Vacant Reading Building Transformed with Heritage Display

A building that has been vacant for 20 years in Reading has been brightened up with a local history display.

The ground-floor unit of the RedServe Heating building on Christchurch Road had fallen into a dilapidated state. Friends of Christchurch Green, RGSpaces and Whiteknights Studio Trail have teamed up to install an exhibition in the shopfront.

The window now shows nostalgic photos from 1906 to 1995 of Christchurch Green. Former businesses featured include Franklin's Greengrocer's & Post Office and Peskett Pharmacy.

The exhibition was spotted on Saturday, August 22.

According to a post on the Friends of Christchurch Green blog: "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, 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."

Molli Cleaver, community engagement manager at the University of Reading, said: "The University were part of the exhibition team and supported by designing and printing the exhibition. We helped to fund this alongside RG Spaces."

Fiona Talkington said: "It was in the planning stage last year as a way of celebrating Christchurch Green and it coincided beautifully with the University's centenary."

"We were delighted when Jenny offered to include it as part of the Whiteknights Studio Trail and had always hoped that it would find another home - which it has!"

The building had previously been earmarked for a cafe called 'coffee corner', but plans approved in January 2022 effectively expired last year.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter