Newtown, Reading is a

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 ...

of the town of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is situated 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 ...

between the Cemetery Junction and the River Kennet. The population is a socially and ethnically diverse mix of families, professionals and Reading University students.

History

In 1822, Joseph Huntley started his first bakery (later to become the

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 ...

biscuit factory) in London street. By 1846 he opened the King's Road Factory, which led to a dramatic increase in the number of employees needed over the following decades. The terraced houses of New Town, Reading were built from the 1870s and its proximity to the factory made it a popular place for the employees to live. In 1875 George Palmer gave 14 acres of King's Meadows, beside the River Thames and in 1889 an additional 49 acres of land, which is now known as Palmer Park.

Geography

The northern boundary is the River Kennet which becomes 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 ...

. The area around the confluence of the River Kennet and 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 ...

is known as Kennetmouth and is a popular area for recreation. One landmark is the historic Horseshoe Bridge which was formerly used by barge horses but is now a footbridge. Newtown Globe Group has adopted a small area of land at Kennetmouth and has erected a seat, an interpretation board and a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

depicting the meeting of the rivers. The other, an early

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

railway bridge. At its western edge close to the town centre is the Financial Services company The Prudential where the residential options are modern large apartments and The Orts road Council estate. The area is the eastern boundary of Reading Borough Council with Wokingham District Council. Residentially, it is composed, at the eastern end, of terraced houses which were originally built for the employees of Huntley and Palmers and Sutton's Seeds and they feature the distinctive polychromatic brickwork where one of the best kept examples is School Terrace and the Victorian Newtown Primary School.

Community

The area is socially, ethnically and religiously diverse. It is home to St Johns and St Stephen's Church of England and primary school, Wycliffe Baptist church, Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara and several small Islamic centres. It has an active community both environmentally (being home to Reading's first Green party Councillor and for families with the local children's centre.East Reading children's centre
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Education

Local schools include New Town Primary School and St John's Primary. Both are in the area of Newtown. The closest comprehensive secondary schools are Maiden Erlegh in

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 Bulmershe in Woodley.

References

External links

East Reading websiteEast Reading Childrens Centres
{{Reading, Berkshire Suburbs of Reading, Berkshire