Reading West Railway Bridge, Oxford Road, Reading - geograph

Oxford Road is an urban street and major

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...

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, Beginning near the town centre at the meeting of St. Mary's Butts/West Street/Broad Street. The road leads west to

Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a village hall. Outside its grouped developed area is an in ...

, continuing eventually to the city 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 ...

. The road was previously known as ''Pangbourne Lane''. Most of the road is designated the A329.

Reading West railway station Reading West railway station serves West Reading, Berkshire, about west from the town's main retail and commercial areas. The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway. It is down the line the zero point at . His ...

is near the eastern end of Oxford Road. Tilehurst railway station is near the western end of the road, serving the Reading suburb of

Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundaries ...

. The road to the northwest becomes Purley Rise at

Purley on Thames Purley on Thames (known locally as Purley) is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Purley is centred north-west of Reading, east of Pangbourne, and south-east of Oxford. Consequently, Reading is the principal social, economic a ...

, leading to

. To the east in central Reading, it becomes Broad Street, the main pedestrianised shopping street in Reading. Travelling from east to west, the road passes the

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 ...

shopping centre before crossing the town's

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 ...

on a bridge. Some further on, Holy Trinity Church is passesd on the right, closely followed by the Oxford Road Community School at 146 Oxford Road. Battle Library is at 420 Oxford Road. The Oxford Road Community Garden is located in Western Elms Avenue, off the Oxford Road. The entrance to the Battle Hospital (closed in 2005) was located at 344 Oxford Road, where the original gate still stands. The Chatham Street development off Oxford Road, which is still under construction (as of 2010), offers possible improvement for this part of Reading with a £250 million investment scheme, including new shops, accommodation, services and leisure facilities.

Notable residents

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

's Family lived on Western Elms Avenue, where his Father worked as a General Practitioner.

Trivia

The first

Little Chef Little Chef was a chain of restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Sam Alper, who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English – as well as it ...

Restaurant was opened on Oxford Road in 1958.

References

External links

Geography of Reading, Berkshire Shopping streets in Reading, Berkshire Tilehurst {{England-road-stub