By Tim Lambert
871 The Danes capture the settlement at Reading
1006 The Danes burn Reading
1086 Reading has a population of about 600
1125 Henry I builds Reading Abbey
1320 Reading has a population of around 1,300
1500 Making cloth is the main industry in Reading
1539 Henry VIII closes Reading Abbey
1550 Reading has a population of around 2,000
1619 The first wire maker in Reading is mentioned
1628 The Oracle is built
1650 The cloth industry in Reading is declining
1643 During the Civil War Reading changes hands several times
1664 Reading gains its first fire engine
1688 A fight takes place between Irish troops and Dutch troops in Reading
1720 Reading has a population of about 4,500
1723 Reading gains its first newspaper
1781 High Bridge is built
1785 Simmonds Brewery opens
1800 The streets of Reading are lit by oil lamps. A private company provides a piped water supply
1801 Reading has a population of almost 10,000
1807 Suttons Seeds is founded
1810 The Kennet and Avon Canal opens
1819 The streets of Reading are lit by gas
1822 Joseph Huntley begins baking biscuits
1839 The Royal Berkshire Hospital opens
1840 The railway reaches Reading
1843 The first cemetery opens
1850 A Public Board of Health is formed
1879 Horse drawn trams begin running in Reading
1884 A public library opens in Reading
1889 The boundaries of Reading are enlarged
1903 Electric trams begin running in Reading
1909 The first cinema in Reading opens
1920 The first council houses are built
1926 Reading University opens
1939 Trams in Reading cease running
1941 41 people die in an air raid
1959 The first council flats are built
1971 Friars Walk Shopping Centre opens
1976 Suttons Seeds closes. The first commercial radio station in Reading begins. New Civic Offices are built.
1977 Huntley and Palmers Biscuits closes
1985 A new Central Library is built
1988 Rivermead Leisure Centre opens
1999 The Oracle Shopping Centre opens