The exhibition: Memories of Christchurch Green & its shops 1906 -2026 has a new home!

We’re delighted to announce that our exhibition, “Memories of Christchurch Green & its Shops: 1906–2026”, has found a new home! 

The exhibition has now been installed in the window of the vacant RedServe shop unit at 56 Christchurch Road, Reading, adjacent to the No. 21 bus stop, where it will remain for the foreseeable future.

And because it’s a window exhibition, you can enjoy it 24 hours a day, seven days a week – so why not stop and have a look next time you’re passing?

Created by Friends of Christchurch Green, the exhibition brings together photographs, newspaper cuttings, local research, and personal memories that chart the history of Christchurch Green and its parade of shops over the last 120 years.

Discover independent businesses that have come and gone, familiar local characters, changing streetscapes and stories of everyday life in the neighbourhood from 1906 right through to the present day.

Many of the photographs and memories were contributed by local residents and their families, creating a wonderful community archive that reflects not only the changing face of Christchurch Green, but also the strong sense of community that continues to define the area today.

The exhibition was originally created in partnership with the University of Reading as part of the University’s Centenary celebrations and the 26^th year of the Whiteknights Studio Trail. We’re delighted that, thanks to the support of shop owner Tony Chima and RG Spaces, we’ve now been able to give the exhibition a much longer life in the heart of the community whose story it tells.

So, if you’re passing Christchurch Green, stop for a few minutes, take a trip down memory lane and see how many shops, people and places you recognise!

And please help us spread the word by telling friends, neighbours and anyone else with connections to the area.

If the exhibition sparks a memory, or you have photographs, stories or recollections of Christchurch Green and its shops that you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.

Friends of Christchurch Green

christchurchgreenfriends@gmail.com

www.christchurchgreenfriends.blogspot.com

Welcome to Friends of Christchurch Green

Who are we?

Friends of Christchurch Green (FoCG) is a group of neighbours who live in and around the Christchurch Green area of Reading. Many local residents have called this area home for years – often decades. With the town centre and the Royal Berkshire Hospital close by, Christchurch Green is a much-loved and well-used part of the community.

Friends of Christchurch Green was formed in early 2020, when seven very local residents came together following another Reading Borough Council planning application meeting affecting the area. The aim was simple: to give local people a collective voice and to work positively to protect, enhance and improve Christchurch Green and its surroundings.

Our aims and objectives

Our work is guided by the following aims:

• To encourage collaboration with interested parties and stakeholders

• To preserve and enhance Christchurch Green and its surrounding area

• To strengthen the sense of community and belonging

• To help make Christchurch Green an area that the community can be proud of

• To seek suitable funding opportunities that enable improvements for the benefit of the area

The group has continued to evolve and meet on a bi-monthly basis, alongside local Councillors and representatives from the University of Reading.  We discuss and progress identified issues and improvements for the area. There have been positive changes to the area, and the group continually strives to keep the area somewhere that residents and visitors can enjoy and feel safe in.

You are warmly invited to join our future dialogue and development.

What we’ve been working on

To date, our work and ideas include:

• Website (this Blog) – fairly basic (yes!), but tells people what we are about and how to contact us.

• Heating shop: Christchurch Road (and adjacent area of land) - discouraging unsightly rubbish tipping. 
• University and Councillors engagement: Regular communication with the University Community Engagement Manager regarding improvements to the Green. Whilst local councillors and the local MP have given their support to our aims and objectives and some of the activities we have undertaken to date, the Friends take no part in Party Politics. 
• Heritage Board: The funding, design and erection of a Heritage Board on Christchurch Green, linking the University with the Community. History of Whiteknights campus and the local area, bringing a sense of belonging to the area for new residents and new students. 
• Conservation:  Receiving regular feedback from the Conservation Committee (CAAC) on areas of special interest. 
• Social activities:  Arranging social gatherings – the chance to meet neighbours and make new friends. 
• Litter bins: Planning for more litter bins, perhaps sponsored by the University (consolidating the University and the community) along the kerbside to prevent cars mounting the pavement.
• Information sharing:  Through regular meetings, sharing information that is relevant and applicable with a mailing list.A website – simple but informative, explaining who we are and how to get in touch.
• Setting up a bank account:  There isn’t a cost to joining the group, but there are incidental costs to what we do, such as printing this letter.  A voluntary contribution of £5.00 to the account will ensure that no individual is out of pocket as a result of our activities.  Our bank details are as follows:

Account Name: Friends of Christchurch Green 

Account Number: 51195089

Sort Code: 60-01-13

To make a donation, please use your surname as a reference so that we can accurately monitor payments and maintain a (confidential) record of all payments made.

 The group has also investigated and instigated: 

• Regular litter-picks in the vicinity. We continue to monitor and report on the littering. 
• Deliveries and parking bay (Christchurch Road shops) 
• Keeping Cintra Park a place that the whole community can enjoy and use
• The condition of Back Lane behind Christchurch Road shops 
• Monitoring of and suggested changes to cycle lanes, traffic calming measures
• Monitoring and responding to planning applications in the vicinity, both new and those in progress 

WE INVITE YOU TO BE A PART OF THIS - COME JOIN US! 

Many residents around the Green have lived in their homes for years - often over decades.  Newcomers to the area are impressed by the friendly community that welcomes them.  Although much has been done, there is still much to do. You may also have ideas and views that haven’t been covered in the above. 

If you are interested in joining the Friends of Christchurch Group, we would like to hear from you. We have a mailing list to keep you up-dated about the work we are doing and the issues that affect this area - your neighbourhood! 

If you would like to know more, receive updates about what we are doing, or be involved in the work of the group, please complete the contact form, and someone will be in touch.

Our Aims & Objectives

• To enable collaboration with interested parties to preserve and enhance the area of Christchurch Green and environs

• To improve the sense of community and belonging

• To make Christchurch Green an area to be proud of

• To seek suitable funding opportunities to enable the Friends to carry out improvements for the benefit of the area

Our activities

You are invited to be a part of our future dialogue and development. 

Your involvement and contributions to the Friends regular bi-monthly meetings would be most welcomed. We have created a mailing list so that you can be kept fully updated with progress. Please use the contact form on this site to let us know if you would like to be added to the mailing list.

To date, ideas and progress have included: 

• Website/Blog – fairly basic, but tells people what we are about and how to contact us.
  
  
• Heating shop, Christchurch Road (and adjacent area of land) - discouraging unsightly rubbish tipping.
  
  
• University and Councillors engagement: Regular communication with the University Community Engagement Manager regarding improvements to the Green. Whilst local councillors and the local MP have given their support to our aims and objectives and some of the activities we have undertaken to-date, the Friends shall take no part in Party Politics.
  
  
• Heritage Board: The funding, design and erection of a Heritage Board on Christchurch Green, linking the University with the Community. History of Whiteknights campus and the local area, bringing a point of belonging to the area for new residents and new students.
   
• Conservation:  Receiving regular feed-back from the Conservation Committee (CAAC) on areas of special interest. 
  
  
• Social activities:  Arranging an annual social picnic – the chance to meet neighbours. 
  
  
• Litter bins: Planning for more litter bins, perhaps sponsored by the University (consolidating the University and the community) along the kerbside to prevent cars mounting the pavement.
  
  
• Information sharing:  Through regular meetings, sharing information that is relevant and applicable with a mailing list.
  
  
• Setting up a bank account:  There isn’t a cost to joining the group, but there are incidental costs to what we do, such as printing this letter.  A voluntary contribution of £5.00 to the account will ensure that no individual is out-of-pocket through our activities.

• Receiving regular feed-back from the Conservation Committee (CAAC) on areas of special interest. 

Also investigated and instigated: 

• Regular litter-picks in the vicinity. We continually monitor and report littering and fly-tipping
  
  
• Deliveries and parking bay (Christchurch Road shops) 

• Keeping Cintra Park a place that the whole community can enjoy and use safely

• Back Lane behind Christchurch Lane shops 
  
  
• Monitoring of and any suggested changes to cycle lanes, traffic calming measures, road layouts
  
  
• Monitoring and responding to planning applications in the vicinity, both new and those in progress. Making representation when required