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Timeline
The Seven Streams at Seven Bridges |
TransportReading was founded where the roads from London to Bristol and from Southampton to Oxford crossed the River Kennet. For centuries these roads were poorly looked after, often becoming muddy and impossible to travel in the winter. The Kennet itself would flood, stopping people from fording the river. Eventually Seven Bridges was built across the seven streams of the Kennet. The Rivers Kennet and Thames were Reading´s most important means of transport for centuries. The Thames down to London was slowly improved. Mills across the river had flash locks, a simple gate in the weir, which would allow boats through. In times of water shortage, the boatmen would sometimes have to fight the millers to pass through the locks. The Kennet itself was navigable by large boats up to High Bridge, and by smaller boats through the network of smaller streams in the lower parts of the town. After much opposition the Kennet was made navigable to Newbury. Eventually the Kennet and Avon Canal was built, linking Reading and the Kennet with Bristol and the Avon. For a few years the canal was busy, but the railways took the business and the canal eventually closed. The Turnpike Trusts improved the roads at about the same time as the canals were being built. Reading became an important town on the main route from London to Bristol. The many coaching inns in the town were where coaches were caught, horses changed and food served. The stage coaches soon stopped running after the railways came to Reading. The Great Western Railway passed through Reading on its way to Bristol. The station was of an unusual design, with only one long platform. The railways speeded up the transport of both people and goods. A large network of lines centred on Reading, with both the GWR and the Southern Railway having stations in the town. As Reading grew larger in Victorian times, the need grew for transport within the town. Horse Trams were used at first, before these were replaced by Electric Trams and then Trolleybuses. A network of bus routes was also organised by Reading Transport. Since the Second World War, the roads have again become the main form of transport. The M4 motorway passes close by the south of Reading and there have been a number of major road improvements within the town. | |||||
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