Reading, Berkshire - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reading Borough of Reading
Town & Borough
From top left: the Town Hall and St Laurence's Church, the Maiwand Lion, the Town Centre skyline from the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading Abbey and The Oracle
Motto(s):  A Deo et Regina With God and Queen
Reading shown within Berkshire
Coordinates: 51°27′15″N 0°58′23″W / 51.45417°N 0.97306°W / 51.45417; -0.97306
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Ceremonial county	Berkshire
Historic county	Berkshire (south of River Thames) Oxfordshire (north of River Thames)
Admin HQ	Reading
Settled	871 or earlier
Town Status	1086 or earlier
Government
• Type	Unitary authorities
• Governing bodies	Reading Borough Council West Berkshire Council (suburbs) Wokingham Borough Council (suburbs)
• Mayor	Cllr Tony Jones[1]
• Deputy Mayor	Cllr Sarah Hacker
• Leader	Cllr Jason Brock [2]
• Deputy Leader	Cllr Liz Terry[2]
Elevation	200 ft (61 m)
Population  (2005 est.)
• Town & Borough	162,700 (Ranked 115th)
• Density	10,430/sq mi (4,026/km2)
• Urban	318,014 (Ranked 20th in England and Wales)
• Ethnicity	74.8% White (65.3% White British) 9.1% South Asian 6.7 % Black 3.9% Mixed Race 4.5% Chinese and Other Asian 0.9% Other
Demonym(s)	Readingensian Readingite
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postal Code	RG
Area code	0118
Grid Ref.	SU713733
ONS code	00MC (ONS) E06000038 (GSS)
ISO 3166-2	GB-RDG
NUTS 3	UKJ11
Website	reading.gov.uk

Reading (pronounced: "Redding") is a large town in Berkshire in England.^[3] It is the largest settlement in Berkshire. It is home to about 230,000 people. Reading is found in South East England, between London and Bristol. The River Thames goes through the town. Reading replaced Abingdon as the county town of Berkshire in 1867.

There is a large statue of a lion in Forbury Gardens, and local legend has it that the sculptor killed himself by jumping off the top because he had sculpted the legs wrong. The lion is a memorial to soldiers from Berkshire who were killed in Maiwand, (Afghanistan) in a war in 1880.

Reading is the home of a school which used to be a Hospital in World War I and World War II. It is named Redlands Primary School.

Madejski stadium is home to the Reading Football Club whose nickname is "The Royals". They are also known as the "Biscuit Men". The stadium was opened on 22 August 1998.

Reading is the largest town in England. Of course, there are larger cities in England but Reading has not been granted city status and it doesn't have a cathedral. Also, Reading is home to the Oracle, a huge shopping centre and a large university named University of Reading.

Reading began life as a Saxon Settlement. Reading was originally called Reada Ingas, which means people of Reada. Reada was a Saxon leader in the area with his tribe in the 6th century.

The Normans built a wooden castle in Reading. It was later replaced by a stone castle. The king then demolished the castle in 1152 fearing it might come into the hands of his enemies.

Reading was an important centre in the medieval period, as the site of Reading Abbey, a monastery with strong royal connections

The Huntley and Palmer's biscuit factory was the biggest in the world in 1914 and one factory was built on Kings Road by George Palmer in 1846.

"The Blade" in central Reading is the tallest building in Reading. It is 86 metres tall. It is visible from many places in the town.

Palmer Park was founded by George Palmer and it has a statue of George Palmer in it. Palmer Park was built for his workers to rest and people still enjoy using the park today.

There is a very famous hospital called The Royal Berkshire Hospital. It was opened in 1839.

Lots of schools in Reading took part in "Beat The Street" in 2015.

TV presenter Chris Tarrant (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) and comedian Ricky Gervais are from Reading, and also actress Kate Winslet, who has a road named after her. Musician Mike Oldfield is also from Reading. Tony Sullivan (local legend) is also a resident in the town. The town has two universities and is famous for its rock festival. Reading is home to Championship football and rugby teams.

• Reading railway station
• Great Western Railway

Media related to Reading, Berkshire at Wikimedia Commons