Centenary Benches

What are the Centenary Benches

The 17th March 2026 marks 100 years since the University of Reading was granted its Royal Charter. This was a century shaped by our commitment to sustainability, the strength of our community, our research excellence, and a deep belief in the power of engagement to create change. Throughout this year, the University is bringing it's global community together to celebrate it's achievements of the last 100 years. 

As part of this celebration the Staff Forum were awarded some funds to create 5 bespoke benches around the Whiteknights lake to provide safe quiet spaces for staff/students and members of the Reading community to meet/eat or reflect and interact with the local wildlife and nature whilst on the University premises. we had the benches design and built by Pete Hill (https://www.petehilldesign.com)

The Benches each have a QR code that links to this page and provides an overview of the project and provides some information about the University's Research, wildlife and general biodiversity.