Southcote Lock

Southcote Junction is a railway junction in the English town of Reading. It is the point where the Reading to Basingstoke line diverges from the Reading to Taunton line, and is situated between the Reading suburbs of Southcote and Coley Park and some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the south of Reading West station. A second adjacent junction, the Coley Branch Junction, formerly existed a few metres to the north where the Coley branch line diverged.The railway line from Reading to Hungerford (which would eventually become the Taunton line) opened on 21 December 1847, whilst the Basingstoke line opened on 1 November 1848. Both lines were proposed as part of the Berks and Hants Railway, but that company became part of the Great Western Railway before the track was laid. From 1908 until 1983, the Coley branch line diverged at Coley Branch Junction.Until 26 April 1965, the junction was controlled by Southcote Junction Signal Box, situated to the east of the line just north of the junction. A new signal box was opened here in 1896, to replace an earlier box, and it was upgraded in 1908 to cater for the new Coley branch. After closure the box was demolished, and control transferred to Reading Signal Box.The junction is readily visible from a footpath linking Wensley Road in Coley Park to Southcote Farm Lane in Southcote. This first crosses the trackbed of the old Coley branch, before running alongside the railway and then passing under both lines at the junction.Southcote Junction and the line between it and the junctions with the Great Western Main Line are heavily trafficked with a mixture of local passenger, long distance passenger and freight trains on both lines. In 2015, Network Rail’s Western Route Study suggested the provision of a grade separated junction at Southcote, with a third track to be provided between there and the Oxford Road Junction at Reading West.

Blessed Hugh Faringdon is a Catholic state secondary school in Reading in Berkshire, England. The school has approximately 850 pupils on roll and around 100 teaching and non teaching staff. The school specialises in Mathematics and the Performing Arts. Blessed Hugh Faringdon is one of the many Catholic schools in and around Reading but the only secondary and is under the Trusteeship of the Diocese of Portsmouth. The school is a member of the Partners in Excellence group of schools.

Southcote ( (listen)) is a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Located to the south-west of Reading town centre, Southcote has a population of about 8,500 (as of 2011). The settlement lies primarily between the London-to-Bath road and the River Kennet. The area was sparsely populated until after the Second World War, though excavations have revealed evidence of Paleolithic and Iron Age activity in Southcote, as well as Roman and Saxon habitation. By the time William the Conqueror undertook the Domesday Survey in 1086, Southcote was sufficiently established to warrant a Lord of the Manor, who at that time was William de Braose. From the 16th century onwards, Southcote Manor was owned by the Blagrave family, who sold the manor house in the 1920s. The area was subsequently developed into housing: much of the land changed from agricultural to residential. A large proportion of the land in Southcote not used for housing is classified as flood-meadow, providing flood plains between urbanisation and the River Kennet. Southcote forms an electoral ward in Reading. The area is seen as a safe seat for Labour, as the Conservatives have not held a seat on the council since the 1980s. Residents of Southcote generally self-classify as Christian. The male life expectancy in the area is lower than the national estimate, although the female expectancy is slightly higher. Claimants of out-of-work benefits (such as Jobseeker's Allowance) are more prevalent in Southcote than in surrounding areas. Attainment in education in Southcote is lower than the Reading average, as is residents' self-evaluation of health. Near to the settlement is Southcote Junction, where the Great Western Main Line diverges into the Reading to Taunton line and the Reading to Basingstoke line. The railways were preceded by the Kennet and Avon Canal, which passes south of the settlement. Southcote lends its name to the 104th lock on the canal.

Reading Green Park railway station is a railway station under construction in Reading, Berkshire, England. The station is intended to serve the Green Park business area and the Madejski Stadium, as well as the proposed Green Park Village residential development. It will be on the Reading to Basingstoke Line, south of Southcote Junction. The station, which has planning permission from Reading Borough Council and funding in place from the Government, was set to open in late 2020 but its completion was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Although it was subsequently planned to open the station during the summer of 2022, it is currently scheduled to open in early 2023.The station will be served by stopping services operated by Great Western Railway between Reading and Basingstoke, with an expected frequency of two trains per hour in each direction. The station will have two 5-car long canopied platforms, which will be connected by a 15-metre (49 ft) bridge, with lifts and stairs at each end. The station will have an interchange with the existing Green Park Park and Ride bus system, together with a taxi rank, surface level car park and cycle parking.

The Elvian School was a private school in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom run by the Licensed Trade Charity as a co-educational, non-denominational Christian school. It was previously the Roman Catholic boys' school Presentation College, Reading, until it went into administration in 2004. In March 2010 it was announced that the school would close at the end of the academic year.

Prospect Park is a public park in the western suburbs of Reading situated north of the Bath Road in the English county of Berkshire. It is the largest and most popular park in Reading, and includes a large regency style house, now known as Prospect Park Mansion House and previously as Prospect House. There are also sporting facilities and the Prospect Park Miniature Railway within the 50 hectares (120 acres) of parkland, and a restaurant in the Mansion House.The park is listed as Grade II in the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens whilst the Mansion House is a Grade II listed building.

Courage Park is a public park in the Coley Park suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The park includes amenity grassland, together with a wooded area to the south of the site. Within the park there is a brick-built pavilion with changing rooms and storage space, a basketball court, and a children's play area. This principal access to the park is from Edenham Crescent, a residential street, and the park was previously known as Edenham Crescent Park. Other pedestrian accesses are available from Wensley Road, Swallows Croft and Coley Avenue.

Green Park Village is a housing development in Green Park, Reading, Berkshire. It is close to the Reading Green Park railway station and Green Park business park. The initial phases are now complete and occupied, and when fully complete the new suburb is expected to contain more than 1,300 new homes, including both apartments and "New-England" style houses. The development will surround South Lake, with a noticeably higher density on the west (railway station) side as compared to the earlier eastern side.Facilities in the village include a school, Green Park Village Primary Academy, and a lake side café, Triple Two Coffee, at the south end of South Lake. Immediately adjacent to the station is the residents club and a Tesco Express supermarket.Green Park Village lies entirely within the borough of Reading, within Whitley ward. It is within the Reading West parliamentary constituency.

Courages Sports Ground was a sports and cricket ground in Coley Park suburb of the town of Reading, Berkshire, England. The ground belonged to the Courage Brewery in the town, and was principally provided for the sport and recreation of the brewery staff. It was located south of Berkeley Avenue, which is a part of the A4 road, and was bordered to the west by the Reading to Taunton railway and to the north, south and east by housing. Established prior to 1961, the first cricket match recorded at the ground is in 1964 when Courages Cricket Club played Calmore Sports. Berkshire first played at the ground in the 1975 Minor Counties Championship against Wiltshire. Berkshire played seven further Minor Counties Championship matches at the ground, the last of which came against Wiltshire in 1983. Two MCCA Knockout Trophy matches were played there in 1984 between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. The first match ended in no result, with the second match won by Berkshire a replay. A single List A match was played there in the 1986 NatWest Trophy between Berkshire and Gloucestershire. Gloucestershire batted first and made 249/9 from their sixty overs, with Andy Stovold top scoring in the innings with 58, while Peter Lewington's 3/23 were the best bowling figures of the innings. Berkshire were dismissed for 129 to lose the match by 120 runs, with Mark Simmons' 26 the top score in Berkshire's innings, while David Lawrence took figures of 4/36. This was the last time Berkshire played at the ground, with the final recorded match to be played there coming in 1990.The ground was sold for residential development soon after the last game, with two roads on the new estate named after the cricketers Ken Barrington and Gordon Greenidge. A small southern portion of the ground wasn't built on and today forms the core of Courage Park.

On the early morning of 7 May 2005, 16-year-old Mary-Ann Leneghan was stabbed to death in Prospect Park in Reading, Berkshire, UK. The previous evening, Leneghan and a friend had been kidnapped and subjected to hours of assault, rape, and drugging in a local hotel. Her friend was shot in the head, but survived. Six men, four of whom were on probation at the time of the attack, were tried and received life sentences.

Berkshire ( (listen) BARK-shər, -⁠sheer; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading. The River Thames formed the historic northern boundary, from Buscot in the west to Old Windsor in the east. The historic county, therefore, includes territory that is now administered by the Vale of White Horse and parts of South Oxfordshire in Oxfordshire, but excludes Caversham, Slough and five less populous settlements in the east of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. All the changes mentioned, apart from the change to Caversham, took place in 1974. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot, Faringdon, Wallingford and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, the six places joining came from Buckinghamshire. Berkshire County Council was the main local government of most areas from 1889 to 1998 and was based in Reading, the county town which had its own County Borough administration (1888–1974). Since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. The ceremonial county borders Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the northeast, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the southeast, Wiltshire to the west and Hampshire to the south. No part of the county is more than 8+1⁄2 mi (14 km) from the M4 motorway.

During the 1994–95 English football season, Reading F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, following promotion from the Second Division the previous season.