Shops and Businesses Talks Series
This all series ticket covers all three talks in the “Shops and Businesses” Talks series, for the discounted price of £12.50 (members £10). You may also book each talk individually – see each separate event page. All talks are on Thursdays at 2.30pm. The venue is the Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square, Reading (next to the back of Reading Central Library). They last about an hour with time for questions and discussion afterwards. Tea, coffee and biscuits is included in the price.
Thursday 16 April 2026 – The Shops, Trades and Businesses of Pangbourne with Ellie Thorne
Pangbourne is a thriving village and civil parish with a wide variety of shops and businesses. It has long acted as a retail and meeting hub for surrounding communities and also attracts visitors from even further afield because of its popular pubs and restaurants and the scenic rivers Thames and Pang. Discover Pangbourne’s varied businesses and shops in this image rich talk and how they have changed over the last almost two centuries. The talk will begin by looking at the occupations in Pangbourne between 1830 and 1900, with some comparisons to nearby villages. The second and main part of the talk covers the period 1949 to present, and the many different shops in Pangbourne over the last 75 years.Â
Thursday 21 May 2026 – The Silk Industry in Reading with David Cliffe
The silk industry existed in Reading for over 200 years, and employed over 500 people in the early 19th century. Yet nowadays few have heard of it. David’s interest in the subject stems from the fact that he grew up in Macclesfield, a town dominated by silk manufacture. He will describe the different processes involved in silk production, how the industry in Reading was run, some of the firms involved, and whereabouts they operated.
Thursday 18 June 2026 – Reading Iron Works with Dr Richard Marks
Many people still claim that Reading was never an industrial town. This talk overturns that myth. At the heart of the town’s history stands Reading Iron Works – once one of Britain’s major manufacturing powerhouses and a driving force behind some of the engineering marvels of the nineteenth century. From making machinery to supplying essential components for Brunel’s visionary Great Western Railway, Reading Iron Works helped shape the modern world from the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Its story is one of ambition, innovation, and national significance. Join us as we bring this remarkable enterprise back into the spotlight, exploring its origins, its achievements, and its enduring legacy in Reading’s landscape and Britain’s industrial history.
Find out more in these fascinating face-to-face talks.Â
Pre-booking is preferred, but you can pay on the door for this series ticket at the first talk, if there are spaces available. Â
Location image: Abbey Church – Gazamp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
Scroll down to book.
Date
- Thu 16 Apr 2026
Tickets
- £12.50
Location
- Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BE
Category
Organiser
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The Centre - Berkshire FHS
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Email
booking@berksfhs.org.uk -
Website
https://berksfhs.org/branches/
Speakers
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Ellie ThorneSenior Archivist, Berkshire Record Office
Ellie Thorne is the Senior Archivist at Berkshire Record Office with responsibility for collections. Her main cataloguing and research interests include the archives of local businesses and architectural records. She is also a keen family historian and is always excited to find the human stories behind the more administrative records that we hold.
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Dr Richard MarksIndustrial, Military and Railway HistorianRichard is a published historian based in Berkshire who specialises in industrial, military, and railway history and also the history of science. His current areas of research are industrial development in the Victorian period, the development of the railway and canal systems in Britain in the mid to late 19th Century and the history of British Rail. He has a PhD in economic history. Richard’s books on British Rail Engineering and the Wantage Tramway Company were both both published by Pen and Sword in 2024.
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David CliffeDavid Cliffe came to Reading in 1969, and spent his working career in public libraries in Reading, eventually becoming Local Studies Manager for Reading Borough. He has had a life-long interest in local history, and is currently Chairman of the Berkshire Local History Association, and of the History of Reading Society. Another life-long interest has resulted in him being the President of the Reading & District Natural History Society.