READING, BERKSHIRE

'Reading' is a town, unitary authority (the 'Borough of Reading') and urban area in the English county of Berkshire. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between London and Swindon off the M4 motorway. The name ''Reading'' is pronounced to rhyme with ''bedding'' (in IPA ).
Reading was an important national centre in the medieval period, as the site of an important monastery with strong royal connections, but suffered serious economic damage during the 17th century from which it took a long time to recover. Today it is again an important commercial centre, with strong links to information technology and insurance. It is also a university town, with two universities and a large student population.

Contents

Geography

Location

Definition

Suburbs

History

Government

Local government

Boundaries

National government

Town twinning

Economy

Retail

Institutions

Religion

Education

Libraries & Museums

Healthcare

Transport

River transport

Road transport

Rail transport

Local public transport

Utilities

Culture

General arts

Music

Theatre

Media

Sport

Literature

Other

See also

References

External links

Geography

Location

Reading is located some 66 km (41 miles) due west of central London, 48 km (30 miles) southeast of Oxford and 64 km (40 miles) east of Swindon. The centre of Reading is on a low ridge between the Rivers Thames and Kennet close to their confluence, reflecting the town's history as a river port. Just before the confluence, the Kennet cuts through a narrow steep-sided gap in the hills forming the southern flank of the Thames flood plain. The absence of a floodplain on the Kennet in this defile enabled the development of wharves.
As Reading has grown, its suburbs have spread in three directions:

★ to the west between the two rivers into the foothills of the Berkshire Downs,

★ to the south and south-east on the south side of the Kennet, and

★ to the north of the Thames into the Chiltern Hills.
However outside the central area, the floors of the valley containing the two rivers remain largely unimproved floodplain, subject to occasional flooding. Apart from one road across the Kennet floodplain, and the M4 looping to the south, the only routes between the three built-up areas are in the central area, creating road congestion there.
Reading has its own subregional catchment area, incorporating the towns of Wokingham, Bracknell and Twyford, plus large villages such as Pangbourne, Theale, Winnersh, Burghfield and Shiplake.

Definition

It should be noted that, depending on the definition adopted, neither the town nor the urban area are necessarily co-terminous with the borough.
Thus, the borough has a population of 144,000 in an area of 40.40 km², whilst the Office for National Statistics' definition of the urban area of Reading is significantly larger at 232,662 people in an area of 55.35 km². This latter area – sometimes referred to as Greater Reading – incorporates the town's eastern and western suburbs outside the borough, in the civil parishes of Earley, Woodley, Purley-on-Thames and Tilehurst (see below for further details). This urban area is itself a component of the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area. Reading is the 17th largest settlement in England, based on the population of the urban area. Table KS01 Usual resident population Population overview
Historically, the town of Reading was smaller than the current borough, and has had several definitions over the years. Such definitions include the old ecclesiastical parishes of Reading St Mary, St Laurence and St Giles, or the even smaller pre-19th century borough. An Historical Atlas of Berkshire, , Joan (ed.), Dils, Berkshire Record Society, ,

Suburbs

Reading has a number of suburbs, 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 civil parishes, there are no formally defined boundaries. The borough itself is unparished, and the wards used to elect the borough councillors generally ignore the accepted suburbs and use invented ward names.
The suburbs include:

★ Calcot, Caversham, Caversham Heights, Caversham Park Village, Coley, Coley Park

★ Earley, Emmer Green

★ Fords Farm

★ Horncastle

★ Katesgrove

★ Little Heath, Lower Caversham, Lower Earley

★ Maiden Erlegh

★ Newtown

★ Purley-On-Thames

★ Southcote

★ Tilehurst

★ Whitley, Whitley Wood, Woodley

History

The settlement was founded at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet in the eighth century as ''Readingum''. The name is probably from the Anglo-Saxon for "(Place of) Readda's People", or (less probably) the Celtic Rhydd-Inge, "Ford over the River". It was occupied by the Vikings after the Battle of Reading (871), but had recovered sufficiently by its 1086 Domesday Book listing to contain around 600 people and be made a designated borough. The town was a place of pilgrimage in medieval times to Reading Abbey. In 1253 Reading's Merchant Guild successfully petitioned for the grant of a charter from the King and negotiated a division of authority with the Abbey. The dissolution of the Abbey saw Henry VIII grant the Guild a new charter in 1542 with which to become a borough corporation to run the town.
By the end of the 16th century Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, home to over 3,000 people. During the Medieval period and Tudor times Reading grew rich on its trade in cloth, as instanced by the fortune made by local merchant John Kendrick. The town played an important role during the English Civil War; it changed hands a number of times. Despite its fortifications, it had a Royalist garrison imposed on it in 1642. The subsequent siege by the Parliamentary forces succeeded in April 1643. However the taxes levied on the town by the garrison badly damaged its cloth trade, and it did not recover. Reading was also the only site of significant fighting in England during the Revolution of 1688 with the Battle of Reading.
The 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. Agricultural products from the surrounding area still used Reading as a market place, especially at the famous Reading cheese fair but now trade was coming in from a wider area. Reading's trade benefited from better designed turnpike roads which helped its establish its location on the major coaching routes from London to Oxford and the west country. It also gained from increasing river traffic on both the Thames and Kennet. In 1723 despite considerable local opposition the Kennet Navigation opened the River Kennet to boats as far as Newbury. This opposition stopped when it became apparent the new route benefited the town. The opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810 made it possible to go by barge from Reading to the Bristol Channel.
In 1801, the population of Reading was about 9,400. During the 19th century, Reading grew rapidly as a manufacturing centre. Reading maintained its representation by two Members of Parliament with the Reform Act 1832, and the borough was one of the ones reformed as a municipal borough by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. In 1836 the Reading Borough Police were founded. The Great Western Railway arrived in 1841, followed by the South Eastern Railway, in 1849, and the London and South Western Railway, in 1856. The ''Reading Establishment'', an early commercial photographic studio, operated in Reading from 1844 to 1847 and was managed by Nicholaas Henneman, a Dutchman and former valet of William Henry Fox Talbot (a pioneer of photography).^[1] Many of the images for ''The Pencil of Nature'' by Fox Talbot, the first book to be illustrated with photographic prints, were printed in Reading.
In 1851 the population was 21,500. The town became the County Town (superseding Abingdon^[2]) in 1867 and became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888. By 1900, the population was 59,000 — large sections of the housing in Reading are terraced, reflecting its 19th century growth. The town has been famous for the "Three Bs" of 'b'eer (from 1785 dominated by the Simonds' Brewery - India Pale Ale was invented in Reading), 'b'ulbs (1807–1976, Suttons Seeds), and 'b'iscuits (1822–1977, Huntley & Palmers). In the 19th century the town also made 'Reading Sauce', described as a sharp sauce flavoured with onions, spices, and herbs, very like Worcestershire Sauce.
The town continued to expand in the 20th century, annexing Caversham across the River Thames in Oxfordshire in 1911. This expansion can be seen in the number of 1920s built semi-detached properties, and the 1950s expansion that joined Woodley, Earley and Tilehurst into Reading. Miles Aircraft in Woodley was an important local firm from the 1930s to 1950s. The Lower Earley development, started in the 1970s, was the largest private housing development in Europe. This extended the urban area of Reading up to the M4 motorway, which acts as the southern boundary to the town. Further housing developments have increased the number of modern commuter houses in the surrounding parts of Reading, and 'out-of-town' shopping hypermarkets.
The local shopping centre, The Oracle, built in 1999, is named after the 17th century workhouse founded by John Kendrick which previously occupied the site. The original 'Oracle' gates can be seen in the Museum of Reading in the town hall. It provides 3 storeys of shopping and boosted the local economy by providing 4,000 jobs. Reading has also made itself more appealing to tourists by pedestrianising Broad street

Government

Borough of Reading
Reading
Geography
Status:	Unitary, Borough
Region:	South East England
Ceremonial County:	Berkshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 318th 40.40 km²
Admin. HQ:	Reading
ONS code:	00MC
Demographics
Population: - Total () - Density	Ranked / km²
Ethnicity:	86.8% White 5.2% S.Asian 4.1% Afro-Carib 0.7% Chinese.
Politics
http://www.reading.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:
Mayor of Reading	Councillor Bet Tickner

Local government

Reading has had some degree of local government autonomy since 1253 when the local merchant guild was granted a royal charter. Over the years since then the town has been run by a borough corporation, as a county borough, and as a district of Berkshire. The Borough of Reading became a unitary authority area in 1998 when Berkshire County Council was abolished under the Banham Review, and is now responsible for all aspects of local government within the borough.^[3]
The borough council has bid for city status in several recent competitions but, as of 2007, these have all been unsuccessful. The application for city status is politically controversial, with some groups of residents strongly opposed, whilst others support the bid.

Boundaries

Since 1887, the borough has included the former villages of Southcote and Whitley and small parts of Earley and Tilehurst. The Story of Reading, , Daphne, Phillips, Countryside Books, , By 1911, it also encompassed the Oxfordshire village of Caversham and still more of Tilehurst. A small area of Mapledurham parish was added in 1977 and a small area of Eye and Dundsen parish in 1997. However, as noted above, it still excludes several settlements that form a significant part of the current urban area.
Reading's municipal boundaries are particularly old and constrained; and proposals occasionally surface to expand the borough to include them. It is believed that Reading's chances of receiving City Status would be substantially boosted if these suburbs were to be included within the borough.
However, the constricted nature of the borough also creates more serious difficulties for the town, as it attempts to develop and grow. The diminishing amount suitable land within the borough's boundary can bring the council in to conflict with those neighbouring it, who in turn have their own priorities and requirements. The longest running example of this is the planned third crossing of the Thames. So far, South Oxfordshire's politicians and residents, whose primary concern is maintaining the non-urbanisation of their region, have successfully opposed this.^[4] As a consequence, the debate has at times become somewhat acrimonious between the opposing sides, and little progress has been made.
:''"However, the process has been painfully slow and it appears that, for every two steps forwards, there are three steps backwards—mainly because of the view of South Oxfordshire district council, which is being incredibly parochial about this matter. Meanwhile, Reading borough council is adopting strategies that prioritise local traffic in Reading, obviously to the detriment of through traffic. We have now reached the point at which we desperately need direct Government intervention to break the logjam between those local authorities."''
: - Mr. Rob Wilson MP (Reading, East), House of Commons debate.^[5]

National government

Reading has elected at least one Member of Parliament to every Parliament since 1295. Historically Reading was represented at various times by the members for the former Parliamentary Borough of Reading, and the members for the former parliamentary constituencies of Reading, Reading North, and Reading South.
Today Reading and the surrounding area is divided between the parliamentary constituencies of Reading East, represented by Rob Wilson, and Reading West, represented by Martin Salter. The whole of the town is within the multi-member South East England european constituency.

Town twinning

Reading is twinned with:^[6]

★ - Düsseldorf, Germany (since 1947, officially since 1988)

★ - Clonmel, Ireland (since 1994)

★ - San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua (since 1994)

★ - Speightstown, Barbados (since 2003)

Economy

Reading is an important commercial centre in Southern England and is often referred to as the capital of the Thames Valley, with the headquarters of some major British companies and the UK offices of a number of major foreign multinationals, especially in the IT industry, including ING Direct, Microsoft, Oracle, Sage, Xansa, Cisco, Symbol Technologies and Yell.com. Several of these are located at the Thames Valley Business Park.

Retail

Reading is a major shopping centre. The principal shopping area is around Broad Street, which was pedestrianised in 1995. Broad Street is anchored at its east and west ends respectively by The Oracle and Broad Street Mall enclosed shopping centres.
There are three major department stores in Reading: John Lewis Reading (formerly known as ''Heelas''), Debenhams and House of Fraser. There are also branches of the chains Marks and Spencers, Bhs, H&M, Primark and UNIQLO.
The booksellers Waterstone's have two branches in Reading. Their Broad Street branch is of particular interest, as it is a remarkable conversion of a nonconformist chapel dating from 1707.
Besides the two major shopping malls, Reading possesses three smaller shopping arcades, the Bristol & West Arcade, Harris Arcade and The Walk, which contain smaller specialist stores.
The Oracle shopping centre has put Reading on the national map as one of the top ten retail destinations in the UK since it regularly attracts over 250,000 people passing through on a Saturday alone. It plays host to a number of major retailers which had previously not been present in the town. The name sometimes causes confusion with the unrelated Oracle IT company, whose UK headquarters are situated in Reading.

Institutions

Religion

Reading Minster, or the ''Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin'' as it is more properly known, 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 and is now the seat of the Bishop of Reading. The other two ancient parish churches in the town are those dedicated to St Giles and St Laurence.
Reading Abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121. He was buried there, as were parts of Empress Matilda, 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 relics including the hand of St. James. The abbey was largely destroyed in 1538 during the Dissolution and Henry VIII had the abbot, Hugh Cook Faringdon, hanged.

Education

Reading School, founded in 1125, is the tenth oldest school in England. It is based in Victorian buildings designed by Alfred Waterhouse on Erleigh Road. There are 6 other state secondary schools and 37 state primary schools within the borough, together with a number of private and independent schools, kindergartens and nurseries. Many of the designated schools for pupils in the borough's catchment areas are actually in the neighbouring boroughs.^[7] Besides mainstream schools the Reading area has a Steiner-Waldorf school and an active Education Otherwise home schooling network.
The University of Reading was established in 1892 as an affiliate of Oxford University, and moved to its London Road Campus in 1904. Reading was chartered as an independent university in 1926 and moved onto its new Whiteknights Campus in 1947. It took over the Bulmershe teacher training college in 1982, creating its Bulmershe Court Campus. All three campuses are still in use, although Whiteknights is by far the largest.
The more recent Thames Valley University, which also has campuses in Slough and Ealing, now runs what was previously ''Reading College & School of Arts and Design'' on two sites in east Reading.

Libraries & Museums

The Reading Borough Public Library service dates back to 1877. The Central Library which was opened in 1985 contains the Reading Local Studies Library which provides books, maps, and illustrations of the history of the town and Berkshire.
The Museum of Reading opened in 1883 in the Town Hall, parts of which date back to 1786. The museum contains galleries relating to the history of Reading and its related industries and to the excavations of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester Roman Town), together with a copy of the Bayeux Tapestry, an art collection, and galleries relating to Huntley & Palmers
The University of Reading runs the Museum of English Rural Life, the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology, the Cole Museum of Zoology, and the Harris Garden. In the suburb of Woodley, the Museum of Berkshire Aviation has a collection of aircraft and other artifacts relating to the aircraft industry in the town.

Healthcare

The principal National Health Service (NHS) hospital in Reading is the Royal Berkshire Hospital, originally founded in 1839 but much enlarged and rebuilt since. Until recently there was a second major NHS general hospital, the Battle Hospital, but this closed in 2005 with the patients and most staff moved to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. A third NHS hospital, Prospect Park Hospital, specialises in the provision of care for people with mental health problems, and for some people with learning disabilities. Book Launch: Battle Hospital History Welcome to Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Reading is also served by two private hospitals, the Capio Reading Hospital in Coley suburb and the Dunedin Hospital situated on the main A4 Bath Road. Capio Reading Private Hospital Dunedin Hospital

Transport

Reading's location in the Thames Valley to the west of London means that it has always had a significant position in the nation's transport system.

River transport

The town grew up as a river port at the confluence of the Thames and Kennet. Both of these rivers remain navigable, and the locks of Caversham Lock, Blake's Lock, County Lock, Fobney Lock and Southcote Lock are all within the borough. Today navigation is exclusively leisure oriented, with private and hire boats dominating traffic.
Several scheduled boat services operate on the Thames, operating from wharves on the Reading side of the river near Caversham Bridge. Salters Steamers operate a summer daily service from just downstream of the bridge to Henley-on-Thames, taking somewhat over two hours in each direction and calling at the riverside villages of Sonning and Shiplake. Thames River Cruises operate several different trips from just upstream of the bridge, including a service on summer weekends and bank holidays to Mapledurham, taking 45 minutes in each direction and allowing two hours ashore for visits to Mapledurham Watermill and Mapledurham House.^[8][9]

Road transport

Reading was also a major staging point on the old Bath Road (A4) from London to Bath and Bristol. This road still carries local traffic, but has now been replaced for long distance traffic by the M4 motorway, which closely skirts the borough and serves it with three junctions (J10–J12).
Within Reading there is the Inner Distribution road (IDR), a ring road for local traffic movements. The council has put forward a plan to make the IDR one-way. This has proved highly controversial and the plan is now (June 2007) under review. [1]
The A329(M), A33 and A4 national routes link the town with junctions 10, 11 and 12 of the M4 motorway respectively. The IDR is linked with the M4 by the recently constructed A33 relief road, which runs past the Madejski stadium and Green Park Business complex.
The Thames is crossed by both Reading and Caversham road bridges, whilst several road bridges cross the Kennet. There has long been a desire to construct a third bridge across the Thames, to the east of the existing bridges, thus removing one of the town's bottlenecks and easing traffic congestion. However the proximity of the county border means that any such route will have to pass through South Oxfordshire, and this development has so far been blocked by its residents and politicians.^[10]

Rail transport

Reading is a major junction point on the national rail system, and as a consequence Reading station is the UK's second busiest transfer point outside of London (after Birmingham New Street), as well as serving heavy originating and terminating traffic. The main route is the Great Western Main Line, which runs westwards from London's Paddington station
The line divides at Reading, from where the Berks and Hants Line proceeds across country to Taunton,
whence it joins the main line to Devon and Cornwall from Bristol. The original Bristol line divides at Didcot with a branch running on to Oxford and Birmingham
Another branch of the former Great Western Western Main Line leaves the Berks and Hants Line at Southcote Junction, forming a link with the South Coast. Secondary lines connect Reading with London's Waterloo station, Guildford, Gatwick Airport and Brighton . An express bus service named RailAir links Reading with Heathrow Airport. An alternative route is Reading-Hayes-Heathrow, using the Heathrow Connect rail service.

Local public transport

Local public transport is largely road-based, and can be affected by the significant peak hour congestion in the borough. A comprehensive and frequent local bus network within the borough, and a less frequent network in the surrounding area, are provided by Reading Buses. Other bus operators include:

★ First Bus, Reading-Winnersh-Wokingham-Bracknell service

★ Thames Travel,

★
★ Reading-Arborfield-Wokingham service

★
★ Reading-Wallingford-Oxford service

★ Arriva, Reading-High Wycombe service

★ Newbury Buses, Reading-Newbury service

★ Countywide travel, Reading-Fleet-Aldershot service

Utilities

Mains water and sewerage services are supplied by Thames Water plc, a private sector water supply company. Water abstraction and disposal is regulated by the Environment Agency. Reading's water supply is largely derived from underground aquifers, and as a consequence the water is considered hard.
As with the rest of the Britain, the choice of commercial energy supplier for electricity and gas is at the consumer's choice. Southern Electric runs the local electricity distribution network, whilst Scotia Gas Networks runs the gas distribution network. One notable part of the local energy infrastructure is the presence of a 2 megawatt (peak) Enercon wind turbine at Green Park, which is wired to the local sub-grid. It was constructed in November 2005 just outside the borders of the borough in the civil parish of Shinfield and is owned by Ecotricity. This turbine can be seen from a large part of Reading, as well as from near junction 11 of the M4. The turbine has the potential to produce 3.5 million units of electricity a year, enough to power 1,063 local homes.
BT provides fixed-line telephone coverage throughout the town, and ADSL broadband internet connection to most areas. Parts of Reading are cabled by Virgin Media, supplying cable television, telephone and broadband internet connections. The dialling code for fixed-line telephones is 0118.
Mobile phone service is available throughout the town, from all the UK licensed network operators and using the GSM and UMTS standards.

Culture

General arts

Reading has a number of arts centres, including concert halls, fine art galleries and general use spaces, with a vibrant arts scene.
In 2006 the Reading Fringe Festival was launched, striving to prove that Reading was "a hotbed of talent" worthy of city status.^[11] Local arts organisations, groups and individuals promote themselves at venues throughout the town in the run-up to Reading Festival.
Reading is home to Remix Reading, a free culture project with a particular focus on copyright and the local arts scene.
Reading is also the home to Gen Con UK, a Games Convention.

Music

Every year Reading plays host the Reading Festival, which has been running since 1971.
While WOMAD found a home in the town in 1990^[12], it has been announced that after 17 years WOMAD Reading is to find a new location, having outgrown the Rivermead site^[13]. Internationally, it is perhaps for these two events that the town is best known.
The town has had mixed fortunes in creating home-grown artists over the years. Perhaps most notable is Mike Oldfield of ''Tubular Bells'' fame. More recently, Slowdive, The Cooper Temple Clause, Stuart Price, Three Litre and Morning Runner plus My Luminaires and SixNationState have had some degree of success. Also, new prog band Pure Reason Revolution and the rising hardcore trance band Enter Shikari originate from the area. The town is also home to nationally acclaimed heavy rock group Exit Ten, as well as indie-synth-pop artist Mr Fogg. David Byron, first and the most famous singer of heavy metal band Uriah Heep lived his last years in Reading before he passed away 1985.
Reading plays host to a large number of semi-professional and amateur choirs and choral societies. Reading Festival Chorus has just celebrated its 60th anniversary. RFC sings a diverse music programme, with works like Mozart's Requiem, Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man in 2005 to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and a summer programme of English and American Folk songs by Tippett and Aaron Copland.
Reading also has a number of orchestras including the long-established Reading Symphony Orchestra (RSO) and Reading Youth Orchestra (RYO). The Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra (APO), named after Richard Aldworth, the founder of Reading Blue Coat School (where it rehearses and plays most of its concerts), was formed relatively recently, in 2002. APO's remit is to be as innovative as possible, giving more local people the chance to play by rehearsing exclusively at weekends, attracting a wider audience to classical music (especially younger people) through its 'Concert Virgin Scheme' & education projects, and championing the music of talented young composers.

Theatre

Reading has several theatre venues, including The Hexagon and 21 South Street, which are professional venues supported by Reading Borough Council. The Hexagon is a multi-purpose venue in the heart of Reading that provides a programme of events including rock, pop, comedy, classical music and dance as well as theatre.^[14] South Street also presents a diverse range of performing arts from both the professional and community sectors, including fringe theatre, comedy, music, dance and live literature.^[15]
Amateur theatre venues in Reading include Progress Theatre,^[16] a self-governing, self-funding theatre group and registered charity founded in 1947 that operates and maintains its own 97-seat theatre.^[17] Progress Theatre produces a yearly open air Shakespeare production in the Reading Abbey Ruins that has come to represent a highlight of Reading's cultural calendar.^[18]

Media

Reading has two local newspapers.

★ The ''Reading Evening Post'' is an evening newspaper published on Mondays to Fridays.

★ The ''Reading Chronicle'' is published weekly, on Thursdays.
Three local radio stations broadcast from Reading: BBC Radio Berkshire, Reading 107 FM and 2-Ten FM. Other local radio stations, such as London's 95.8 Capital FM, Basingstoke's 107.6 Kestrel FM and Slough's Star 106.6 can also be received.
Local television news programmes are the BBC's South Today and ITV's Thames Valley Tonight.

Sport

Reading Football Club, an association football club nicknamed ''The Royals'', has played in Reading since 1871. Formerly based at Elm Park, the club has played in the 24,500 capacity Madejski Stadium home since 1998. Reading are participating in their second season in the elite Premier League in the 2006-07 season, having won the 2005-06 Football League Championship with a record breaking 106 points and 99 goals scored. The Town's second team, Reading Town play in the Combined Counties Football League Premier Division.
Reading is a centre for rugby union football in the area, with the Guinness Premiership team London Irish currently tenants at the Madejski Stadium. Reading is also home to another three senior semi-professional rugby clubs; Reading R.F.C., Redingensians R.F.C. and Reading Abbey R.F.C.. The town plays host to a number of other football variants, such as Gaelic football's St. Anthony's GAA, Australian rules football team Reading Kangaroos, and American football team Reading Renegades. The sport of field hockey is represented by Reading Hockey Club.
The Reading Half Marathon is held on the streets of Reading in March of each year, with as many as 13,500 competitors from elite to fun runners.
The Reading Rockets, are a basketball club that currently play in the English Basketball League. The Rockets were formed in 1997 by the current owner Gary Johnson. The Rockets won the National Cup, and reached EBL Championship Final in 2005, and were League runners-up and Cup Finalists in 2006. In 2007 they won the National Trophy and were league runners-up again. They are thus already firmly established among the elite teams of the EBL.
Like many Thames-side towns, Reading has several rowing clubs, representing both town and university. The local Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake provides training facilities, although much rowing is also conducted on the river itself. Dorney Lake, some 27 km (17 miles) to the east of Reading, provides a full international competition venue and will host the rowing events of the 2012 Summer Olympics. There are also several sailing lakes to the south and southwest of the town, the largest being Theale Lake close to junction 12 of the M4. These lakes are also popular with water-skiing and jet-skiing enthusiasts.
From 1984 to 1994, The Hexagon theatre was home to snooker's Grand Prix tournament, one of the sport's 'big four' Grand Slam events.
Reading is also in the history books of motorsport. Reading-born Richard Burns became the first ever Englishman to win the World Rally Championship, in 2001.
The town is also home to Reading Greyhound Racing and the Reading Racers speedway team, and there is a velodrome at Palmer Park.

Literature

Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in Reading (HM Prison) from 1895 to 1897. While he was there he wrote ''De Profundis'', which was published in 1905. After his release he lived in exile in Paris and wrote ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'', published in 1908.
Jane Austen attended Reading Ladies Boarding School, predecessor of the Abbey School, in 1784-86.
Thomas Hardy painted a rather disparaging picture of the town, lightly disguised as ''Aldbrickham'', in his 1895 novel ''Jude the Obscure''.
T. E. Lawrence lost the first draft of his ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' at Reading railway station.
Thomas Noon Talfourd, the judge and dramatist was born in Reading and later became MP for the town.
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 and Swallowfield.
Charles Dickens was asked to stand as MP for Reading, but declined. He became president of the Reading Athenaeum. In his ''Bleak House'', Esther Summerson goes to school in Reading. His great-granddaughter Monica Dickens died in Reading in 1992.
Jerome K. Jerome did not warm to the town on his famous journey up the Thames in ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1888): ''"The river is dirty and dismal here. One does not linger in the neighbourhood of Reading"''. He does, however, recognise the historical significance of Reading in local history.
Jasper Fforde set his series of Jack Spratt novels in this town.

Other

A Reading edition of Monopoly is available (see Localized versions of the Monopoly game). Perhaps surprisingly, given its size and status in the South East, Reading is not yet officially a city, having missed out during the millennium celebrations when the Queen instead granted Brighton & Hove city status in 2000.
The interview show As It Happens, which airs on CBC Radio One in Canada, is notable for its mention of Reading. Frequently, after concluding an interview with someone in the UK, the host will describe the individual in relation to how far they live from Reading. For example, one might hear "That was professional bagpiper William J. Tweed from Biggleswade, which is about 81 miles north of Reading."
In 1974, the BBC filmed The Family in the town. The show, considered to one of the first reality television shows, When reality TV was in the real world followed the lives of the Wilkins family.
The roadside chain of restaurants Little Chef began in the town back in 1958. Its first branch was a small eleven-seater venue. Little Chef, A65 near Clapham, Lancs.
When Ricky Gervais (who comes from Reading) used to perform a stand-up comedy segment on the British TV show The 11 O'Clock Show, he would often (comically) describe the residents of the Reading suburb Whitley as the lowest members of society. This turned Whitley into a household name for the duration of the series.
In a 2007 poll by Readers Digest, Reading was named the worst place to live for families^[19]

See also

★ List of notable residents of Reading, Berkshire

References

1. Fox-Talbot, William Henry (1800–77), pioneering photographer
2. Abingdon
3. Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996.
4. Third Thames bridge
5. Transport (Greater Reading), 11 Jan 2006
6. Town twinning
7. List of schools
8. Reading to Henley Service
9. Boat service from Reading to Mapledurham
10. Local Transport Plan 2006-2011, chapter 6, figure 6.7
11. Reading Fringe Festival Press release, 24th June
12. WOMAD in Reading
13. Womad venue change after 17 years
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. Reading named worst for families

External links

★

★ Reading Borough Council

★ Reading Pride 2006

★ Reading Guide

★ Reading information

★ Reading's Green Park windfarm

★ Royal Berkshire History: Reading

★ Reading Fringe Festival