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Reading has served as the county town of Berkshire since 1867 and lies at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between London and Swindon off the M4 motorway.
Historically, Reading was an important national centre in the medieval period, as the site of an important monastery with strong royal connections, but suffered 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, the University of Reading and Thames Valley University, which provides for a large student population.
The borough of Reading has a population of 144,000, while the Office for National Statistics’ definition of the urban area of Reading is significantly larger at 232,662 people. 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. This urban area is itself a part of the Reading and Wokingham suburban area. Reading is the 17th largest settlement in England, based on the population of the urban area. Except for London Boroughs, it is the most populous settlement that does not have city status.
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. The opening of 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 and department stores.
Besides the two major shopping malls, Reading has three smaller shopping arcades, the Bristol & West Arcade, Harris Arcade and The Walk, which contain smaller specialist stores. An older form of retail facility is represented by Union Street, popularly known as Smelly Alley, a narrow pedestrianised alley lined on both sides by small independent stores, including open fronted fishmongers and greengrocers.
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 major British companies and the UK offices of major foreign multinationals, especially in the IT industry, including Symantec, ING Direct, Microsoft, Oracle, Sage, Xansa, Cisco, Websense and Yell.com. Several of these are at the Thames Valley Business Park.
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. 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. Every year Reading hosts the Reading Festival (twinned with Leeds and on the same weekend), considered to be the largest music festival in the UK after Glastonbury.
Reading 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. The Town’s second team, Reading Town plays in the Combined Counties Football League Premier Division.
Reading is a centre for rugby union in the area, with the Guinness Premiership team London Irish as tenants at the Madejski Stadium. Reading is also home to another three 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.
Reading has plethora of venues, including a whole host of chain bars, clubs and restaurants as well as some of the more unique establishments. Restaurants in Reading are varied and cater for all tastes in cuisine. The nightlife in Reading is wide ranging with a host of theatres, cinemas and comedy clubs. There is something for everybody.
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. Reading was 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).
Reading is a major junction point on the national rail system, and as a consequence Reading station is a major transfer point as well as serving heavy originating and terminating traffic with access to all areas of the country’s rail network. London Paddington is 20 minutes away by train. The nearest airport is London Heathrow which is 30 miles away by road.
Reading caters for all tastes with new developments in the town centre. There is an abundance of suburban areas surrounding Reading centre in which residents live and commute into Reading or indeed into London. Such areas include Earley, Caversham, Wokingham, Tilehurst, Sandford, Purley-on-Thames and Calcot.
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