West Reading is a locality or informal subdivision 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 ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

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 ...

, with its own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

which opened in 1906, by which time its main roads were an established housing area. West Reading is one of multiple suburbs of Reading such as

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 ...

and Whitley.

Extent

The locality has no formal boundaries, but the name is generally used to refer to the area to the west of Reading's commercial centre, merging into or to the north of the suburbs of Coley and Southcote, to the east of the suburb of

and to the south of the Reading to Bristol railway line. As such it includes the relatively densely populated area along and surrounding the Oxford Road as far as the foot of Norcot Hill, which is a typical example of the British town's rows of

terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s, as well as the more affluent area between this road and the

Bath Road The A4 is a major road in England from Central London to Avonmouth via Heathrow Airport, Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Bath, Somerset, Bath and Bristol. It is historically known as the Bath Road with newer sections including the Great West Road ...

and alongside Tilehurst Road as far as Prospect Park and its slopes. West Reading is in the borough of Reading, comprising Battle ward together with parts of

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 ...

, Minster, Norcot and Southcote wards. Whereas most of this area is in the

Reading West parliamentary constituency Reading West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Alok Sharma, a Conservative. He is currently serving in the Cabinet as the President for COP26. Sharma previously served as the Business Secre ...

, the Abbey ward portion (between 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 ...

and Prospect Street / George Street) is in the

Reading East parliamentary constituency Reading East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Matt Rodda, of the Labour Party. The seat is one of two won (held or gained) by a Labour candidate in 2017 from a total of eight covering Ber ...

History

The area has a 21st-century supermarket and residential estate on the site of Battle Hospital, once Reading's largest general hospital in site area, adjoining Oxford Road. The Elm Park stadium in West Reading was home to

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 ...

from 1896 to 1998 and was redeveloped as a housing estate between 1998 and 2000. The

Bath Road Reservoir Bath Road Reservoir is an underground reservoir complex in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Located to the North-West of the Bath Road in West Reading, the complex covers . It comprises two underground reservoirs, covere ...

, a minor water storage

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

and ornate brick-built

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as well drilling, drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastru ...

is an elevated landmark along the Bath Road, built in the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. The early 21st-century years saw residents' opposition defeat an attempt by

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshir ...

to demolish the pumping station, level the reservoir and redevelop the site for housing.

Transport

West Reading is served by

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 . Hist ...

on the local lines between Reading/

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 ...

and Reading/ Newbury.

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 ...

operates frequent services along the Oxford Road, Bath Road and Tilehurst Road corridors.

Amenities and events

The district contains the

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

es of All Saints, Holy Trinity, St. Mark and Tylehurst St George, together with English Martyrs Church in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church. 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 ...

runs through the streets of West Reading every year and into the town centre.

References

{{Reading, Berkshire Suburbs of Reading, Berkshire