local ...

and

) and

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

(which partly covers Woodley). Reading is the site of venues for both the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

, administering criminal justice, and the

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

, responsible for civil cases. Lesser matters are dealt with in a local

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

. Reading has had some degree of local government autonomy since 1253, when the local

merchant guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

was granted a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

. Since then, the town has been run by a Borough corporation as a

, and as a district of Berkshire. The Borough of Reading became a unitary authority area in 1998, when

Berkshire County Council The Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, also known as the Berkshire County Council, was the top-tier local government administrative body for Berkshire from 1889 to 1998. The local authority had responsibilities for education, social servi ...

was abolished under the

Banham Review The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary C ...

, and is now responsible for all aspects of local government within the borough. Prior to the 16th century, civic administration for the town of Reading was situated in the ''Yield Hall'', a

guild hall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

situated by the River Kennet near today's Yield Hall Lane. After a brief stay in what later became Greyfriars Church, the town council created a new town hall by inserting an upper floor into the refectory of the

Hospitium of St John The Hospitium of St John the Baptist was the hospitium, or dormitory for pilgrims, of Reading Abbey, which today is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The hospitium was founded in 118 ...

, the former hospitium of Reading Abbey. 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 In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. In 1976, Reading Borough Council moved to the new Civic Centre. 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. The government of the Borough of Reading follows the leader and cabinet model. Following the 2011 local elections, a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

minority administration replaced the previous Conservative- Liberal Democrat coalition on the casting vote of the mayor. After the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

, Labour have 30 councillors, the Conservatives 12,

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

3 and Liberal Democrats 1. The borough also has a (largely ceremonial)

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. Cllr Debs Edwards has been the mayor of Reading since May 2018. Since 1887, the borough has included the former villages of Southcote and Whitley and small parts of

and Tilehurst. By 1911, it also encompassed the Oxfordshire village of Caversham and still more of Tilehurst. A small area of Mapledurham

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

was added in 1977. An attempt to take over a small area of

Eye and Dunsden Eye and Dunsden is a largely rural civil parish in the most southern part of the English county of Oxfordshire. It includes the villages of Sonning Eye, Dunsden Green and Playhatch and borders on the River Thames with the village of Sonning in Berk ...

parish in Oxfordshire was rejected because of strong local opposition in 1997. Today the borough itself is unparished, and the wards used to elect the borough

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s generally ignore the old parish boundaries and use invented ward names. Reading's municipal boundaries do not include all of the surrounding

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s. Some of these areas ( Tilehurst, Calcot,

Winnersh Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the ...

and Woodley) are, at least partly, within

Wokingham Borough The Borough of Wokingham is a local government district in Berkshire, United Kingdom. It is named after its main town, Wokingham. Other places in the district include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Earley, Finchampstead, Hurst, Sonning, Remenh ...

. This unusual configuration creates difficulties. The diminishing amount of land available and suitable for development within the borough's boundary can bring the council into conflict with its neighbours' development plans; this is exacerbated by the fact that the wards within the borough boundaries have tended to elect Labour councillors, while the suburban wards outside the borough have tended to vote Conservative. This particularly affects education (many schools have catchment areas that cross administrative boundaries), and transport. A perennial example is whether to construct a third road crossing of the

, which South Oxfordshire's politicians and residents oppose. On this subject,

Rob Wilson Robert Owen Biggs Wilson (born 4 January 1965) is an English politician and political author. He was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the Reading East parliamentary constituency in the 2005 general election, being re-elected in ...

, then

for Reading East, said in a House of Commons debate in January 2006:

Geography

Reading is due west of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, southeast of

, east of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and north of the English south coast. The centre of Reading is on a low ridge between the

and River Kennet, close to their

, reflecting the town's history as a river port. Just above the confluence, the Kennet cuts through a narrow steep-sided gap in the hills forming the southern flank of the Thames

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

. The absence of a flood plain on the Kennet in this defile enabled the development of

wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

. The floodplains adjoining Reading's two rivers are subject to occasional flooding. However, in the

2007 floods 2007 floods may refer to: * 2006-2007 Malaysian floods * 2007 United Kingdom floods * 2007 South Asian floods * 2007 Sudan floods * June 2007 Hunter Region and Central Coast storms * 2007 Midwest flooding in the United States * 2007 Mozambican fl ...

that affected much of the United Kingdom, no properties were affected by flooding from the Thames and only four properties were affected by flooding from the Kennet. As Reading has grown, its suburbs have spread: to the west between the two rivers into the foothills of the Berkshire Downs as far as Calcot, Tilehurst and Purley; to the south and south-east on the south side of the River Kennet as far as

Whitley Wood Whitley Wood is a suburb to the south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Geography Whitley Wood is bounded to the north by an ill-defined boundary with the suburb of Whitley, to the east by a ridge of high ground carrying the roa ...

and Woodley; and to the north of the

into the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

as far as

Caversham Heights Caversham Heights is a residential area within Caversham in the English Royal County of Berkshire (until 1911, in Oxfordshire). Today Caversham is a northern suburb of the larger town of Reading. The name Caversham Heights traditionally refers t ...

Emmer Green Emmer Green is the northernmost suburb of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in the England, English county of Berkshire within the unitary authority, centred north of the town. Having most of its own commerce, sport and other amenities, Emmer Green ha ...

and

Caversham Park Village Caversham Park Village is a suburb of Reading, England. It is entirely residential and associated with Emmer Green, which has the closest amenities — much of it is marked as Emmer Green. Both are upland areas of the former enlarged form o ...

. Outside the central area, the floors of the valleys containing the two rivers remain largely unimproved

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

. 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. Historically, the town of Reading was smaller than the borough. Definitions include the old ecclesiastical parishes of the churches of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, St Laurence and St Giles, or the even smaller pre-19th century borough. Today, as well as the town centre Reading comprises a number of

s and other districts, both within the borough itself and within the surrounding urban area. The names and location of these suburbs are in general usage but, except where some of the outer suburbs correspond to

es, there are no formally defined boundaries. The Reading urban area (officially Reading/Wokingham) additionally includes

, Crowthorne and the civil parishes of

, Woodley, Purley, Tilehurst and

. Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Reading has a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year. The nearest official

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

weather station is located at the Reading University Atmospheric Observatory on the

Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis. Whit ...

, which has recorded atmospheric measurements and meteorological observations since 1970. The local absolute maximum temperature of was recorded on 19 July 2022 and the local absolute minimum temperature of was recorded in January 1982.

Demography

In mid-2018, the area covered by the Borough of Reading had inhabitants and a population density of . Meanwhile, the wider urban area had a population of 318,014 in the 2011 census, ranking 23rd in the United Kingdom. This grew to an estimated 337,108 by mid-2018. According to the 2011 census, 74.8% of the borough's population were described as

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

(65.3%

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...

), 9.1% as

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

, 6.7% as

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 3.9% Mixed, 4.5% as

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and 0.9% as other

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

. In 2010, it was reported that Reading had 150 different spoken languages within its population. Reading has a large Polish community, which dates back over 30 years, and in October 2006 the ''

Reading Chronicle The ''Reading Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper covering Reading in Berkshire, UK and surrounding areas, which began its life as the ''Berkshire Chronicle''. It is currently edited by Katie French, serving as group editor for its parent compa ...

'' printed 5,000 copies of a Polish edition called the ''Kronika Reading''.

Ethnicity

Religion

Economy

Reading International Business Park - geograph

Pond & Turbine, Green Park (geograph 4689804)

Reading is an important commercial centre in the Thames Valley and

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

. The town hosts the headquarters of several British companies and the United Kingdom offices of foreign multinationals, as well as being a major retail centre. Whilst located close enough to London to be sometimes regarded as part of 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. Major companies

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

and Hibu (formerly Yell Group) have their headquarters in Reading. The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town.

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

and Wrigley have offices. Global pharmaceutical giant

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

Life Sciences relocated to Reading's Green Park Business Park in 2016. Reading has a significant historical involvement in the information technology industry, largely as a result of the early presence in the town of sites of

International Computers Limited International Computers Limited (ICL) was a British computer hardware, computer software and computer services company that operated from 1968 until 2002. It was formed through a merger of International Computers and Tabulators (ICT), English Ele ...

and

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president unt ...

. Other technology companies with a significant presence in the town include Huawei Technologies,

Pegasystems Pegasystems Inc. is an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1983, Pegasystems develops software for customer relationship management (CRM) and business process management (BPM). The company has been publicly tr ...

Access IS Access-IS develops and manufactures electronic systems designed to accurately capture and transfer information into electronic systems based on 30 years’ experience in image processing, RFID/NFC technology and barcode reading. Access-IS also ma ...

CGI Inc. CGI Inc. is a Canadian multinational information technology consulting and systems integration company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. CGI has a market value of $21.8 billion, making it one of the top 30 companies in Canada. The co ...

, Agilent Technologies,

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informat ...

Symantec Symantec may refer to: *An American consumer software company now known as Gen Digital Inc. *A brand of enterprise security software purchased by Broadcom Inc. Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier ...

, Verizon Business, and

Commvault Commvault is an American publicly traded data protection and data management software company headquartered in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. Commvault enterprise software can be used for data backup and recovery, cloud and infrastructure management, ...

. These companies are distributed around Reading or just outside the borough boundary, some in business parks including

Thames Valley Park Thames Valley Park (also known as TVP) is a high-tech business park adjacent to the River Thames on the eastern outskirts of Reading in Berkshire, England. Companies based at the park include BBC Radio Berkshire, Steria, SGI, Regus, Websen ...

in nearby Earley, Green Park Business Park and

Arlington Business Park Arlington Business Park is a business park in Theale (west of Reading, Berkshire), England. specially designed to blend the benefits of a modern working environment with the benefits of outdoor living. The park is home to a number of major corpor ...

. 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. The main shopping street is Broad Street, which runs between The Oracle in the east and

Broad Street Mall Broad Street Mall, previously known as the Butts Centre, is a large indoor shopping centre located in central Reading, England. There is a large multi-storey car park with direct access to the first floor of the centre. It is close to The Hex ...

in the west and was pedestrianised in 1995. The smaller Friars Walk in Friar Street is closed and will be demolished if the proposed Station Hill redevelopment project goes ahead. There are three major

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

s in Reading:

John Lewis & Partners John Lewis & Partners (formerly and commonly known as John Lewis) is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout United Kingdom, the UK, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells gene ...

(known as '' Heelas'' until 2001), Debenhams (now closed down), and

House of Fraser House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...

. The Broad Street branch of bookseller

Waterstone's Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

is a conversion of a

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

chapel dating from 1707. 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''. Reading has no indoor market, but there is a street market in Hosier Street. A farmers' market operates on two Saturdays a month.

Culture

Reading Festival 2007, bird's eye view 2

Reading Abbey Inner Gatehouse, The Forbury - geograph

Every year Reading hosts the Reading Festival, which has been running since 1971. The festival takes place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

weekend and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom aside from the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

. Reading Festival takes place at Little Johns Farm in Reading, Richfield Avenue. For some twenty years until 2006, Reading was also known for its WOMAD Festival until it moved to Charlton Park in Malmesbury,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The Reading Beer Festival was first held in 1994 and has now grown to one of the largest beer festivals in the United Kingdom. It is held at King's Meadow for the five days immediately preceding the May Day bank holiday every year. Reading also holds

Reading Pride Reading Pride is an annual LGBT+ event held in Reading, Berkshire, England, that serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities of Reading and the Thames Valley. History Reading Pride was formed in 2003. 2006 saw the introdu ...

, an annual

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

festival in Kings Meadow. The Frank Matcham-designed Royal County Theatre, built in 1895, was located on the south side of Friar Street. It burned down in 1937. Within the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

is a 700-seat

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

that houses a

Father Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

organ. Reading

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

venues include The Hexagon and South Street Arts Centre. Reading Repetory Theatre is based at

Reading College Reading College is a further education college based in Reading, Berkshire, England. It has over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses. The Kings Road site that is the principal location of Reading College has been used for further education ...

: its Royal Patron is

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibl ...

. Amateur theatre venues in Reading include

Progress Theatre Progress Theatre is a local theatre company at Reading in England. It is a registered charity and it is a member of the Little Theatre Guild (LTG) and the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA). History Progress Theatre was estab ...

, a self-governing, self-funding theatre group and registered charity founded in 1947 that operates and maintains its own 97-seat theatre. The demonym for a person from Reading is ''Redingensian'', giving the name of the local rugby team Redingensians, based in

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

, and of former members of Reading School.

Cultural references

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

attended Reading Ladies

Boarding School A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, based in the Abbey Gateway, in 1784–1786. Mary Russell Mitford lived in Reading for a number of years and then spent the rest of her life just outside the town at

Three Mile Cross Three Mile Cross is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, to the south of Reading, and immediately north of the adjoining village of Spencers Wood, in the English county of Berkshire. In the 1960s, the M4 Motorway was built and became a n ...

and

Swallowfield Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, about south of Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire. Geography The civil parish of Swallowfield also includes the nearby villages of Riseley and Farley Hi ...

. The fictional ''Belford Regis'' of her eponymous novel, first published in 1835, is largely based on Reading. Described with

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

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 Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

where it is called 'Aldbrickham'. It features most heavily in his final novel, Jude the Obscure, as the temporary home of Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead.

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

was imprisoned in Reading Gaol from 1895 to 1897. While there, he wrote his letter ''De Profundis''. After his release, he lived in exile in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and wrote '' The Ballad of Reading Gaol'', based on his experience of the execution of

Charles Wooldridge Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, carried out in Reading Gaol whilst he was imprisoned there.

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

, 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 East Reading is a main locality (or informal subdivision) of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Its centre is known as Cemetery Junction, after Reading Old Cemetery. Extent The locality has no formal boundaries; the name ...

. Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crimes Division novels, ''

The Big Over Easy ''The Big Over Easy'' is a 2005 novel written by Jasper Fforde. It features Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant, Sergeant Mary Mary. It is set in an alternate reality similar to that of his previous books: ''The Eyre Affair'', ...

'' and ''

The Fourth Bear ''The Fourth Bear'' is a mystery/fantasy novel by Jasper Fforde published in July 2006. It is Jasper Fforde's sixth novel, and the second in the Nursery Crimes series (also known as the Jack Spratt series). It continues the story of Detective Insp ...

'', are also placed in Reading. The

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

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, an unofficial symbol of Reading, commemorates the 328 officers of the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

who died in the Battle of Maiwand in 1880. There are a number of other works of public art in Reading. The Blade, a fourteen-storey building completed in 2009, is tall and can be seen from the surrounding area.

Jacksons Corner Jacksons Corner is a thoroughfare in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. It is a prominent landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is ...

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. Reading has six

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed buildings, 22 Grade II* and 853 Grade II buildings, in a wide variety of architectural styles that range from the medieval to the 21st century. The Grade I listed buildings are Reading Abbey, the Abbey Gateway, Greyfriars Church,

St Laurence's Church St. Laurence's Church, Saint Lawrence's Church, or ''variations'' on those names or spellings, may refer to: Australia * Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney Austria * Basilica of St. Lawrence, Enns Czech Republic * Church of St. Lawrence, Roman ...

Reading Minster Reading Minster, or the Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin, is the oldest ecclesiastical foundation in the English town of Reading. Although eclipsed in importance by the later Reading Abbey, Reading Minster regained its status after the destruc ...

, and the barn at Chazey Farmhouse on the Warren.

Media

Reading has a local newspaper, the ''

'', published on Thursdays. The town's other local newspaper, the ''

Reading Post The ''Reading Post'' (until 2009, the ''Reading Evening Post'') was an English local newspaper covering Reading, Berkshire and surrounding areas. The title page of the paper featured the Maiwand Lion, a famous local landmark at Forbury Gardens. Th ...

'', 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. A local publishing company, the

Two Rivers Press Two Rivers Press is an independent publishing house, based in the English town of Reading. Two Rivers Press was founded in 1994 by Peter Hay (1951–2003), a local artist. Its name reflects his enthusiasm for the town and its two rivers, the Ken ...

, has published over 70 book titles, many on the topic of local history and art. Two local radio stations broadcast from Reading: BBC Radio Berkshire and

Heart South Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England from studios in Fareham, Hampshire. The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a mer ...

. Other local radio stations, such as

Capital Mid-Counties Capital Mid-Counties is a regional radio station owned by and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Coventry, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, south Staffordshire, the Cotswolds and north Oxfordshire. The station la ...

and

's Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire & North Hampshire, can also be received. Reading has one local television station, That's Thames Valley, which broadcasts local news throughout the Greater Reading area. Local television news programmes are the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

South Today ''BBC South Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Berkshire, Surrey and Wiltshire. Since 2000, an opt-out of the main program ...

and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Meridian Tonight ''ITV News Meridian'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Meridian. Overview The news service is produced and broadcast from ITV Meridian's studios in Whiteley, near Fareham with reporters also based at bureaux i ...

are available on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

and

Public services

Parks and open spaces

Reading has over 100 parks and playgrounds, including 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 Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands (chiefly led by George Palmer who joined in 1841) and r ...

in 1889. 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

Thameside Promenade Thameside Promenade, or Thames Side Promenade, is a public park and promenade in Reading, Berkshire, England, located next to the River Thames. It stretches along the south (Reading) side of the river, to the west of Caversham Bridge, and forms ...

Caversham Court Caversham Court is a public garden and was a mansion located on the north bank of the River Thames in Caversham, a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire (formerly in Oxfordshire). The park lies within the St Peter's conservation ...

, Christchurch Meadows,

Hills Meadow Hills Meadow is a park in Reading, Berkshire, England, located next to the River Thames. It stretches along the north ( Caversham) side of the river, to the east of Reading Bridge. It is linked to the south (Reading) bank by a footpath, locally ...

View Island View Island is a small island near Caversham Lock, on the River Thames at Reading, Berkshire in England.King's Meadow. Reading also has five local nature reserves:

Clayfield Copse Clayfield Copse is a local nature reserve on the northern edge of the suburb of Caversham in Reading, UK. The site is in size and is a natural open space consisting of fields, wild flower meadow and native woodlands adjoining the Oxfordshire co ...

in Caversham, with the other four

McIlroy Park McIlroy Park is a Local Nature Reserve in Tilehurst, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council. Along with Blundells Copse and Lousehill Copse it is part of West Reading Woodlands. Geography and si ...

Blundells Copse Blundells Copse is a local nature reserve in the suburb of Tilehurst in the town of Reading, UK. The site is in size, and comprises a close growing, ancient woodland with a stream. The nature reserve is under the management of the Reading Boroug ...

Lousehill Copse Lousehill Copse is a local nature reserve in the Tilehurst suburb of the English town of Reading. The nature reserve is in size, and is under the management of the Reading Borough Council. The majority of the site comprises natural mature woodl ...

and

Round Copse Round Copse is a Local Nature Reserve in Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council. Geography and site Round Copse is a small woodland, and is contiguous with another local nature reserve called McIlroy Park. ...

all in Tilehurst

Healthcare

The principal

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS) hospital in Reading is the Royal Berkshire Hospital, founded in 1839 and much enlarged and rebuilt since. A second major NHS

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

, the

Battle Hospital Battle Hospital was a National Health Service hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The hospital was located on a large site between Oxford Road and Portman Road, in West Reading. History Battle Hospital began it ...

, closed in 2005.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health services and other community based health services, primarily to the resident population of the Royal County of Berkshire, England, in the United Kingdom. Berkshire Healthcare NHS ...

runs a NHS hospital, Prospect Park Hospital, which specialises in the provision of care for people with mental health and learning disabilities. Reading has three private hospitals: the Berkshire Independent Hospital in Coley Park, the Dunedin Hospital situated on the main A4

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Road, and the Circle Hospital at Kennet Island.

Utilities

Mains water and sewerage services are provided by Thames Water Utilities Limited, a private sector water supply company, whilst water abstraction and disposal is regulated by the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

. Reading's water supply is largely derived from underground aquifers, and as a consequence the water is

hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock super ...

. The commercial energy supplier for electricity and gas is at the consumer's choice. Southern Electric runs the local electricity distribution network, while SGN runs the gas distribution network. A notable part of the local energy infrastructure is the presence of a 2

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

(peak) Enercon

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

at Green Park Business Park, with the potential to produce 2.7 million

kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

of electricity a year, enough to power over a thousand homes. Additionally,

Reading Hydro Reading Hydro is a micro hydro, micro hydroelectric scheme in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, England. It is located on the River Thames, at the upstream end of View Island and using the head of water provided by the weir at Caversham Lock. With a ...

runs a micro hydroelectric power station on the Thames. Reading had its own

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

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. The

dialling code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone number A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or ...

for fixed-line telephones in Reading is 0118. BT provides fixed-line telephone coverage throughout the town and

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...

broadband internet In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

connection to most areas. Parts of Reading are cabled by

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

, supplying cable television, telephone and broadband internet connections.

Hyperoptic Hyperoptic is a fibre-to-the-building & fibre-to-the-premises Internet service provider (ISP) based in London, England, offering services in 64 Cities and Towns in the UK. History Founded in 2011 by Boris Ivanovic (chairman) and Dana Tobak (CE ...

also has a presence in the town, supplying Fibre-to-the-Premises (

FTTP Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

) broadband internet connections at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s.

Education

The Museum of English Rural Life (geograph 4500687)

Reading School, founded in 1125, is the 16th oldest school in England. There are six other state

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and 38 state

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

within the borough, together with a number of private and independent schools and nurseries. Alfred Sutton Boys' School closed in the mid-1980s.

has provided

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

in Reading since 1955, with over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses. English language schools in Reading include Gateway Languages, the English Language Centre, ELC London Street and

Eurospeak Language School Eurospeak Language School is an institution that specializes in English language training and cultural exchange. The school was founded in 1991 and is in Reading, United Kingdom. The founder of Eurospeak, Michael O'Brien, died in 2011. Eurospeak ...

. The University of Reading was established in 1892 as an affiliate of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. It moved to its London Road Campus in 1904 and to its new

in 1947. It took over the Bulmershe College of

Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

, a

teacher training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

, in 1989, becoming Bulmershe Court Campus. The

Henley Management College Henley Business School is a business school which now forms part of the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College (formerly the Administrative Staff College) with the existing business ...

, situated in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and about from Reading, was taken over in 2008, becoming

Greenlands Campus #REDIRECT Greenland (disambiguation) Greenland is the world's largest island and an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland or Greenlands may also refer to: People * Greenland (surname) Places Australia * Greenlands, New ...

. The University of West London maintains a presence in the town for its higher education students, principally in

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

, but has now divested itself of its previous ownership of

and its

students.

Libraries and museums

The

Reading Borough Libraries Reading Borough Libraries are responsible for public library provision in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. History Despite the Public Libraries Act 1850 it was not until the 1870s that serious thought was given to the creation of a free ...

service dates back to 1877. Initially housed in

Reading Town Hall Reading Town Hall is the town hall of Reading, Berkshire, England. The town hall was built in several phases between 1786 and 1897, although the principal facade was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1875. Situated close to the site of Reading ...

, the central branch of the library was relocated to a new building on King's Road in 1985. The

Reading Museum Reading Museum (run by the Reading Museum Service) is a museum of the history of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire, and the surrounding area. It is accommodated within Reading Town Hall, and contains galleries describing th ...

opened in 1883 in the town's municipal buildings. It contains galleries relating to the history of Reading and to the excavations of

, together with a full-size replica of the Bayeux Tapestry, an art collection, and galleries relating to Huntley and Palmers. The Museum of English Rural Life, in

, is a museum dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. It houses

designated collections The Designation Scheme is an English system that awards "Designated status" to museum, library and archive collections of national and international importance. The Scheme is administered by Arts Council England (ACE). As of 2020, 152 collections ...

of national importance. It is owned and run by the University of Reading, as are the

Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology is a museum of ancient Mediterranean archaeology, primarily that of ancient Greek civilisation but with smaller collections of Egyptian, Etruscan and Roman items. It contains one of the most important collectio ...

, the

Cole Museum of Zoology The Cole Museum of Zoology is a university museum, part of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading. It is located on the university's Whiteknights Campus in the town of Reading, Berkshire, England. The collection was est ...

and the Harris Botanic Gardens, all of which can be found on the university's

. The small

Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock is a museum located at Blake's Lock in the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The museum contains information about the history of human activity on the Kennet and the Thames rivers in Reading. ...

tells the story of Reading's two rivers. The

Museum of Berkshire Aviation The Museum of Berkshire Aviation is a small aviation museum in Woodley, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire, England. The museum is on the edge of the site of the former Woodley Aerodrome and many of its exhibits relate to the Phillips & Powis com ...

has a collection of aircraft and other artefacts relating to the aircraft industry in the town.

Transport

Reading railway station aerial, August 2014

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

and the River Kennet. Both of these rivers are navigable, and

Caversham Lock Caversham Lock is a lock and main weir on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. Both the lock and main weir are connected to De Bohun Island (colloquially known as Lock Island). The Thames Navigation Commissioners built the ori ...

Blake's Lock Blake's Lock is a Canal lock, lock situated on the River Kennet in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Berkshire, England. It is on the short reach of the River Kennet which is administered as if it were part of the River Thames and is hence owned a ...

County Lock County Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Fobney Lock Fobney Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in the Small Mead area of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Between the lock cut for the lock and the river itself is Fobney Island, which is a nature reserve. Fobney Lock was built between 1 ...

and

Southcote Lock Southcote Lock is a lock on the River Kennet at Southcote near the town of Reading in Berkshire, England. It has a rise/fall of . History Southcote Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newb ...

are all within the borough. Today, navigation is predominantly for purposes of leisure: private and hire boats dominate traffic, while scheduled boat services operate on the Thames from

on the Reading side of the river near Caversham Bridge.

Road

Reading was a major staging point on the old Bath Road (A4) from London to Avonmouth near Bristol. This road still carries local traffic, but has now been replaced for long-distance traffic by the

, which closely skirts the borough and serves it with three junctions, J10-J12. Other main roads serving Reading include the A33, A327, A329,

A4074 The A4074 is a British A road from the Reading suburb of Caversham to the Heyford Hill roundabout on the Oxford Ring Road. The road starts from a junction with the A4155 close to the northern side of Caversham Bridge (over the River Thames) b ...

and A4155. Within Reading there is the

Inner Distribution Road The Inner Distribution Road or IDR is a mostly dual carriageway ring road that encircles the town centre of Reading, Berkshire, England. It forms part of the A329 that runs from Wentworth in Surrey to Thame in Oxfordshire. History The Inner ...

(IDR), a ring road for local traffic. The IDR is linked with the M4 by the A33

relief road A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety. A bypass spec ...

National Express Coaches National Express is an intercity and Inter-regional coach operator providing services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of National Express Group. Most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The company's head office is ...

run out of Mereoak Park and Ride, at Junction 11 of the M4. The

is crossed by both

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and Caversham road bridges, while several road bridges cross the Kennet, the oldest surviving one of which is High Bridge.

Rail

Reading is a major junction point of the National Rail system, and hence

Reading station Reading railway station is a major transport hub in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is on the northern edge of the town centre, near the main retail and commercial areas and the River Thames, from . Reading is the ninth-busiest station in th ...

is an important transfer point and terminus. In a project that finished in 2015, Reading station was redeveloped at a cost of £850m, with

grade separation In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...

of some conflicting traffic flows, and extra platforms, to relieve severe congestion at this station. Railway lines link Reading to both

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

stations in London. Other stations in the Reading area are Reading West, Tilehurst and

Reading Green Park railway station Reading Green Park railway station is a railway station under construction in Reading, Berkshire, England. The station is intended to serve the Green Park business area and the Madejski Stadium, as well as the proposed Green Park Village resi ...

is planned on the

Reading to Basingstoke Line Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

to serve Green Park Business Park. 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. When the Crossrail project is fully delivered in mid-2023, cross-London connections will be possible from Reading to Abbey Wood and

Shenfield Shenfield is a commuter suburb of Brentwood, in the borough of Brentwood, Essex, England. In 2020, the suburb was estimated to have a population of 5,396. History The old village (now town), by the church and Green Dragon pub, lies along the ...

in the east; passengers desiring through service are currently required to change trains at Paddington.

Air

There have been two

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

s in or near Reading, one at Coley Park and one at Woodley, but they have both closed. The nearest airport is

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

, away by road. An express bus service named

RailAir RailAir describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on Heathrow Airport, with one other from Luton Airport. RailAir s ...

links Reading with Heathrow, or the airport can be accessed by rail by taking the Paddington train and changing to the TfL Rail service at Hayes & Harlington. In addition, Birmingham Airport,

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

and Southampton Airport can all be accessed via direct trains from Reading station.

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 Reading Buses is a bus operator serving the towns of Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham and the surrounding areas in the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire, England, as well as parts of Greater L ...

- one of the few remaining

municipal bus companies A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom. Most municipal bus companies disappeared between 1968 and 1974 before (o ...

in the country - and its subsidiaries Newbury & District and Thames Valley Buses. Other bus operators serving Reading include

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary o ...

Thames Travel Thames Travel is a bus operator serving the southern part of the English county of Oxfordshire. It is based in Didcot, Oxfordshire, Didcot and is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. In May 2011 the Go-Ahead Group bought Thames Travel. Branded ...

and Oxford Bus Company.

ReadiBus ReadiBus is an on-demand transport service for disabled people in the area of Reading, Berkshire, England. The service operates as a charity, and was founded in 1981 by a collaboration between the voluntary sector and Reading Borough Council.

provides an on-demand transport service for people with restricted mobility in the area.

Bike sharing

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

London Cycle Hire Scheme Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operati ...

, 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.

Religion

(the Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin) is Reading's oldest ecclesiastical foundation, known to have been founded by the 9th century and possibly earlier. Although eclipsed in importance by the later abbey, Reading Minster has regained its importance since the destruction of the abbey. Reading Abbey was founded by

in 1121. He was buried there, as were parts of his daughter

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

, William of Poitiers, Constance of York, and Princess Isabella of Cornwall, among others. The abbey was one of the pilgrimage centres of medieval England; it held over 230

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s including the hand of 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 Hospitium (; gr, ξενία, '' xenia'', προξενία) is the ancient Greco-Roman concept of hospitality as a divine right of the guest and a divine duty of the host. Similar or broadly equivalent customs were and are also known in other cul ...

. The medieval borough of Reading was served by three

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

es:

, St Giles' Church, and

. All are still in use by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The Franciscan friars built a

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in the town in 1311. After the friars were expelled in 1538, the building was used as a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

, a poorhouse, and a jail, before being restored as the Church of England parish church of Greyfriars Church in 1863. The

Bishop of Reading The Bishop of Reading is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, which is within the Province of Canterbury, England. The current bishop of Reading is Olivia Graham (formerly Arc ...

is a

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

within the Church of England's Diocese of Oxford. The bishop is based in Reading, and is responsible for the

archdeaconry of Berkshire The Archdeacon of Berkshire (also rendered Archdeacon of Berks) is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Oxford. The archdeacon is the head of the archdeaconry of Berkshire, a post historically found within the diocese ...

. There are a total of 18 Church of England parish churches in Reading. St James's Church was built on a portion of the site of the abbey between 1837 and 1840, and marked the return of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith to Reading. Reading was also the site of the death of Blessed Dominic Barberi, the Catholic missionary to England in the 19th century who received

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

into the Catholic faith. There are now eight Roman Catholic parish churches in Reading. Kings Road Baptist Church was founded in Reading in 1640 or 1641. In addition to Catholicism and the

, the 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. Reading has had an organised

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community since 1886. At least one Jewish family living in the area has been traced back as far as 1842. The group grew to 13 families, who in 1886 declared themselves a community and commenced building a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

. On 31 October 1900, Reading

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Congregation officially opened in a solemn public ceremony, packed to capacity with dignitaries, led by the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

Hermann Adler Hermann Adler HaKohen CVO (30 May 1839 – 18 July 1911; Hebrew נפתלי צבי הירש הכהן אדלר ) was the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1891 to 1911. The son (and successor as Chief Rabbi) of Nathan Marcus Adler, the 1911 ' ...

. Reading Hebrew Congregation, which still stands on its original site at the junction of Goldsmid Road and Clifton Street near the town centre, is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

-listed building, built to a traditional design in the

Moorish style Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...

. The community is affiliated with the Orthodox United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Reading also has a Liberal Jewish community which convenes in the Reading

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Meeting House, a

Modern Orthodox Judaism Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world. Modern Orthodoxy draws on sever ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

, an active Jewish Society for students at the university, as well as being served by a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

community which convenes in nearby

Maidenhead Synagogue Maidenhead Synagogue is a Reform synagogue based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It serves Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding districts west of London in the Thames Valley area. History Maidenhead Synagogue originated during Wor ...

. There is presently three

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s in Reading, initially just having the Central Reading Mosque on Waylen Street. The £3–4m

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

Islamic Centre, on Oxford Road in West Reading, was granted planning permission in 2002. The community-funded project began construction in 2007, and opened its doors in July 2013 - the holy month of Ramadan for this year. A second

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

centre in eastern Reading has also been granted planning permission. This £4m project has garnered some controversy. Reading also has places of worship of other religions: the Shantideva

Mahayana Buddhist ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhism, Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BC ...

centre, a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple, a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

, a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

citadel, a

meeting house, and a Christadelphian Hall.

Sport

Madejski Stadium aerial, August 2014 (cropped)

Reading is the home of

Reading Football Club Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...

, an

club nicknamed ''The Royals'', formed in 1871. Formerly nicknamed 'The Biscuitmen' and based at Elm Park, the club plays at the 24,161 capacity Madejski Stadium, named after chairman Sir

John Madejski Sir John Robert Madejski, (; born Robert John Hurst; 28 April 1941) is an English businessman, with commercial interests spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football. He changed his name when his stepfather, ...

, and which opened in 1998. After winning the

2005–06 Football League Championship The 2005–06 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the league under its current title and fourteenth season under its current league division format. Reading dominate ...

with a record of 106 points, Reading spent two seasons in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

before being relegated to The Championship. For the 2012–2013 season, the club again competed in the Premier League, after securing first place in the Championship in the 2011–2012 season, but were relegated back down to the Championship at season's end. Reading Town Football Club, formed in 1966, played at Scours Lane and were playing in the Hellenic League Premier Division but were dissolved in 2016, while fellow

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club Reading City Football Club now play at Scours Lane after moving from

Palmer Park Stadium Palmer Park Stadium is located in Palmer Park, Reading. It contains a velodrome and athletics stadium. Set in acres of parkland, the stadium provides a focal point for a variety of indoor and outdoor leisure activities. Clubs Palmer Park has s ...

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

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

clubs:

Reading Abbey RFC Reading Abbey R.F.C is an English Rugby Union club. Although the club is named after, and historically connected with, the Berkshire town of Reading, it is now located between Reading and Peppard and just over the boundary into the county of Oxfo ...

Rams RFC Rams RFC is an English rugby union club based near the village of Sonning on the outskirts of Reading in the county of Berkshire. The first XV play in the third level league of the English rugby union system, National League 1, following their p ...

and

Reading RFC Reading R.F.C. is an English rugby union club, which runs a total of 21 sides across Men's, Women's, Girls and Junior rugby. The 1st XV play in Southern Counties North. The club is located in the village of Sonning, on the outskirts of Reading. T ...

. The

Reading Rockets The Reading Rockets are an English semi-professional basketball club based in the town of Reading, England. Founded in 1997, the Rockets compete in NBL Division 1, the second tier of the British basketball system. History The Rockets were f ...

are the town's semi-professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team. They compete in the second tier

English Basketball League The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish B ...

Division 1, though they have tried several times in recent years to move up to the top tier

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

. They play home games at the Rivermead Leisure Complex, and are coached by Manuel Peña Garces. In 2016–17 the club embarked on an 18-game winning streak. The town hosts

Australian Rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team

Reading Kangaroos The Reading Kangaroos is an Australian rules football club which plays in the English town of Reading. Formed by Australians living in the area, the club quickly grew with strong local interest, now attracting players from all over Berkshire. The ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team

Berkshire Renegades the Berkshire Renegades (formerly the Reading Renegades) are an American Football team currently competing in the Division 2 South British American Football League. play their home games at the University of Reading in Reading, Berkshire. First f ...

has a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

and

athletics track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

. It is used by

Reading Athletic Club Reading Athletic Club, based in Reading, Berkshire, is one of the oldest and longest established athletic clubs in the United Kingdom. They officially formed in November 1881, however records show that they were one of the inaugural clubs that for ...

and the Berkshire Renegades for training.

Reading Hockey Club Reading Hockey Club is a field hockey club based at Sonning Lane in the English town of Reading. It is one of the most successful clubs in the United Kingdom with National League and Cup honours. The Men's First Team play in the Men's England Ho ...

enter teams in both the Men's and

Women's England Hockey League The Women's England Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by England Hockey that features women's teams from England. From 2011-2020 it was sponsored by Investec and was referred to as the Investec Women's Hockey League. Format Regula ...

s. Rowing is pursued by the Reading Rowing Club and the Reading University Boat Club, both next to Caversham Bridge, whilst

Reading Blue Coat School ('Truth Conquers All) , established = , closed = , type = Independent day schoolPublic school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

trains at

adjacent to the

Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake The Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake is a rowing lake in the United Kingdom, named after the Olympic rowers Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. The lake and its boathouse are specifically designed for training use, and provide training, med ...

in Caversham, which provides training facilities for the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

National Squad. However, almost all club rowing is done on the

. The annual

Reading Town Regatta Reading Town Regatta is an annual rowing regatta that takes place at the town of Reading in Berkshire on the River Thames in southern England. It is held near the Thames Valley Park business park on the south side of the river. A more local Thame ...

takes place near

, with the

Reading Amateur Regatta Reading Amateur Regatta is a rowing regatta, on the River Thames in England which takes place at Reading, Berkshire on the reach above Caversham Lock. The regatta takes place in June and attracts top crews from around the UK.British Rowing Alma ...

taking place in June, usually two weeks before the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. The town was home to a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

team, Reading Racers. Speedway came to Reading in 1968 at Tilehurst Stadium, until the team moved to

Smallmead Stadium Reading Stadium also known as Smallmead Stadium was an English greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Bennet Road, Reading in the county of Berkshire. It is not to be confused with Reading Stadium on the Oxford Road that closed in 1974 and ...

in Whitley, 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. 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 Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

and currently races in

awaiting return to a track in Reading. The

Reading Half Marathon The Reading Half Marathon (currently known as the Sage Reading Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a half marathon road running event held on the streets of the English town of Reading, first held in 1983. The race is normally held on a Su ...

is held on the streets of Reading in March of each year, with 16,000 competitors from elite to fun runners. It was first run in 1983 and has taken place in every subsequent year except 2001, when it was cancelled because of concerns over that year's outbreak of

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

, 2018, when it was cancelled on the morning of the race due to heavy overnight snowfall, and 2020, when it was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The

British Triathlon Association The British Triathlon Federation (formerly the British Triathlon Association) is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon and associated multisport in Great Britain. It administers triathlon in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel ...

was formed at the town's former ''Mall''

health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...

on 11 December 1982. Britain's first ever

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

took place just outside Reading at Kirtons's Farm in

Pingewood Pingewood is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Burghfield, to the south of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, in the England, English county of Berkshire. It lies to the Southwest of Burghfield Bridge The name ...

in 1983 and was revived 10 years' later by Banana Leisure with one of the original organisers as Event Director. Thames Valley Triathletes, based in the town, is Britain's oldest triathlon club, having its origins in the 1984 event at nearby Heckfield, when a

relay team A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of Race track, racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in runni ...

raced under the name ''Reading Triathlon Club''. The Hexagon was home to

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

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

Notable people

Twin towns

Reading is twinned with: *

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(since 1947, officially since 1988) *

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(since 1994) *

San Francisco Libre San Francisco Libre () is a municipality in the Managua department of Nicaragua. International relations Twin towns – Sister cities San Francisco Libre is twinned with Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

(since 1994) *

Speightstown Speightstown (), also known as ''Little Bristol'', is the second largest City centre of Barbados. It is situated north of the capital city of Bridgetown, in the northern parish of Saint Peter. The City is named after William Speight, a member o ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

(since 2003) Though not twinned with Reading, two suburbs of the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

— Caversham and Forbury — were named after places in and around Reading by early New Zealand settler and Reading native

William Henry Valpy William Henry Valpy (2 January 1793 – 25 September 1852) was a noted early settler of Dunedin, New Zealand. He is sometimes referred to locally as "The father of Saint Clair", as he was the first settler in the area now occupied by the suburb ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Reading Borough Council

Living Reading
{{good article Towns in Berkshire Kennet and Avon Canal Local authorities adjoining the River Thames Districts of Berkshire Populated places established in the 8th century Populated places on the River Thames Unitary authority districts of England Unparished areas in Berkshire Boroughs in England

History

Early years

20th century

21st century

Government

Geography

Demography

Ethnicity

Religion

Economy

Culture

Cultural references

Landmarks

Media

Public services

Parks and open spaces

Healthcare

Utilities

Education

Libraries and museums

Transport

River

Road

Rail

Air

Public transport

Bike sharing

Religion

Sport

Notable people

Twin towns

See also

References

Bibliography

External links