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1 Boatbuilding 2 Brewing 3 Cock’s Reading Sauce 4 Brickworks see inset map 5 Co-operative Jam Factory 6 Cycle manufacture 7 Eelfishing 8 Elliotts 9 Gascoigne-Crowther 10 Gipsy caravans 11 GWR/BR Signal & Clock Dept 12 Herbert Engineering 13 Huntley & Palmers 14 Huntley Boorne & Stevens

15 Little Miss Muffett Junket 16 Mills17 TheOracle 18 Printing 19 Reading Ironworks 20 SPP see inset map 21 Suttons Seeds22 ThamesValleyBusGarage23 ThornycroftEngines

ThemapsarederivedfromOpenStreetmapdatausedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsattribution-sharealikelicence. http://www.openstreetmap.org

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BerkshireIndustrialArchaeologyGroup(BIAG)workedinpartnershipwithReadingBoroughCounciltoproducethisleafletforHeritage OpenDays2010.

BIAGwelcomesyourcommentsontheleaflet, andcontributionsonanyaspectofBerkshire’sindustrialpast.Website:www.biag.org.uk

i n d u s t r i a l R E A D I N G

ThecoverimageshowstheReadingIronworksinKatesgrove. FromanillustrationinthesecondeditionofGeorgeMeasom’s Official Illustrated Guide to the Great Western Railway(1861)

DesignbyBenWeiner | www.readingtype.org.uk

s i g m u n d P u l s o m e t e r P u m P s . Oxford RoadThefirmmadeindustrialpumpsatafactoryinOxfordRoad,nowthesiteofasmalltradingestatenearNorcotHill.ThePulsometer company, established in 1875,moved to anew

site in Reading in 1900. It latermergedwithMiroslav Sigmund’scompany; Sigmund came to England in 1938toescapetheNaziin-vasionofCzechoslovakia.AmongotherthingsSPPsuppliedpumpsfor thefleetof ‘GreenGoddesses’ runbyfirebrigadesduringandafterWorldWarII.

s u t t o n s s e e d s . Market PlaceJohnSuttonfoundedSuttons in1806 and for 150 years it was run by the same family. Initially the company supplied local farmersandvegetablegrowersbutitdevelopedintoaninternationalfirmsupplyingseedstotheworldandproducingmorethan40 million packetsofseedayear.The company gradually grew, occupying premises in Market

Placethatincludedanursery;theyalsoestablishedatrialgroundin1857.FurthertrialgroundsopenedinEarleyinthe1880s.Inthe1840sthecomingoftherailwaysandtheintroductionof

money orders allowed the business to expand rapidly, acceptingordersbypostandallowingwidespreaddistribution.AtthesametimeSuttonsestablisheditsfirstseedtestinglaboratorytotestforgerminationandpurityandthisattentiontoqualitypaidoff.

t h a m e s V a l l e y b u s g a r a g e . Caversham Road113-117 Caversham Road, with yard and garages at rear, were ac-quiredinMarch1915 inordertosetupoperationsintheReadingarea.TheyardandgarageshadpreviouslybeenusedbyVincentsto house their taxis and this spacewas enlarged by demolishingnumber 113toprovideawiderentrance.Thesitewasuseduntil1922 whenanewgaragewasbuiltinLowerThornStreet.Ontheendwallofnumber117isarosetowhichwasattacheda

spanwiretoholduptramwaywires.

t h o r n y c r o f t e n g i n e s . Wolsey RoadThornycrofts Boatbuilders of Chiswick took over the HerbertEngineering premises to develop marine engines. Peak develop-mentcamewithWorldWarIIwithenginesfortorpedoboats,land-ing craft, wooden (magnetic) minesweepers, marinised enginesand therdg2. Theunitdeclined followingmergersandclosed intheearly1960s.

K e n n e t & a V o n c a n a lTheThameswasavitalhighway fromearliest timesbut theRiverKennetwasreallyonlynavigablefromKennetmouthtoHighBridgeinMediævaltimes.TheKennetNavigationwasopenedtoNewburyin 1723. It becamepart of the Kennet&AvonCanal following itscompletiontoBath(thusBristol)in1810.Theseconnectionsinflu-encedReading’stradeandindustryandthewaterwayswerelinedwithwharvesincludingBearWharfandCraneWharfwithnearbyworkplaces.

l i t t l e m i s s m u f f e t J u n K e t . Queens RoadThe company was established in 1919 and produced a range of goodsusingdairyproducts.Junketissimplyrennet,sugarandfla-vouringwhich,whenaddedtomilkatbloodheat,setsinapleas-antdessert.InReading,aftersmallbeginningsinQueensRoad,thecompanyexpanded into largerpremises inLondonStreet in1934 andwasthereuntil1957whenitmovedtoBasingstokeRoad.

m i l l s . Abbey Square, Mill Street, Mill Road, etcFulling,sawingandothermillscouldbefoundalongthebanksoftheThamesandtheKennet.TheAbbeyMillarchcanbeseennexttoTheBlade.AmillwasestablishedherebythemonksofReadingAbbeyinthe12thcenturyandmillingcontinueduntilthe1950s un-dertheSoundyfamily.Other mills include Mapledurham, the last working mill on

the Thames; the Calcotmill complex; St Giles inMill Lane andCaversham Mill which was demolished around 1970. The MillsArchiveisnowbasedatWatlingtonHouseinReading.

t h e o r a c l e . Minster StreetSetupbytheKendrickfamilyinthe17thcenturytohelpalleviatehardshipinthetown.TheKendricksmadetheirfortunesinwool-lensandthesitecontainedmanyworkshopsmostlydevotedtothetextiletrades.Theenterpriseultimatelyfailed.Gauzes,crepes,mus-linets,plainandfiguredsilksandsatinribbonsweresomeof thetextilesproducedinReading.

P r i n t i n g . London Street, Oxford Road, etcReadingbecameanimportantcentrefortheprintingtrade.Townswithina30-40 mile radius of London were well placed to develop andtwosuchfirmswereCox&Wyman(paperbacks)andBerkshirePrinting Works (packaging). Smaller firms such as Parnell’s andPoynder’sservedlocalneedsforstationeryandpublicitymaterials.

r e a d i n g i r o n W o r K s . Katesgrove LaneBarrett, Exall and Andrewes Iron Works, known as ReadingIronworksLtd,employedabout350 people in 1864.ItwassituatedoppositeKatesgrove School. Theworkswereonboth sidesof theKennet,convenientforsupplyofmaterialandforshippingfinishedproducts:agriculturalmachinery.Startedin1830,itclosedin1877.Duringitspeakitwasthelargestsupplierofagriculturalmachineryinthecountry,exhibitingattheGreatExhibitionof1851.Other ironworks inReading,suchasSmith’sandWilder’s,pro-

videdmachineryforlocalindustriessuchasbrickmaking.

e l l i o t t s . Elliotts WayAllthatremainsatthe8.25acresiteinCavershamisastreetof1990s housesnamedElliottsWay.ThereSamuelElliott,aninexhaustiblesometimebankruptfromNewbury,setupasophisticatedjoineryand moulding manufactory in 1903.Itsfortunesfollowedthehighclass sector of the construction industry sending materials andcraftsmen to fit out Courts of Justice, theatres and luxury hotelsthroughoutBritain.Thefirmhadupto1 000employeesandthemachinerytowork

woodandmetaltoproduceshopfronts,largerevolvingdoors,fit-ments for passenger ships including the CunardQueens and, bycontrast,secureprisondoors.BodieswerebuiltforRollsRoyceandBentleylimousinesandforHealeysportscars.

g a s c o i g n e - c r o W t h e r . Ardler RoadInthedaysofdisposablenappiesthenameNapisanhaslessmean-ingbutthatproductalongwithMiltontosterilisebabies’bottleswasindispensable.Thefirm’sprimepurposewasthedevelopmentofdairycleaningmaterialsanditwasoutofthisworkthatchildcareproductsevolved.

g i P s y c a r a V a n s . Kings RoadReading’s gipsy caravans were held in the highest repute. Theirmanufacture,byfirmssuchasDunton’s,wassmall-scalebutofveryfinecraftsmanshipandquality.ReadingMuseumhaveawonderfulexampleofaReadingtypelivingcaravan.

g W r / b r s i g n a l & c l o c K d e P a r t m e n t . Vastern RoadTheGreatWestern Railway had its signal and clock departmentsalongside theVasternRoad railway sidings. In the vastworkshopeverything for signalling was made and preassembled. This in-cludedsignalboxes,gantriesandtheparaphernaliaofincreasinglycomplexsystems.5 500watches,4 500clocks,and3 500 brass drum timepieces were serviced from 1921whenthedepartmentopened.

h e r b e r t e n g i n e e r i n g c o . Wolsey RoadA factorywasbuilt to serviceandrebuildaeroengines inWolseyRoad,Caversham,duringWorldWarI.Afterthewarthefirmassem-bledfasttouringcars.Thedesign,similarinpriceandappearancetothesportsBentleysofthattime,wasknownastheHEandwasmade until 1931.ThefactorywasthenacquiredbyThornycroftforenginedevelopment.

h u n t l e y & P a l m e r s . Kings Road h u n t l e y b o o r n e & s t e V e n s . London StreetIn 1822 JosephHuntley opened a small shop in London Street tosupplyfreshlybakedbiscuitstocoachtravellerswhentheystoppedattheinnopposite.Eventuallythebiscuitfactory,locatedoffKingsRoad,becamethelargestintheworld.Itclosedinabout1970.JosephHuntley’syoungerson,alsoJoseph,openedanironmon-

ger’sshopoppositehisfather’sshopandmadetins.TheseenabledHuntley’sbiscuitstobesoldincontainerswhichensuredfreshnessthroughoutthecoachjourney.Joseph’stinboxesbecamethefoun-dationofthefirm,whosebiscuittinswentallovertheworld(seetheMuseumofReading’scollection).

b o a t b u i l d i n g . CavershamOnThamesbankandtoadegreeKennetsideweremanyboatbuilders.Before the coming of the railway, barge transport was vital andbargebuildingcontinued into the20thcentury.Other craftwerebuiltforworkandpleasure,recordsgoingbacktothetimeofHenryIII.MorerecentfirmsincludeTalbot’sandLewis’.

b r e W i n g . Bridge Street, Castle StreetThemostfamousofReading’sbrewerieswasSimonds;somebuild-ingsattheirSevenBridgessiteremain.TheCivicSocietyinforma-tionboardintheOracleshoppingcentrestandsonthesite.Thereweremanyotherbreweriesinthetown,forinstanceinCastleStreet,allcontributingtoReading’s‘ThreeBs’.

c o c K s ’ r e a d i n g s a u c e . Kings RoadJames Cocks was a successful fishmonger with premises in DukeStreet.In1802,heandhiswifeAnndevelopedastrongfishsauce.Ithelpedtomakepreservedfoodmorepalatable.ThesauceprovedverypopularandwasmarketedinBritainandoverseas.AfterJamesdied,hissonCharlestookoverthebusinessandin1830 opened a factoryinKingsRoad.Inlateryearsthecompanyfailedtokeeppaceinmodernmarketingandthebusinesswassoldin1901.

b r i c K W o r K s . Water Road, Rose Kiln LaneColliers inWaterRoad,Tilehurst,wasoneof the lastof themanyReading brickworks. The Avenue brick and tile works off ColeyAvenue supplied roofing tiles for Chequers whilst the WaterloobrickworksonwhatisnowElgarRoadsuppliedthewhileandblue-greybricksusedsodecorativelyaroundPellStreet.TheRoseKilnsbrickworkswas situated in South Reading,where Rose Kiln Laneturnseasttowardsthesupermarketandindustrialestates.

c o - o P e r a t i V e J a m f a c t o r y . Berkeley AvenueTheCWSjamworkshadanuncertainstart.ItwasbuiltatColeyParkand completed in 1916.Duetowartimeshortagesofglassandsugar,productioncouldnotstart.PriortothewarasmallairfieldwasbuiltbesidetheKennetfortheMilitaryAeronauticsSchoolofTechnicalTraining,andpartofthefactorypremiseswereusedbyAvrotocon-structthe504aircraft.Eventuallyin1919thefactorystartedtopro-ducepreserves.ItsuppliedCWSshopswithownbrandjam,tinnedfruitandpickles.Asuccessfulbusinesscontinueduntilclosure in1968.Coleyresidentssaythatyoucouldtellwhichfruitwasboilingtomakejambythelovelyaromas.

c y c l e m a n u f a c t u r e . West Street, Caversham RoadThesignforFortescuesCyclescanstillbeseeninanalleyoffWestStreet. They were factors with an amazing stock and it has beenclaimedyoucouldgetanythingfromasmallparttoabespokebike.JohnWarrick&Co.,CavershamRoad,hadvariousclaimstofame

beyondmakingfinebicycles;theymadethe‘Stopmeandbuyone’Wallsicecreamtricycles.AninformanttellsusthattheysuppliedwheelstotheWrightbrothers.

e e l f i s h i n gOldpicturesofCavershamBridgeshowgreatwickerworkeeltraps.Theeelfisherywaseconomically important;eg. rentswere some-timespaidineels.WithybedsstretchedfromReadingtoSonningandtheresultingbasketworkactivity,includingtrapmanufacture,wasaminorindustry.

ThegreatabbeyatReadingprofoundlyinfluencedthedevelopmentofthetownofReading,notleastforattractingtradeandencouragingthegrowthofcraftworkshops.Duringthemiddleandearlymodernagesthewoollentradepredominated.Later,agriculture-basedindustriesflourishedsuchasbiscuitsandbrew-ing.Inthe19thcenturymanufacturingonawiderscaledeveloped.Latterlytheshifthasbeentohigh-techandserviceactivity.Thisleafletisnotcomprehensivebutaselectiveintroductiontothetown’sindustrialheritage,nowlargelydisappeared.

TheMapMostindustrialsiteshavebeenobliteratedbylaterdevelopments.TheAbbeyMillarchandsomeHuntleyandPalmersandSimondsBrewerybuildingsarephysicalreminderswhileothersarerecordedinsuchasplaceorpubnames.Themarkedsitesonthemapindicatetheinitialimportanceofwaterways–theThames,Kennet,andcanal.Thecomingoftherailwaygaveastimulustoindustry.Roadtrans-portbroughtmoredispersal,dramaticallyillustratedinCourage’smovefromthetowncentretowardstheM4whereEurope’slargestbrewery was built in 1978.

For more informationAgoodstartingpoint is theMuseumin theTownHallwhichhaspermanentdisplaysandexhibitions.TheLocalStudiescollectionintheCentralLibraryhasamassofinformationaccessibletoboththeresearcherandthepublicatlarge.Thereareanincreasingnumberofbooksoflocalinterestavailableinthelibrariesandbookshops.Anumberof local societies cover aspectsofworkingReading in-cluding theHistory of Reading Society, theMillsArchive, Kennetand Avon Trust, Reading Civic Society and Berkshire IndustrialArchaeologyGroup.