West Reading is a locality or informal subdivision of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire, 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 prep ...

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 boundarie ...

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, Bath and Bristol. It is historically known as the Bath Road with newer sections including the Great West Road and Portway. The road was once the ...

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 con ...

, Minster, Norcot and Southcote wards. Whereas most of this area is in the Reading West parliamentary constituency, the Abbey ward portion (between the Inner Distribution Road and Prospect Street / George Street) is in the Reading East parliamentary constituency.

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 from 1896 to 1998 and was redeveloped as a housing estate between 1998 and 2000. The Bath Road Reservoir, 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 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 to demolish the pumping station, level the reservoir and redevelop the site for housing.

Transport

West Reading is served by Reading West railway station on the local lines between Reading/ Basingstoke and Reading/ Newbury. Reading Buses operates frequent services along the Oxford Road, Bath Road and Tilehurst Road corridors.

Amenities and events

The district contains the Church of England parish churches 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 runs through the streets of West Reading every year and into the town centre.

References

{{Reading, Berkshire Suburbs of Reading, Berkshire