Events

  • Trip to Royal and Tilbury Docks 7 Oct 2023

    In place of the visit which could not take place last year Martin Kaufman is offering a combined mini Royal Docks tour- with half the amount of walking and half the number of times getting on and off the coach – followed by a trip to Tilbury to see the container Docks and Tilbury Fort, a double visit which Martin says would be “a fitting end to our Docklands tour.” Details have been sent to members.

  • Tea with a grant - History of Sport at the University 1 October

    An informal get together over a cup of tea from the MERL cafe to chat about the booklet The Friends’ funded with Ian Akhurst, previous Director of Sport at the University.

    Just come along between 3pm-4.30pm on Sunday afternoon and look for us in the Museum of English Rural Life cafe. Parking is available. Non-members welcome. No need to book but letting us know you may be coming by emailing thefriends@reading.ac.uk helps with the organisation.

  • Heritage open Days  9-10 September 2023

    We are again taking part in the National Trust’s Heritage Open Days with a tour of Foxhill House and through the meadows to Whiteknights lake.

    Please see: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/tour-of-foxhill-house-and-walk-through-meadow-area-to-whiteknights-lake for details. Booking essential.

  • Visit to Downe House 6 Sept 2023

    Visit to Downe village and Down House with Professor Peter Worsley, Wednesday 6 September 2023

    Following his talk at last year’s Annual General Meeting about Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle, Professor Peter Worsley, Friend of the University and Professor Emeritus of Quaternary Geology, has kindly offered to lead a coach trip on Wednesday 6 September 2023 from Whiteknights to Charles Darwin’s home at Down House, now an English Heritage property, in Kent. After visiting the house it will be a short guided walk to nearby Downe village, from where the coach will return members to Whiteknights. Details have ...

  • Tea with a grant - The MERL  garden and the Mud Kitchen 3 Sept 2023

    We will be looking at how our grant for improvements to the MERL garden worked out. We will be joined by Chengcheng Guo, a postgraduate student who helps with the Friday Fledglings in the Garden.
    Just come along between 3pm-4.30pm on Sunday afternoon and look for us in the Museum of English Rural Life cafe. Parking is available. Non-members welcome. No need to book but letting us know you may be coming by emailing thefriends@reading.ac.uk helps with the organisation.

  • East Reading Festival 25 June 2023

    The Friends will be taking part in the East Reading Festival, Palmer Park, 12noon – 6pm alongside a small display from the Cole Museum of Zoology with hands-on exhibits.

  • Whiteknights Studio Trail 10 and 11 June 2023

    The Whiteknights Studio Trail will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 of June. Venues include the University’s Museum of English Rural Life. The Studio Trail map can be obtained in May at studiotrail.co.uk

    The book celebrating the Trail’s > 20 years which a Friends’ grant helped to publish can be bought from https://tworiverspress.com/shop/the-art-history-of-whiteknights/

  • University Community Festival Saturday 13 May 2023

    This Festival, hosted by the University and the Students’ Union, will take place between 10.30 am and 3.30 pm on land behind the Students Union. The Festival, based on the theme of Agriculture and Food, is designed to give the people of Reading a free, local day out and to bring some vibrancy to the heart of Whiteknights Campus. The day will be action-packed with live performances, workshops, competitions and much more. The Friends of the University will provide a stall or two at the event. No booking required.

  • Festival of Walks 10 to 14 May 2023

    In association with Reading’s Economy and Destination Agency (REDA), and at the request of the University’s Events Team, Mr Chris Rayner and colleagues among The Friends have volunteered to lead guided walks round Whiteknghts on Saturday 13 May at 11 am and 2 pm, and round London Road on Sunday 14 May at 11 am. There will also be a nature walk by someone else on Saturday 13 May at 4 pm. The complete programme of walks, and the arrangements for booking to join a walk can be found at: https://whatsonreading.com/venues/reading-walks-festival/whats-on-events or obtained from REDA, The Library ...

  • The Origin and Development of Halls of Residence at the University 5 April 2023

    Talk on Wednesday 5 April 2023 about The Origin and Development of Halls of Residence at the University by Mr Ian Burn and Dr John Grainger in the Meadow Suite at 4.15 pm.

    Mr Burn and Dr Grainger have recently issued a brochure describing and illustrating the History of Halls of Residence at the University and their talk will expand on the information in the brochure.

    Tea/coffee with cakes, will be available from 3.00 pm in the Meadow Suite, Park House, and will be followed by the talk at 4.15 pm.

    Please see the enclosed letter for further details and use the enclosed ...

  • ‘An Ephemeral Encounter’ 28 March 2023

    ‘An Ephemeral Encounter’ at the Department of Typography, Tuesday 28 March 2023

    The Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at Earley Gate RG6 6BZ, invites twenty Friends to visit on Tuesday 28 March 2023 to look at and discuss examples of Reading ephemera, with an opportunity to print from a block made by a Reading printer.

    The exhibition illustrates everyday life in Reading and work on this collection has been partly funded by a grant from The Friends.

    Arrival is 2.15 pm for a 2.30 pm start. Tea will be provided.

    Places are limited to 20 and will be allocated on a ‘first-come, first-served’ ...

  • Head of the River Race 25 Feb 2023

    The University Boat Club invites The Friends of the University to join them from 2 to 4 pm to watch the afternoon division of the RU Head of the River, and enjoy tea and cake provided by the student rowers.

    The event is hosted at Reading Canoe Club, The Warren, Reading RG4 7TH (parking available), which has fantastic views of the final stages of the Head of the River, and provides the comfort of being in the warm and dry.

    There is no need to book; just turn up to cheer on the crews and enjoy the afternoon speaking to some current ...

  • The Huntley & Palmer families 3 November 2022

    A talk by Dennis Wood and colleagues on the Huntley and Palmer families in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Joseph Huntley’s founding of his biscuit business in Reading. Members are welcome to bring guests. Further details will be circulated to members in due course.

  • The Royal Docks the Thames Barrier and Tilbury 16 October 2022

    Members and their guests are invited on this tour with our guide Martin Kaufmann. Booking essential. Details will be sent to members.

  • Atmospheric Observatory tour 10 August 2022

    Weather observations commenced at the university in London Road in 1901, and today there are over 100 years unbroken daily records of temperature, rainfall etc. Most of the instruments are fully automatic, and logged by computer every second of every day, 365 days per year. The wide range of observatory instruments and their records provide a valuable teaching and research resource to the Meteorology Department as well as continuing the long climate record. Please click to find out more and access the booking form.

  • AGM 13 July 2022

    Members and their guests are invited to a talk by Professor Peter Worsley on Darwin’s Voyage in the Beagle and tea in the Palmer Building preceding an update from the Vice-Chancellor on University strategy and our AGM.

  • East Reading Festival 26 June 2022

    The Friends will once again have a stand at this Festival 12noon-6pm Palmer Park. All welcome, entry free. This time we’ll be showing an exhibition relating to the history of the Palmer family and the University to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Huntley & Palmers.

  • Whiteknights Studio Trail 11-12 June 2022

    We helped fund the publication of the Art & History of Whiteknights celebrating 20 years of the Whiteknights Studio Trail which was co-founded by Friends’ member Jenny Halstead. Other members contributed articles to the book and created video tours of the based on some of the book’s artworks. Learn more and order the book on the publisher’s website: Two Rivers Press Whiteknights and come to this year’s trail.

  • Supporter Appreciation Evening 19 March 2022

    An invitation to members of the Friends from the Alumni and Supporter Engagement Office to attend a Supporter Engagement Evening as a thank you for our help to the University and to hear about two of the activities that alumni and supporter contributions have assisted. Please click to book.

  • Head of the RIver Race 8 March 2022

    Members and their guests are invited to join students and staff for tea and cake at the Reading Canoe Club from 2pm to watch the afternon’s racing. No booking required.

  • Tea 'n' Grants at MERL 15 February 2022

    Join a small group of us in the MERL cafe for a cup of tea and to look at the result of one of the Friends’ grants – the stained glass window.

  • AGM 8 September 2021

    The trustees have decided to conduct the AGM by email where possible and by post where not. Agenda papers for the Meeting hzve been sent to members who are invited to contact the Secretary if with any issues they would like to raise.

  • Whiteknights Studio Trail 13 14 June 2020

    THE TRAIL HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO JUNE 2021.

    A book entitled The Art and History of Whiteknights celebrating the founding of the Trail 20 years ago can be purchased through tworiverspress.com . The Friends have not only given a grant towards the cost of publication but also, through some of its volunteers, provided chapters on the Southern Hill area round Christchurch Road, and about Whiteknights Park derived from their work on its history that has resulted in a series of published Friend’ Heritage Trail Guides.

  • Royal Docks, Tilbury Docks and Thames Barrier 26 September 2020

    Event postponed due to Coronavirus restrictions

    Martin Kaufman will follow up his visit to Limehouse, Shadwell and Wapping last year with a proposed guided tour of the Royal Docks, the Thames Barrier and Tilbury Docks. Details will be sent to members nearer the time with an itinerary, timings and cost.

  • Heritage Open Days

    Update July 2020: in view of the continuing uncertainty over the safety of holding events and the timing coinciding with the University welcoming students on campus we are postponing our participation in this event until 2021

    The Friends will be collaborating with other local organisations in these National Trust-coordinated Heritage Open Days, the theme of which is Hidden Nature. We hope to co-ordinate something around the Grotto in the Wilderness on Whiteknights. Details will be sent out later in the year.

  • AGM 8 July 2020

    The AGM will take place via email and snail mail this year. The Secretary will be in touch with members in June.

    Our Annual General Meeting will start with a visit to the Library at 2.30 pm to be shown the changes made as a result of the recent renovation programme. Tea will be available in in the Meadow Suite from 3.45 pm followed by the Annual General Meeting at 4.30 pm, at which the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort, will talk to us about University’s activities and plans
  • Visit to Silchester Roman Baths 1 July 2020

    THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE UNIVERSITY’S SILCHESTER FIELD DIG WILL NOT TAKE PLACE THIS YEAR.

    Professor Michael Fulford has invited Friends to return to Silchester again, for what may be his last season there, to be shown the results of further excavations of the Roman Baths. Details and a booking form will be sent out later this year

  • East Reading Festival 21 June 2020

    This event has been cancelled.

    The Friends will once again be taking part in this local festival on Palmer Park. If any members would like to help man the Friends stall please get in touch (thefriends@reading.ac.uk).

  • Big Band Lunch 30 May 2020

    This event has been postponed until further notice

    Friends are invited to join members of the University and the local community at this fifth annual Big Band Big Lunch Event on the London Road campus. You can take lunch, listen to music from the University Big Band and take part in a range of activities, including a guided tour of the London Road campus.

    Food and drink will be available to purchase, or feel free to bring along a picnic and enjoy the festivities! No need to book. Just turn up on the day from 12 noon. Parking available.

    Food and drink ...

  • Art & History of Whiteknights 6 13 20 June 2020

    The Whiteknights Studio Trail celebration book is being offered at a pre-publication price of £10.50 per copy. This is valid up until publication date of 21st June when it will return to £12.00. Friends’ member and editor of the book Jenny Halstead can hand copies over at the front door (wearing a glove) on SATURDAYS (6/13 /20 June) between 12noon – 4pm – cash only in an envelope please at 85 Christchurch Road, Reading