local history
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The Liddesdale
In a second blog on our river Thames, following the blog from the country archivist, Jacqui Turner and Emily Astor glide on the river with the National Trust at Cliveden aboard the Liddesdale, Nancy Astor’s electric canoe. Emily and Jacqui… Continue reading
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For better or worse? The impact of the railways upon Berkshire, by Richard Marks
On the 30th March 1840, Reading would change forever. The Great Western Railway (GWR) had arrived. The original station opened as a temporary terminus on Brunel’s main line to Bristol followed quickly by the completion of the line throughout, a… Continue reading
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“Deference or drudgery? The census, community, and Berkshire servant life”, by Peter Jolly for Local and Community History Month
Undertaking a demographic study of Berkshire domestic service has opened my eyes to how distinctive and varied were communities within the historic county at the turn of the twentieth century. Given the impossibility of analysing all 15,000 county female servants, I… Continue reading
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Reading Welcomes the Summer (in the manner of c. 1218!)
by Prof Anne Lawrence The manuscript in this image (below), now British Library Ms. Harley 978, was once owned by Reading Abbey, and contains an eclectic mixture of texts, including the poems of a twelfth-century author and performer now known… Continue reading
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Before we were the University of Reading
by Dr Ruth Salter As many of you are probably aware, this year marks the 90th anniversary of Reading receiving its University Charter. Reading, which was given the charter by George V in 1926, was the only institution to be… Continue reading
READING HISTORY 
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