| Shire Hall, Reading | |
|---|---|
 Shire Hall | |
  Shire Hall Location within Berkshire | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Brutalist style |
| Address | Shinfield Park, Reading |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°24′57″N0°57′16″W / 51.4157°N 0.9545°W |
| Completed | 1981 |
The Shire Hall is a former municipal building at Shinfield Park just south of Reading, Berkshire. It was the headquarters of Berkshire County Council from 1981 to 1998.
For much of the 20th century the administration of Berkshire County Council had been carried out in the Old Shire Hall in The Forbury while meetings of the full council had taken place in the assize courts next door. [1] Following implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, which increased the responsibilities of the county council, county leaders chose to procure a new purpose-built county headquarters: the site they initially selected was at Abbey Wharf off King's Road, [2] [3] but after considerable debate, they opted for a site which would be easier to develop on open land on the southern part of the Shinfield Park estate. [4] [a]
The new Shire Hall, which was designed in the Brutalist style and built at a cost of £27.5 million, [9] was completed in 1981. [10] The design involved seven low-rise octagonal shaped buildings which all featured continuous bands of glazing with concrete panels above and below; an emergency control centre was established in the basement in case of a nuclear attack. [11] The complex was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 2 April 1982. [12]
However following a review by the Local Government Commission the Government decided to transfer the responsibilities of the County Council to unitary authorities and the building became surplus to requirements in 1998. [13] It became the local offices of Foster Wheeler in March 2000 [10] and then, in October 2017, of Wood Group. [14]
Reading 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.
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town.
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.
The Royal County of Berkshire, commonly known as simply Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town.
Abingdon-on-Thames, commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The historic county town of Berkshire, the area was occupied from the early to middle Iron Age and the remains of a late Iron Age and Roman defensive enclosure lies below the town centre. Abingdon Abbey was founded around 676, giving its name to the emerging town. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Abingdon was an agricultural centre with an extensive trade in wool, alongside weaving and the manufacture of clothing. Charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various monarchs, from Edward I to George II.
Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside the area of Reading Borough Council. Its name is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh and consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and Lower Earley, and lies some 3 miles (5 km) south and east of the centre of Reading, and some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Wokingham. It had a population of 32,036 at the 2011 Census.
Woodley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, in Berkshire, England. Woodley is 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Reading and adjoined to Earley which is 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west of the town and Woodley is 5 miles (8 km) from Wokingham. Nearby are the villages of Sonning, Twyford, Winnersh, Hurst and Charvil.
Berkshire County Council, also known as the County Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, was the county council for Berkshire in England. It was created in 1889 and abolished in 1998. The council had responsibilities for education, social services, public transport, planning, emergency services and waste disposal.
Wokingham is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in the English county of Berkshire. From its creation in 1950 until 2024, it was represented solely by Conservatives, most notably, John Redwood, who held his position from 1987 until 2024 when he stepped down following the dissolution of parliament.
Three Mile Cross is a village in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England, around 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south of Reading town centre. Along with the adjoining village of Spencers Wood to the south, it forms a part of the civil parish of Shinfield.The Village also is home to the Mereoak Park & Ride & Mereoak Park.
Spencers Wood is a village in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Reading. The village of Three Mile Cross adjoins it to the north, and both form part of the civil parish of Shinfield.
Reading Borough Council is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
Park Place is a historic Grade II Listed country house and gardens in the civil parish of Remenham in Berkshire, England, set in large grounds above the River Thames near Henley, Oxfordshire.
Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. It lies just south of Reading, around 3 miles (4.8 km) from the town centre, and covers an area of 4,313 acres (17.45 km2). Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming physically separated from Reading when the M4 motorway was constructed in 1971.
Historically, the English county of Berkshire has been bordered to the north by the ancient boundary of the River Thames. However there were major changes in 1974: the Vale of White Horse and parts of Oxfordshire south of the Thames were previously part of Berkshire, but were lost to the county in 1974. Conversely, the Slough area north of the Thames is historically part of Buckinghamshire, but became ceremonially part of Berkshire in 1974.
Grazeley is an area covering the small villages of Grazeley in the civil parish of Shinfield and Grazeley Green in the civil parish of Wokefield, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. To the east is the village of Spencers Wood, to the west is Wokefield and to the south is Beech Hill.
RAF Shinfield Park was a Royal Air Force administrative site in the south of Reading, Berkshire. It served as the Met Office residential training college from 1971 until 2002. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts was built on part of the site in 1978.
The Roseate Reading Hotel is a boutique hotel in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is situated in the Forbury, formerly a part of Reading Abbey, and on the southern side of the modern Forbury Gardens. The building that forms the front section of the hotel was the Shire Hall for the County of Berkshire, built in 1911 and used as such until 1981, and is a grade II listed building.
Ebenezer Fuller Maitland FRS was an English landowner and politician.
Reading Crown Court is a judicial facility in Reading, Berkshire. It is a Grade II listed building.