History of Reading, Berkshire
On 4 January 871, the first Battle of Reading took place, when an army led by King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes' defences.
The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and this account provides the earliest known written record of the existence of the town of Reading.
In 1253 Reading's Merchant Guild successfully petitioned for the grant of a charter from the King and negotiated a division of authority with the Abbey.
The last abbot, Hugh Cook Faringdon, was subsequently tried and convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn and quartered in front of the Abbey Church.
By 1611, Reading had a population of over 5000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth, as instanced by the fortune made by local merchant John Kendrick.
[8][11] The town played an important role during the English Civil War; it changed hands a number of times.
[12] However, the taxes levied by the various parties left Berkshire 'in a miserable condition, hardly a sheep, hen, hog, oats, wheat, or any other thing for man or beast to feed upon'.
James II had stationed an advance guard of 600, largely Irish, troops in Reading to stop the march of William's army towards London.
Seeing these troops as an occupying force, the people of Reading requested help from William, informing him of the Royalist positions in the town.
[6][14] The 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous.
[15] Reading's trade benefited from better designed turnpike roads which helped it establish its location on the major coaching routes from London to Oxford and the west country.
The opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810 made it possible to go by barge from Reading to the Bristol Channel.
[17] Towards the end of the century, Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, lived at Bulmershe Court, in what is now the Reading suburb of Woodley.
The town has been famous for the Three Bs of beer (1785–2010, H & G Simonds),[25][26] bulbs (1837–1974, Suttons Seeds),[25][27] and biscuits (1822–1976, Huntley and Palmers).
Compared to many other English towns and cities, Reading suffered little physical damage during either of the two World Wars that afflicted the 20th century, although many of its citizens lost their lives, or were injured, in the conflicts.
One significant air raid occurred on 10 February 1943, when a single Luftwaffe plane machine-gunned and bombed the town centre, resulting in 41 deaths and over 100 injuries.
[30] In 1947, Phoebe Cusden, the then Mayor of Reading, travelled to Düsseldorf, Germany, in response to a request by the colonel of the Royal Berkshire Regiment stationed there.
Discovering that the city was suffering extreme privation, she rallied support from residents and arranged food parcels clothing and toys to go to the area.
