List of public art in Reading, Berkshire

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This is a list of public art in the English town of Reading. This list applies only to works of art accessible in an outdoor public space. For example, this does not include artwork visible inside a museum.


Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
Date Artist / designer Type Material Dimensions Designation Notes
Abbey Gateway Head 2020-03-01 15.17.52.jpg Abbey Gateway Heads Abbey Gateway

51°27′23.2″N 0°58′00.5″W / 51.456444°N 0.966806°W / 51.456444; -0.966806
1900 Sculpture Stone A series of heads, attached to the medieval former inner gateway of Reading Abbey.[1][2]

Media related to the heads at Wikimedia Commons
Sculpture by Jens Flemming Sørensen (Geograph-4388230-by-Bill-Nicholls).jpg Balls Head / Interpretation of Ruins Reading Abbey

51°27′21″N 0°57′55″W / 51.455920°N 0.965399°W / 51.455920; -0.965399
2000 Jens-Flemming Sørensen Sculpture Bronze A sculpture based on an interpretation of the adjacent ruins of the abbey. It has no formal name, but is sometimes referred to as either the Balls Head or the Interpretation of Ruins.[3]

Media related to the sculpture at Wikimedia Commons
Black History Mural, Reading - geograph.org.uk - 605875.jpg Black History Mural Mill Lane

51°27′10″N 0°58′08″W / 51.4528°N 0.969°W / 51.4528; -0.969
1988 with members of Mural Mural illustrating the roles black people have played throughout history.[4]

Media related to the Black History Mural at Wikimedia Commons
Cartwheeling boys (Geograph-2863826-by-Paul-Gillett).jpg Cartwheeling Boys Civic Centre

51°27′12″N 0°58′34″W / 51.45339°N 0.976029°W / 51.45339; -0.976029
Sculpture Erected to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the link between Reading and Düsseldorf established by Phoebe Cusden in 1947.[5]

Media related to the Cartwheeling Boys sculpture at Wikimedia Commons
St. Martin's Precinct, Caversham - geograph.org.uk - 716723.jpg Caversham Village Sign Caversham

51°28′03″N 0°58′29″W / 51.467565°N 0.974626°W / 51.467565; -0.974626
Village sign Erected in 2003 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II and repaired and conserved by the original artist in 2019.[6]

Media related to the village sign at Wikimedia Commons
Kennet Island 2015-10-11 11.40.18.jpg Central Piazza Water Feature Kennet Island

51°25′51″N 0°58′32″W / 51.430908°N 0.975615°W / 51.430908; -0.975615
Fountain Media related to the water feature at Wikimedia Commons
Compleat Angler, Reading, 2019-04-28 15.22.05.jpg Compleat Angler Chocolate Island in River Kennet

51°27′22″N 0°57′41″W / 51.455999°N 0.961520°W / 51.455999; -0.961520
1992 Kevin Atherton Statue Statue of an angler placed on Chocolate Island in the River Kennet, where that river once flowed through the Huntley & Palmers factory. The statue was erected when the factory closed to commemorate the people of Reading who worked there.[5]

Media related to the statue at Wikimedia Commons
Reading Cows.jpg Cows Regent Court

51°27′31″N 0°58′41″W / 51.458554°N 0.977980°W / 51.458554; -0.977980
Mural Mural of cows situated close to the Reading Cattle Market.

Media related to the mural at Wikimedia Commons
Edward VII Statue, Reading - geograph.org.uk - 1769838.jpg Edward VII Station Square

51°27′28″N 0°58′21″W / 51.45773°N 0.9724°W / 51.45773; -0.9724
1902 George Edward Wade Statue Bronze Grade II Celebrates the coronation of King Edward VII.[7]

Media related to the statue of Edward VII at Wikimedia Commons
Banksys escaping convict on Reading Gaol (geograph 6770032).jpg Escaping convict on Reading Gaol Reading Gaol

51°27′24″N 0°57′49″W / 51.456710°N 0.963530°W / 51.456710; -0.963530
2021 Banksy Graffiti Paint on brickwork The mural of an escaping prisoner - possibly resembling famous inmate Oscar Wilde - appeared on the walls of the disused Reading jail on Monday 01 March 2021. Reading prison famously housed Irish writer Wilde between 1895 and 1897 and was immortalised by his poem Ballad of Reading Gaol, which reflected on the brutality of the Victorian penal system.

Media related to the escaping convict at Wikimedia Commons
Trooper Potts VC & Berkshire Yeomanry Memorials.jpg Frederick Potts Memorial The Forbury

51°27′24″N 0°58′02″W / 51.456552°N 0.967194°W / 51.456552; -0.967194
2015 Tom Murphy Memorial
Sculpture
Bronze Commemorates and depicts the rescue of Trooper Arthur Andrews by Trooper Frederick Potts, both men having been wounded during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I, and for which Potts was awarded the Victoria Cross. Adjacent is a roll of honour to the 426 men of the Berkshire Yeomanry, the regiment to which both Potts and Andrews belonged, who lost their lives in the wars of the 20th Century. Both are mounted on plinths faced in Portland stone.[8]

Media related to the Frederick Potts Memorial at Wikimedia Commons
Sculpture, Reading International Business Park - geograph.org.uk - 182271.jpg Gateway Reading International Business Park

51°24′58″N 0°58′26″W / 51.416°N 0.974°W / 51.416; -0.974
2000 Sculpture At the entrance to the Reading International Business Park.[9]

Media related to the Gateway sculpture at Wikimedia Commons
Statue of George Palmer.jpg George Palmer Palmer Park

51°27′07″N 0°56′19″W / 51.451946°N 0.938628°W / 51.451946; -0.938628
1891 George Blackall Simonds Statue Bronze Grade II Commemorates George Palmer, the founder of the biscuit manufacturers Huntley & Palmers. Originally sited in Broad Street, but relocated to Palmer Park in 1930.[10]

Media related to the statue of George Palmer at Wikimedia Commons
The Girl and the Swan (geograph 2215057).jpg Girl and Swan Kings Road

51°27′17″N 0°57′53″W / 51.4548°N 0.9647°W / 51.4548; -0.9647
1984 Lorne McKean Statue Bronze Depicts a young girl reaching up to touch a swan flying overhead.[11]

Media related to the Girl and Swan statue at Wikimedia Commons
Hexham Road Tree Community Centre, Hexham Road

51°26′15″N 0°57′33″W / 51.437429°N 0.959145°W / 51.437429; -0.959145
1998 Three dimensional mural on the wall of Hexham Road Community Centre.[5]
Reading Abbey, Martyrdom Bas-relief.jpg Hugh de Boves and Hugh of Faringdon Memorials Reading Abbey

51°27′23″N 0°57′54″W / 51.456363°N 0.964878°W / 51.456363; -0.964878
1911 William Silver Frith Relief Limestone Two stone reliefs, showing the first and the last abbot of Reading Abbey and flanking the east end of the ruined chapter house of the abbey.[12][13]

Media related to the reliefs at Wikimedia Commons
Inner Light 2018-09-30 14.19.10.jpg Inner Light Kings Road

51°27′21″N 0°57′42″W / 51.455736°N 0.961695°W / 51.455736; -0.961695
1992 Liliane Lijn Sculpture Overlooks the River Kennet behind the offices of Prudential in Kings Road, Reading[5]

Media related to Inner Light at Wikimedia Commons
Reading International Brigade Memorial 2015-05-03 12.38.38.jpg International Brigade Memorial Forbury Gardens

51°27′25″N 0°57′57″W / 51.456816°N 0.965834°W�� / 51.456816; -0.965834
1990 Eric Stanford Memorial
Statue
Memorial to the Reading members of the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Originally sited at Reading Civic Centre but relocated to Forbury Gardens in 2015.[14]

Media related to the International Brigade Memorial at Wikimedia Commons
Jubilee Fountain, Reading.jpg Jubilee Fountain St Mary's Butts

51°27′15″N 0°58′27″W / 51.454233°N 0.974229°W / 51.454233; -0.974229
1887 Fountain Stone Commemorates Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. In and Portland stone and Peterhead granite. The fountain bowl has been converted into a flower display.[15]

Media related to the Jubilee Fountain at Wikimedia Commons
The Maiwand Lion, Forbury Gardens, Reading.jpg Maiwand Lion Forbury Gardens

51°27′25″N 0°58′03″W / 51.456952°N 0.967481°W / 51.456952; -0.967481
1884 George Blackall Simonds Memorial
Sculpture
Cast iron Grade II Commemorates the Battle of Maiwand in 1880.

Media related to the Maiwand Lion sculpture at Wikimedia Commons
Meteor Garden 2019-09-25-14-19-30.jpg Meteor Garden Harris Garden, University of Reading

51°26′08″N 0°56′27″W / 51.435653°N 0.940898°W / 51.435653; -0.940898
2015 Sculpture Sponsored by the Friends of the Harris Garden and designed by their volunteers.

Media related to the Meteor Garden sculpture at Wikimedia Commons
Oscar Wilde Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 2782.jpg Oscar Wilde Memorial Chestnut Walk

51°27′21″N 0°57′49″W / 51.455805°N 0.963573°W / 51.455805; -0.963573
2000
and
Paul Muldoon
Memorial Memorial to Oscar Wilde, who was imprisoned in the adjacent Reading Gaol and wrote the Ballad of Reading Gaol. Comprises metal gates, fencing and seats all with cultural references to Wilde.[16]

Media related to the Oscar Wilde Memorial at Wikimedia Commons
Queen going green - geograph.org.uk - 725263.jpg Queen Victoria Town Hall Square

51°27′24″N 0°58′13″W / 51.456551°N 0.970177°W / 51.456551; -0.970177
George Blackall Simonds Statue Marble Grade II Celebrates the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[17]

Media related to the statue of Victoria at Wikimedia Commons
Robed Figure by Elisabeth Frink, Reading.jpg Robed Figure Reading Abbey

51°27′22″N 0°57′56″W / 51.456197°N 0.965418°W / 51.456197; -0.965418
1988 Elisabeth Frink Statue A near-duplicate of the central of the central figure from Elisabeth Frink's work Martyrs of Dorchester.[18]

Media related to the Robed Figure statue at Wikimedia Commons
Statue in the Gardens (geograph 3701361).jpg Rufus Isaacs Eldon Square

51°27′28″N 0°58′21″W / 51.45773°N 0.9724°W / 51.45773; -0.9724
Charles Sargeant Jagger Statue Commemorates Rufus Isaacs, who held the roles of Attorney General, Lord Chief Justice and Viceroy of India, and was the first Marquess of Reading. The statue was originally sited in New Delhi but was offered as a gift to Reading after India achieved its independence in 1947. It was relocated to its current location in 1971.[5][19]

Media related to the statue of Rufus Isaacs at Wikimedia Commons
Water feature, Forbury Gardens, Reading - geograph.org.uk - 1288869.jpg Rustic Fountain Forbury Gardens

51°25′51″N 0°58′32″W / 51.430908°N 0.975615°W / 51.430908; -0.975615
1856 Fountain A rustic fountain in a pond, by an unknown artist but believed to date from 1856 when the town's Forbury was first laid out as 'pleasure gardens'.[18]

Media related to the Rustic Fountain at Wikimedia Commons
Simeon Monument, Reading.jpg Simeon Monument Market Place

51°27′20″N 0°58′10″W / 51.45561°N 0.9695°W / 51.45561; -0.9695
1804 John Soane Portland stone 25 feet (7.6 m) in height Also known as the Soane Obelisk, the Soane Monument and the Simeon Obelisk. Commissioned in his lifetime by Edward Simeon and with a triangular cross-section, it is technically neither a monument nor an obelisk, despite often being called both.

Media related to the Simeon Monument at Wikimedia Commons
Space Between 2019-02-28 16.37.20.jpg Space Between Forbury Road

51°27′27″N 0°57′58″W / 51.457584°N 0.966101°W / 51.457584; -0.966101
Sculpture Granite 5 metres (16 ft) in height Twin helical blocks of granite, carved from Chinese granite, situated outside new office blocks on Forbury Road opposite Forbury Gardens.[20]

Media related to the Space Between at Wikimedia Commons
Sumer Is Icumen In 2020-07-10.jpg Sumer Is Icumen In Reading Abbey

51°27′23″N 0°57′54″W / 51.456404°N 0.965089°W / 51.456404; -0.965089
Relief Limestone Stone relief commemorating the composition of the early English song Sumer Is Icumen In at Reading Abbey in the 13th century.[21][22]

Media related to the relief at Wikimedia Commons

References[]

  1. ^ "Abbey Gateway Heads" (PDF). Potts VC Memorial Site. Potts VC Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Abbey Gateway Heads". Statues - Hither & Thither. René & Peter van der Krogt. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Interpretation of Ruins" (PDF). The Potts VC Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018..
  4. ^ "Reading Mural Black History". University of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e Fort, Hugh (3 November 2015). "Reading's artworks: What they are, who made them and what they represent". getreading.co.uk. Trinity Mirror Southern. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  6. ^ "The Caversham Village Sign" (PDF). Caversham and District Residents Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  7. ^ "The Statue of Edward Vii". BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Potts VC Memorial Site". The Potts VC Trust. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Gateway" (PDF). The Potts VC Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018..
  10. ^ "Statue of George Palmer". BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Girl and The Swan" (PDF). The Potts VC Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018..
  12. ^ "Hugh de Boves and Hugh of Faringdon Memorials". Statues - Hither & Thither. René & Peter van der Krogt. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Plaque to Hugh de Boves". Berkshire Sculpture Park. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Rededication of Reading memorial". International Brigade Memorial Trust. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Jubilee Fountain" (PDF). The Potts VC Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Oscar Wilde" (PDF). The Potts VC Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  17. ^ "Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue". BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  18. ^ a b Fort, Hugh (9 November 2015). "Reading's statues: Part two of what the town's artwork represents and who they are". getreading.co.uk. Trinity Mirror Southern. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Lord Reading, Rufus Isaacs". Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  20. ^ "Chinese Granite for Reading". Simon Hitchens. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  21. ^ Hilts, Carly (19 July 2018). "Review – Reading Abbey revealed". Current Archaeology. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  22. ^ ""Sumer is icumen in"". Berkshire Sculpture Park. Retrieved 15 July 2020.

External links[]


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