As I suggested in my last post on the murals of Bristol, those of Reading are a much more sober and corporate affair. In fact all three of the murals I am highlighting here have been commisioned by Reading Borough Council. Nobody is going to be painting their house with a night sky theme here.
Black History Mural
Probably the best known mural in Reading is the one celebrating black history that can be seen from the poorly named Inner Distribution Road (IDR) opposite the Oracle shopping centre. This one predates even my arrival in the town being opened in 1978 – ten years before I moved here.
If you’re interested in the area then there is this audio walking tour that you can take.
139-141 Oxford Road
There are a couple of new murals that have arrived in the last year or so. The first of which is at the bottom of Russell Street in a conservation area celebrating all the people and businesses that have occupied 139-141 Oxford Road, a grade 2 listed building, since 1829.
The mural was created as part of Reading’s High Street Heritage Action Zone, a national scheme with national funding designed “to boost pride in place, connect communities and drive economic growth in places that need it the most”. Not sure how well the latter is working for this particular spot, as while we visited, we neither purchased a kebab nor had a haircut!
The Market Tree
Another mural that was commissioned as part of Reading’s High Street Heritage Action Zone is The Market Tree at the bottom of St Mary’s Butts opposite the church.
Unfortunately, this mural suffers from two problems: the first is that it is in a tired part of town that needs some serious TLC, the second is that I have never seen it without something parked in front of it! The white van shown above is a regular offender but there is also plenty of detritus from the nearby market which the mural is highlighting. It’s a shame as it would be lovely to see all four panels (one for each season) in one frame.
I applaud Reading Council’s efforts to improve the visual appeal of the town, and a great job has been made of the heritage of the town with signage highlighting the significances of a number of areas. I hope that this continues and that the sale of the historic jail for purposes that seem woolly doesn’t jeopardise the works that have been done to date.
But most of all, move that bloody van!
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