Panorama of Reading (England). Virtual tour of Reading (England)

12.02.2022

The city of Reading (or Reading) is located on the River Kennet, a tributary of the Thames, 64 km west of London, in the county of Berkshire. First settlement on site modern city– the village of Ridingum, originated in the 8th century. In 1121, a Benedictine Abbey was founded in Reading, and the city began to grow rapidly. In the first half of the 16th century, Reading was the most big city county and was in the top ten largest cities England. In the 18th century, thanks to iron ore deposits discovered in the vicinity of the city, Reading turned into a major industrial center.

Most of Reading's architectural landmarks double as cultural, religious or educational institutions. The oldest city building is the local cathedral, built at the end of the 11th century. Another no less significant historical attraction of Reading are the ruins of the ancient Benedictine Abbey, founded by King Henry I. To this day, only the main church of the abbey, a mill, a refuge for pilgrims and part of the walls with a gate have been more or less well preserved.

In 1855, a park was laid out around the ruins of the abbey - Forbury Gardens. Created in the best traditions of Victorian parks, it has remained unchanged to this day. In the central part of the park there is a memorial to British soldiers who died during England's colonial wars in Afghanistan of 1838-1842 and 1878-1880. The monument was erected in 1884 and represents a huge stone lion.

A favorite place for tourists is St. James Church, located in the very center of the city, built in 1840. Along with this, in Reading you can see the ancient buildings of the school (1125), the university (1892) and the city council building (1875), which currently houses the public library.

Among the city's museums, it is worth noting the Museum of the History of the City, opened in 1883, the Museum of Zoology, the Museum of the History of the English Province and the Museum of Greek Archeology. The Berkshire Aviation Museum is located in the suburbs of Reading.

The city has Botanical Garden and several parks, on the territory of which concerts are held in the summer open air. In August, Reading hosts the annual Music Festival, the largest event of its kind in the UK. Reading also hosts horse racing and a royal sailing regatta every year.

Reading is a city in England, allocated as a unitary unit in the central part of the ceremonial county of Berkshire. The city stands on the River Kennet, a tributary of the Thames. Ancient churches - St. Mary (XVI century) and St. Lawrence. Cluny (Benedictine) Abbey, founded by Henry I in 1121.

The name Reading comes from the Anglo-Saxon tribe Readingas, whose name means "people of the chief named Reada", and is in no way related to the homographic, but differently pronounced, word reading. At the end of the 19th century, Reading had 60 thousand inhabitants (1891), there were factories of canvas, velvet, ribbons, pins, iron foundries, a biscuit factory; trade played a very significant role. Farming and floriculture flourished in the surrounding area. Converted to a unitary unit on 1 April 1998 from the borough of Reading in the non-metropolitan county of Berkshire. It covers an area of 40 km² and is bordered to the southeast by the unitary unit of Wokingham, to the southwest by the unitary unit of West Berkshire, and to the north by the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities

Electoral districts

Since 1295, Reading, as a city represented in Parliament, has elected two members of the House of Commons of Parliament. From 1885 and from 1955 to 1974 Reading, as a city constituency, elected one Member of Parliament. From 1950-1955 and 1974-1983 the city was divided into Reading North and Reading South constituencies, each of which elected one Member of Parliament. Since 1983, the city has been divided into two districts: eastern and western. From eastern district Member of Parliament is Conservative Rob Wilson, who became Minister for Civil Society on 27 September 2014. From the western constituency - Indian-origin Conservative Alok Sharma.

City Administration

The local government body is Reading City Council. The Borough of Reading is a unitary unit of one level, without division into communities. Municipal boundaries do not include all suburbs. The outer suburbs of Reading are the boroughs of West Berkshire and Wokingham. These suburbs belong to the communities of Woodley, Calcot, Tilhurst, Holybrook and Earley. From 1887 the borough included the former villages of Southcote and Whitley and small parts of Early and Tilhurst. By 1911 the village of Caversham and an even larger part of Tilhurst had also been included. In 1977 a small section of the parish of Mapledurham was added. The city of Reading's right to local government was confirmed in 1253 by a Royal Charter obtained by the local merchant guild. Since then the city has been an independent administrative unit as a city council, city-county and district of Berkshire. Reading became a unitary body in 1998 when Berkshire County Council was abolished on the advice of the England Regional Government Commission. Until the 16th century, the city's civil administration was located at Yeald Hall, the town hall on the River Kennet. As a result of Tudor secularization, the city received two other buildings nearby. The Town Hall has been located since 1543 in a former monastery, which is now…

This term has other meanings, see Reading. Reading ... Wikipedia

City in Great Britain (England), on the river. Thames, west of London, administrative center Berkshire County. 135 thousand inhabitants (1991). Food industry, mechanical engineering. University... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

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Books

Visiting Jane Austen, Lucy Worsley. A new telling of Jane Austen's story will help us understand how and why she lived the way she did. Together with Lucy Worsley we will walk through the writer’s rooms, get acquainted with things that are a lot for...

Performance for children 6+. Sherlock Holmes. Theater behind the Black River in London Mr. Sherlock Holmes is the best detective in the world. He can unravel any complex case and find the criminal without even leaving his famous room on Baker Street. Do you know what a detective's room looks like? It is filled with many intricate devices, magnifying glasses, microscopes and bottles of chemical reagents. And all this helps him in investigating the incredible incidents taking place in London and its environs... But now he is already on stage, which means that he has taken on another case and the incredible adventures of the noble Sherlock Holmes and his brave Doctor Watson await us.

Comedy "Angels on the Roof" The production "Angels on the Roof" is an eccentric comedy that will give viewers a story about how you should never lose hope in life. The main character couldn’t find a better remedy for her problems than going to the roof of a high-rise building. But the unexpected meeting does not allow her to make a mistake - on the contrary, it gave her a second chance. And she will overcome life’s difficulties not alone, but together with other heroes.

The English irregular verb trainer will help you remember their spelling and meaning. Fill in the empty cells. If you spelled it correctly, the word will change color from red to green. Refresh the page or click the "Start Again" button and you will see new order empty cells. Train again!

Modal verbs in English language is a class of auxiliary verbs. Modal verbs are used to express ability, necessity, certainty, possibility or likelihood. We use modal verbs if we talk about abilities or possibilities, ask or give permission, ask, offer, etc. Modal verbs are not used independently, but only with the infinitive of the main verb as a compound predicate.

City of Reading

Reading is a city in the southeast of England in the county of Berkshire, with a population of about 318 thousand people (together with the Wokingham area). The main attractions of the county are the ruins of an abbey, destroyed in the time of Henry VIII, the picturesque valleys of the Thames and Kennet rivers, and stretches of charming countryside.

According to the 2011 census, about 65% of Reading's population is native British. Reading has a significant Polish community. Reading's population speaks more than 150 languages.

The first mention of Reading (with the name Readingum) dates back to the 8th century. There are several versions of the origin of the city's name. The most common version is that the name originates from the Anglo-Saxon word Readingas - the people of Red.

In the Middle Ages, Reading developed as a center for trade in wool and textiles. After the blockade of the city imposed by the English Parliament, the city's economy collapsed and never recovered. In the 19th century, the city's economy was based on 3B - Biscuits (cookies), Beer (beer) and Bulbs (lamp). None of these industries have survived to this day. You can learn about the history of these economic sectors at the city museum. In modern Reading, the fields of computer technology, finance, legal, insurance services, and biopharmaceuticals predominate.

Reading is the prison where Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for homosexuality. Since 2013, the prison has no prisoners, and the prison building is included in the list of buildings protected by the state.

Reading is located at the confluence of the Rivers Thames and Kennet - in a picturesque valley with green hills, thatched cottages and village pubs. The city is surrounded by numerous small historical charming cities and villages - Thatcham, Pangbourne, Streatley. Many of them are included in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Despite its large size, Reading does not have city status. Due to the fact that a large abbey was located in the city, there was no cathedral, which made it possible to obtain this status. In the 21st century, Reading applied to participate in the competition for city status three times, but failed to win the competition on all three occasions.

The city center has been significantly redeveloped in the last 10 years. A modern Oracle shopping center was built on the site of old dilapidated buildings. Shopping mall named after the workhouse that existed on this site since the 17th century. The shopping center employs more than 4,000 thousand people. The city has the headquarters of many international companies: BG Group, ING Direct, Microsoft, Oracle and others.

On the last weekend of August, Reading City Festival is the largest music festival in the country. Since 1994, Reading has hosted a famous beer festival in May.

The city has about 1,000 buildings listed as protected by the state, from medieval buildings to 21st century buildings: Reading Abbey, Abbey Gateway, Greyfriars Church, St Laurence's Church, Reading Minster and others.

The city center gardens have been restored to their Victorian glory. Forbury.

Cast iron lion Maiwand Lion, which has stood in Forbury Gardens for over 100 years, is a war memorial and an unofficial symbol of Reading. The sculpture perpetuates the memory of the soldiers of the infantry regiment who died in the Afghan campaign of 1878-1880.

The Blade - skyscraper and most high building in the city of Reading. Built in 2009, used as a business center. The height of the building is 86 meters.

Reading Abbey in the center of Reading- was founded by the English king Henry I in 1121. In 1538, the abbey was largely destroyed by order of another Henry, Henry VIII. The last abbot of the abbey, Hugh Cook Faringdon, was hanged, quartered and disembowelled after being accused of treason, like many other Catholic priests. And the abbey was destroyed and plundered. Currently, the ruins of the abbey are carefully preserved.

Church of St. Mary the Virgin- the oldest building in Reading. Founded on the site of a 7th century chapel.

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Reading geographically located in the picturesque valley of the confluence of the rivers Kennet and Thames in the south-east of England in Berkshire. The population of the city is 230 thousand people. Reading combines a vibrant modern atmosphere with historic countryside charm. The city's economy is the fastest growing in England. Reading is the center of the UK IT industry, where companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, Ericsson and others have large offices. In addition to computer technology, financial and legal sectors, insurance services and biopharmaceuticals are developed here.

Cast iron lion Maivand ( Maiwand Lion), which has stood in Forbury Gardens for over 100 years, is a war memorial and an unofficial symbol of Reading. The sculpture perpetuates the memory of the soldiers of the infantry regiment who died in the Afghan campaign of 1878-1880.

City name - Reading- comes from an Anglo-Saxon tribe Readingas, which means "people of Reda", "people of a chief named Reada". The first mention of Reading (with the name Readingum) dates back to the 8th century. So its name has nothing to do with the differently pronounced modern English word reading.

In the Middle Ages, Reading developed as a center for trade in wool and textiles. In the 16th century it was one of the largest in the country, and two centuries later it became an industrial center due to iron ore deposits discovered nearby. After the blockade of the city imposed by the English Parliament, Reading's economy fell into decline. In the 19th century, the city's economy was based on 3B - Biscuits (cookies), Beer (beer) and Bulbs (lamps). None of these industries have survived to this day.

The town is set in a picturesque valley with green hills, thatched cottages and village pubs, surrounded by many charming villages - Thatcham, Pangbourne, Streatley. Many are included in the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty. Despite its large size, Reading does not have city status. The main attractions of the county are the ruins of the abbey, destroyed during the time of Henry VIII

Due to the fact that a large abbey was located here, Reading for a long time did not have a cathedral, which made it possible to obtain this status. In the 21st century, Reading applied for participation in the competition for city status three times, but failed to win the competition on all three occasions.

After the abbey, which until the 16th century played a key role in both the religious and political life of the country, fell into disrepair, most of the buildings were abandoned, and some were completely taken away brick by brick. Today, in their place are the beautiful Forbury Gardens. www.getreading.co.uk

Forbury Gardens were laid out back in the 19th century on the site of several former buildings that belonged to the destroyed Abbey of Cluny (Benedictines), founded by Henry I in 1121.

The main decoration of Forburi is a huge statue of a lion, which was installed in the park in memory of the soldiers killed in the Afghan war.

The gardens are located next to the church St. Laurence. St Lawrence's Church was built over 800 years ago, during the Norman period, but was extensively rebuilt in the 12th century, then in the 15th and 19th centuries. Its design feature was an impressive three-story tower, built in the mid-15th century. Several interesting objects remain inside the church: in particular, a memorial to John Blagrave, an English mathematician of the 16th century. The building underwent its last construction and restoration after heavy bombing during the Second World War. Today the church belongs to the missionaries.

www. saintlaurenreading.com

Reading boasts five listed buildings. historical monuments first degree. These are the Abbey, Abbey Gate, St. Lawrence and Greyfriars churches, as well as the Minster (St. Mary's Church). In general, the architecture of the city contains a mixture of a lot of styles and trends, from the Middle Ages to the modernity of the 21st century.

Town Hall

Abbey from the time of Henry I in the center of Reading ( Reading Abbey

Abbey from the time of Henry I in the center of Reading ( ReadingAbbey) was largely destroyed in 1538 by order of another Henry, Henry VIII. The last abbot of the abbey, Hugh Cook Faringdon, was hanged, quartered and disembowelled after being accused of treason, like many other Catholic priests. And the abbey was destroyed and plundered. Currently, the ruins of the abbey are carefully preserved.

Greyfriars is an evangelical Anglican church founded in the 13th century by monks of the Order of St. Francis and the oldest currently functioning Franciscan church in Great Britain. At the same time, it is considered the best preserved of the Franciscan church buildings in the country. In 2000, the interior of the church was completely refurbished and the Victorian pews were replaced with modern furniture.

Minster Church of St. Virgin Mary ( MinsterChurchofStMarytheVirgin) is the oldest building in Reading. Founded on the site of a 7th century chapel:

Church of St. Virgin Mary ( Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin) is the oldest building in Reading. Founded on the site of a 7th century chapel:

After the decline of the abbey, it acquired paramount importance in the spiritual life of the city. Today it is an Anglican church, not to be confused with the other St Mary's Church in Castle Street, just a few meters away. The first chapel on the site of the Minster was built in the 7th century, and the main part of the current structure dates from the late 11th century. During the Reformation, the church lost its altar, stained glass windows and statues, and in the 16th century it was already in need of serious reconstruction. In 1918, the St. Edward's Memorial Chapel was added to the building, and the last restoration work here was completed only in 2003. Today the bell tower houses bells, the oldest of which were cast in 1640; and the Minster organ was created in 1862 by Henry Willis father and rebuilt by his own company in 1936.

Also notable are the mid-19th-century Roman Catholic Church of St. James in the city center, near the abbey ruins, and the gabled church of St. Gilles, built in the 12th century south of the canal for a congregation too far to reach the Church of St. Mary. Other notable buildings include a 12th-century school, one of the 16 oldest in England, a 19th-century university, and the 19th-century Bath sandstone Royal Hospital building.

Reading's cultural treasures are housed in several museums: in particular, the historical one, opened in the second half of the 19th century in the beautiful old Town Hall building, built in the 18th and 19th centuries. It contains exhibitions related to the history of Reading and Calleva, as well as the Bayeux Tapestry and the Huntly and Palmers factory. The city also has the Cole Zoological Museum and Harris Botanical Garden, both on the campus of Whitenight University. At the Berkshire Aviation Museum, located in the suburb of Woodley, you can view a collection of aircraft that were produced in the city.

Two museums that are particularly curious for their unusualness are the Ure Museum of Greek Archeology and Historical Museum provincial life in the eastern part of the city, on the former East Thorpe estate. Both museums are run by the University of Reading. The former houses one of the most important collections of Greek ancient art in the entire Kingdom. The second museum has photographs, archives, films, books and a wide variety of objects: in total more than 22,000 exhibits spanning the last 200 years. Admission to both museums is free.

But first of all, Reading is famous for the fact that such world-famous people as the writer Jane Austen, the current Countess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, and the writer Oscar Wilde were born in it.

Reading is located jail, where Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for homosexuality (from 1895 to 1897). Since 2013, the prison has no prisoners, and the prison building is included in the list of buildings protected by the state. Here, from January to March 1887, Wilde wrote a confessional letter, DeProfundis, addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas. After his release, Oscar Wilde wrote the famous “Ballad of Reading Gaol,” which is based on real events: the execution of one of the prisoners, cavalry guard Charles Thomas Woolridge, who was sentenced to death for murdering his wife out of jealousy. J. Rowling mentions this city in the novel “The Casual Vacancy”: Gaia’s father and Andrew’s relatives live here, whose parents are planning to move there.

Interestingly, Reading is mentioned in the essay “The Kremlin Dreamer” by the English science fiction writer H. G. Wells as a city “famous for its brothels”:

« I was shown stunning statistical data collected and published by the Bolsheviks on the moral decay of Petrograd youth. I don’t know how they would compare with English statistics, if any, about some of the worst areas for young people in London or about notorious hangout towns like Reading.”

Since 1994, Reading has hosted a famous beer festival in May.

The city has about 1,000 more buildings included in the list of state-protected buildings, from medieval buildings to 21st-century buildings.

Blade ( The Blade) is a skyscraper and the tallest building in the city of Reading. Built in 2009, used as a business center. The height of the building is 86 meters.

Crown Court:

The city center has been significantly redeveloped in the last 10 years. A modern Oracle shopping center was built on the site of old dilapidated buildings. The shopping center is named after the workhouse that existed on this site since the 17th century. The shopping center employs more than 4,000 thousand people. The city is home to the headquarters of many international companies: BGGroup, INGDirect, Microsoft, Oracle, building materials supplier Wolseley, information technology company Logica, telephone directory publisher YellGroup, NVIDIA, HP, DELL and many others.

University of Reading included in the top 200 universities in the world and in the top 20 British universities with the strongest scientific base. The university is evolving in response to changes taking place in the world, which reflects the excellent level of research work of the university. Students and teachers have strong support from the university and gain interesting and high-quality experience.

The university has extensive experience in accepting foreign students, and currently about 3,500 students from 130 countries study and live at the university.

Main Campus Whiteknights spread over 160 hectares of beautiful parkland with green lawns, places for outdoor recreation and picturesque lake. The University recently invested more than £100 million to renew its campus buildings, including student residences and the university's sports park.

Bus routes 20 and 21 depart from railway station/center and go straight to campus. Heathrow Airport is 40 minutes by bus from the city, 25 minutes drive by high speed train from Central London.

http://www.reading.ac.uk

Most of Reading's population is native British, but there is a large Polish community. Reading's population speaks more than 150 languages.

Summer in Reading is a time for major festivals. Here, in the very big park The city of ProspectPark hosts an annual carnival. In mid-July, tourists from all over the world flock to the three-day Reading Jazz Festival. And in August the sounds of the guitar explode - Reading hosts Europe's largest rock festival, which attracts more than fifty thousand guests from Europe and the UK.

Over the years of the festival, almost all the legends of rock music have performed at it. In particular, last year in Reading one could hear such bands as Nirvana, SystemofaDown, GreenDay, Deftones, NineInchNails, Blink-182 and others.

www.readingfestival.com
ticket for the whole weekend, including all festival events - £210.5

The city of Reading is home to the professional football club Reading, which competes in the English Football League championships and hosts its opponents at the Madejski Stadium (24 thousand spectators). One of the most famous English rugby clubs, London Irish, plays home matches at the same stadium.

In the first half of the 19th century, the Huntley and Palmers biscuit factory was opened in Reading, which won such wide popular recognition that the number local residents jumped sharply, and the whole city began to be called “baked.” Today the company's headquarters are based in Suffolk, Sudbury, and the Reading factory is not operational. But the city's football team is still called the "baked men."

http://britainrus.co.uk

Have a nice trip, friends! @Milendia