Reading Our Town 1950-2001

In 1995, Harold Hill produced "Images of Reading", containing some 350 photographs of the town and its districts from Victorian times to the 1930s. Since the end of the period covered in that book the whole town has undergone vast change.

Many of the old Victorian and Edwardian buildings shown in Images of Reading have long since gone, to be replaced by buildings more in keeping with modern times.

This book shows the history of Reading from 1950 to the start of the 21st century. It is an illustrated record of the massive redevelopment that has transformed Reading over the last 50 years of the 20th Century.

Friar Street has become a road of public houses and eateries, while Broad Street has seen the greatest changes of all, with the opening of the Oracle shopping centre and pedestrianisation.

But whatever your opinion, Reading Our Town provides a fascinating collection of photographs showing half a century of remarkable change.

About the Author

Harold Hill was born on 22 November 1929 in the picturesque village of Goring on Thames, just 10 miles from Reading. His father had a greengrocery shop in the village and his grandfather was a well-known local businessman in the area.

Over the course of his lifetime he has taken a meticulous interest in all local events and has amassed a collection of many hundreds of local pictures.

He has been a freelance writer on local history and art for the Reading Evening Post for 20 years and has also produced several videos on the town’s history.