Saxons and Vikings

Middle Ages

Tudors

Stuarts and Civil War

Georgian

Victorian

20th Century

A brief History of Reading

After the Norman conquest the Domesday book shows Reading as a typical small town. The founding of the Abbey in 1121 changed the fortunes of the town, and the Abbey and the Wool Trade made the town wealthy. In Tudor times, the dissolution of the abbey and the decline of wool made the town poorer, despite the efforts of John Kendrick and the building of the first Oracle. The Civil War in the 1640´s sealed the fate of the wool trade.

In Georgian times, the town became richer once more as a market town on good routes. The roads were improved and the Kennet was linked by canal to Bristol. Transport became even more important in Victorian times, with the Great Western Railway passing through the town. The good transport links helped companies such as Huntley and Palmers and Sutton Seeds to grow and need more workers, making the town become larger.

The 20th Century saw a gradual change from a landscape of factories where things were made to a town with a large number of headquarter office blocks and high tech industries. The M4 motorway was built passing the town, making more good transport links.