Famous People in Reading

Reading is linked with many famous people, from modern TV stars and household celebrities, through to entrepreneurs, literary greats - and even royalty. From the noble families who shaped Reading after the Dissolution, through to modern entrepreneurs, you’ll still find some of Reading’s successful residents’ names attributed to local buildings, streets, parks and schools.

Reading’s literary greats

Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in Reading Gaol in the late nineteenth century for homosexuality. While residing there, he wrote De Profundis and on his release penned The Ballad of Reading Gaol. In 2016, a series of artists, including Patti Smith and Ralph Fiennes hosted public readings of De Profundis in Reading Gaol to mark the suffering experienced by Wilde in his confinement.

As a young girl, novelist, Jane Austen, attended school at Reading Ladies Boarding School. The Abbey Gateway which housed the school, is found next to Forbury Garden and the Abbey Ruins and can be visited on organised tours.

Reading’s royal connections

Reading’s Royal associations reach deep into English history and continue to the present day. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, was born in Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital and her family home is in nearby country village, Bucklebury.

In 1121, Henry I laid the foundation stone for Reading Abbey and was buried here in 1136, making Reading one of only a handful of towns where British monarchs are buried. The Abbey Ruins reopened in 2018 following a major conservation project and the search for the remains of the last un-found King of England continues on the site.

In 1464, Edward IV’s secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was announced at Reading, Elizabeth being escorted to the Abbey and honoured as Queen of England. Tradition has it that Elizabeth I, who visited regularly, actively encouraged the creation of a cloth industry in the town by gifting mulberry trees for the production of silk worms. She was certainly pivotal in helping shape modern Reading, granting it Borough status in 1560.

As part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, a statue of Queen Victoria was erected on Reading’s Town Hall Square. A statue of her son Edward VII stands opposite Reading Station today.

Reading’s industry leaders and entrepreneurs

Many notable entrepreneurs, scientists and industry leaders have been born, educated or settled in Reading, including the former British Prime Minister, Henry Addington; Reading MP and playwright Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd; cloth merchant and philanthropist John Kendrick; mathematician and astronomer John Blagrave to name a few – you’ll find their names on many streets and buildings in Reading today.

In the early nineteenth century, local business men, Thomas Huntley and George Palmer, formed a hugely successful partnership. They went on to establish Huntley and Palmers, the world’s biggest biscuit factory and one of the first global brands, selling to 172 countries with customers including Queen Victoria and Napoleon.

Reading also boasts the work of some of the greatest British Victorian architects - Sir John Soane, Sir George Gilbert Scott, Augustus Pugin and Alfred Waterhouse which can be seen throughout the town.

Reading’s television stars

Reading is also the birthplace and former home of many of Britain’s much-loved television stars and household names.

Actors and singers include Kate Winslet, Ricky Gervais, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Jacqueline Bissett, Rudolph Walker and Marianne Faithful. Directors and producers include Sir David Lean and Sam Mendes, as well as broadcaster, Chris Tarrant, and musician and composer, Mike Oldfield.

Between them (Bisset, Branagh, Gervais, Lean, Mendes and Winslet) have achieved 10 Academy Awards and 21 BAFTAs.