Reading, Berkshire

Reading Borough of Reading
Town, borough and unitary authority
East Reading Skyline Reading Town Hall Oracle Riverside Reading Minster The Maiwand Lion Reading Abbey and The Blade Map of Reading
Coat of arms of Reading Borough Council
Motto(s):  A Deo et Regina With God and Queen
Borough of Reading shown within Berkshire
Reading
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 Thames) Oxfordshire (north Thames)
Admin HQ	Reading
Settled	871 or earlier
Town status	1086 or earlier
Areas of the town	List Calcot (Village) Caversham (Village) Caversham Heights Caversham Park Village Central Reading Christchurch Meadows Coley Coley Park Earley (Town) (part) East Reading Emmer Green Fords Farm Green Park Holybrook Katesgrove Lower Caversham Lower Earley (part) Newtown Norcot Purley-on-Thames (Village) Sandford (part) Sonning (Village) (part) Southcote Tilehurst (Village) (part) West Reading Whitley Whitley Wood Winnersh (Village) (part) Woodley (Town) (part)
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	Reading Borough Council
• MP	Matt Rodda (L) Olivia Bailey (L) Yuan Yang (L)
Elevation	200 ft (61 m)
Population  (2022)
• Borough	174,820
• Rank	120th (of 296) (borough)
• Density	11,210/sq mi (4,327/km2)
• Urban	337,108
Demonym	Redingensian
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 67.1% White 17.7% Asian 7.2% Black 5.1% Mixed 2.9% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 39.6% Christianity 36.3% no religion 15.2% other 8.9% Islam
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 (/ˈrɛdɪŋ/ ^ⓘ RED-ing)^[2] is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. Most of its built-up area lies within the Borough of Reading, although some outer suburbs are parts of neighbouring local authority areas. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, Reading is 40 miles (64 km) east of Swindon, 28 miles (45 km) south of Oxford, 40 miles (64 km) west of London and 16 miles (26 km) north of Basingstoke.

Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance.^[3] It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centres, including the Oracle, the Broad Street Mall, and the pedestrianised area around Broad Street. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and participates in many other sports.

Reading dates from the 8th century. It was a trading and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages, the site of Reading Abbey, one of the largest and richest monasteries of medieval England with royal connections, of which the 12th-century abbey gateway and significant ancient ruins remain. By 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tenth in England for taxable wealth. The town was seriously affected by the English Civil War, with a major siege and loss of trade, but played a pivotal role in the Glorious Revolution, whose only significant military action was fought on its streets. The 18th century saw the beginning of a major ironworks in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway and the development of the town's brewing, baking and seed-growing businesses, and the town grew rapidly as a manufacturing centre.