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Campus
 The University of Reading is set in 300 acres of
landscaped parkland, known as Whiteknights, in Reading, England. It is one of
Britain's medium sized universities.
The University of Reading has been fortunate
in its history; its traditions and roots go back into the later years of the
nineteenth century, when local initiatives established schools of science and
art in Reading. After a generation as a University College, the University
received its Royal Charter in 1926. Development at Whiteknights began in
1954 and continues to this day. The landscaped parkland, with many fine
trees, provides an ideal setting for a modern campus university.
The University's Whiteknights
campus, where most of the academic departments are situated, lies about a
mile and a half south of the centre of Reading. It was once part of the
medieval manorial estate of Erleigh
Whiteknights. Landscaped in the eighteenth century, it
was ornamented considerably between 1798 and 1819 under the ownership of the
Marquis of Blandford (who became Duke of Marlborough). The Marquis spent
his fortune on the estate making a lake, an artificial 'wilderness', and an
ornamental grotto, all of which still exist. It was he who was responsible for
planting most of the beautiful and exotic trees, which give the park its
characteristic appearance today. The park is rich in flora and fauna and
includes a conservation area. What was left of his money he spent on
books, and he had a library valued at £36,000 in 1815. Later, the
original manor house having gone, the estate was divided into six leaseholds
containing Victorian family houses which were lived in until the entire estate
was bought for the University in 1947.
 The
buildings have been designed and built as far as possible without detriment to
the park. The academic buildings, together with the Students' Union and
the Senior Common Room, form a fairly compact group around the Library, in the
central part of the campus, while most of the halls of residence lie around the
northern perimeter and in the residential streets nearby. Thus most of the
departmental buildings (except those at Bulmershe Court and Earley Gate)
together with the lecture rooms and social facilities, are within 300 yards of
the library which, as it should, forms the focus of the campus. The
Faculty of Education and Community Studies is situated about a mile from
Whiteknights at Bulmershe Court in modern buildings equipped for teacher
education.
The University has farms for
agricultural teaching and research totalling over 2,200 acres near Reading and
on the Berkshire Downs.
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