Reading, Berkshire

Reading (ⁱ/ˈrɛdɪŋ/ RED-ing) is a large town and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It was an important centre in the medieval period, as the site of Reading Abbey, a monastery with strong royal connections. The town was seriously affected by the English Civil War, with a major siege and loss of trade, and played a pivotal role in the Revolution of 1688, with that revolution's only significant military action fought on the streets of the town. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway and the development of the town's brewing, baking and seed growing businesses. Today Reading is a commercial centre, with involvement in information technology and insurance, and, despite its proximity to London, has a net inward commuter flow.

The first evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century. By 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tax returns show that Reading was the 10th largest town in England when measured by taxable wealth. By 1611, it had a population of over 5000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth. 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. During the 19th century, the town grew rapidly as a manufacturing centre. It is ranked the UK's top economic area for economic success and wellbeing, according to factors such as employment, health, income and skills. Reading is also a retail centre serving a large area of the Thames Valley, and is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Sporting teams based in Reading include Reading Football Club and the London Irish rugby union team, and over 15,000 runners annually compete in the Reading Half Marathon.

Reading

The common noun reading (pronounced as /ˈɹiːdɪŋ/) may refer to:

The proper noun Reading (pronounced as /ˈredɪŋ/) may refer to:

Places

Town Centre

Town Centre may refer to:

See also

Read into

The process of being read into a compartmented program generally entails being approved for access to particularly sensitive and restricted information about a classified program, receiving a briefing about the program, and formally acknowledging the briefing, usually by signing a non-disclosure agreement describing restrictions on the handling and use of information concerning the program. Officials with the required security clearance and a need to know may be read into a covert operation or clandestine operation they will be working on. For codeword–classified programs, an official would not be aware a program existed with that codeword until being read in, because the codewords themselves are classified.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Unclassified Report on the President's Surveillance Program, 10 July 2009".

University of Reading

The University of Reading is a public university located in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. It was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926 from King George V. It was the only university to receive its charter between the two world wars and is therefore a red brick university.

Reading is ranked as one of the top 200 universities in the world. It is ranked 156th in the latest 2015 QS World University Rankings, its highest ever position in the ranking. It is also one of the UK's leading research-intensive universities. It is based on three (formerly four) campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.

History

University College, Reading

The university owes its first origins to the Schools of Art and Science established in Reading in 1860 and 1870. In 1892 the College at Reading was founded as an extension college by Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. The first President was the geographer Sir Halford John Mackinder. The Schools of Art and Science were transferred to the new college by Reading Town Council in the same year.