Reading is a market town and borough in Berkshire, England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet. Reading is 40 miles (64 km) east of Swindon, 24 miles (39 km) south of Oxford, 40 miles (64 km) west of London and 16 miles (26 km) north of Basingstoke.
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors and successors." In its heyday the abbey was one of Europe's largest royal monasteries. The traditions of the Abbey are continued today by the neighbouring St James's Church, which is partly built using stones of the Abbey ruins.
Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timbered granary, and the 15th-century St Nicolas Church, along with 17th- and 18th-century listed buildings. As well as being home to Newbury Racecourse, it is the headquarters of Vodafone and software company Micro Focus International. In the valley of the River Kennet, 26 mi (42 km) south of Oxford, 25 mi (40 km) north of Winchester, 27 mi (43 km) southeast of Swindon and 20 mi (32 km) west of Reading.
Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, 37 miles (60 km) west of London, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Reading, 8 miles (13 km) north of Camberley and 4 miles (6 km) west of Bracknell.
Wantage is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. The town is on Letcombe Brook, 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Abingdon, 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading, 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Oxford and 14 miles (23 km) north-west of Newbury.
Hurst is a village in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst in the English county of Berkshire.
Donnington is an English suburban village in the civil parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington, just north of the town of Newbury, Berkshire. It contains a ruined medieval castle and a Strawberry Hill Gothic mansion.
Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle, situated in the small village of Donnington, just north of the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder in 1386 and was bought by Thomas Chaucer before the castle was taken under royal control during the Tudor period. During the First English Civil War the castle was held by the royalist Sir John Boys and withstood an 18-month siege; after the garrison eventually surrendered, Parliament voted to demolish Donnington Castle in 1646. Only the gatehouse survives. The site is a scheduled monument under the care of English Heritage.
Catmore is a civil parish and village in West Berkshire about 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) southeast of Wantage. Catmore is in the Berkshire Downs and the centre of the village is about 575 feet (175 m) above sea level.
Brimpton is a mostly rural village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. Brimpton is centred 4.5 miles (7.2 km) ESE of the town of Newbury.
Shottesbrooke is a hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The hamlet is mostly rural: 88% covered by agriculture or woodland and had a population of 141 at the 2011 census.
Ashdown House is a 17th-century country house in the civil parish of Ashbury in the English county of Oxfordshire. Until 1974 the house was in the county of Berkshire, and the nearby village of Lambourn remains in that county.
Thomas Bradley was born in 1596 or 1597, the son of Henry Bradley of Wokingham in Berkshire and his wife, Barbara daughter of Walter Lane of Reading in the same county. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford and was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Divinity. On 5 March 1631, he married Frances the youngest daughter of John, Baron Savile of Pontefract.
Chapel Row is a hamlet in West Berkshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Bucklebury. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 627.
West Berkshire Community Hospital is a small hospital located in the Benham Hill area of Shaw-cum-Donnington, in West Berkshire, England. It is managed by Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Donnington Friary was a friary of crouched friars at Donnington in the English county of Berkshire. At the time of suppression the establishment was recorded as Trinitarian, but this was later corrected to Crossed Friars. This was possibly a ploy by the two brothers in occupation at the time in order to ensure their pension.
Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder (1331–1399) was the Chamberlain to Anne of Bohemia, Queen to King Richard II of England.
Thomas Barrie was an English almoner who was found guilty of spreading rumours about the death of Henry VIII in 1538 and was pilloried in the market square at Newbury. It was reported that he died from shock as a result of his punishment.
Occupation at the site of Reading may date back to the Roman period, possibly as either a trading port on the River Thames, or as an intersection on the Roman road connecting London with Calleva Atrebatum near Silchester.
