WHITEKNIGHTS residents can celebrate their heritage, thanks to a new information board unveiled last week.
The University of Reading’s vice-chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort, unveiled the information panel detailing the history of the Christchurch Green area.
Now familiar to students as a place to stock up on supplies, get a haircut, snaffle a cheeky Greggs, or enjoy a pint at the Nob (Queen’s Head), the area has a vibrant history.
To unpack it, and let people learn of the illustrious past residents, the boards have been created by the Friends of Christchurch Green.
Community partners, including the University, charity RGSpaces, Equal Studio Ltd. and Reading Borough Council, helped make the vision of artist Jenny Halstead a reality.
Located at the junction of Shinfield Road, Christchurch Road and Redlands Road, close to the main entrance of the University’s Whiteknights campus, it is an opportunity to champion the hidden past of the area.
“I wanted to celebrate this area, where five roads meet, linking the community to the University‘s beautiful Whiteknights campus,” Jenny said.
“Even in an age of information, a permanent site offers an introduction to the area and creates a sense of belonging to new students and new residents alike.
“We are grateful to all the partners involved in helping to make this idea a reality.”
The potted history helps explain how the area evolved, and the role it played in Reading’s main industries of biscuits, bulbs, beer and bricks, as well as its connection to the university.
This is a 1906 image looking up Shinfield Road from the Green, as well as information about three prominent individuals: Alfred Waterhouse, a Victorian architect who designed the Natural History Museum, Reading School, the Museum of English Rural Life and Foxhill House; Edith Morley, England’s first female professor and Kendrick Road resident; and Harold Hopkins, physicist and innovator of modern-day keyhole surgery.
That’s not all. The reverse shows an 1840 map, detailing its rural past and showing only Christchurch Road and Red Lane (now Redlands Road) before either Elmhurst, Marlborough or Northcourt Avenue were even built.
Prof Van de Noort was thrilled to be looking back.
“This heritage board serves as a fantastic reminder for all about our connection with the local community, now and in the past,” he said.
And Fiona Talkington, a BBC Radio 3 presenter who grew up around Christchurch Green, was delighted the board had been installed.
“I crossed over the Green to get to school, I had my first job in the shops at the Green and during lockdown I presented my radio shows from home close to the Green. It’s a place held in great affection by many,” she said.
