History
Reading Corporation
Reading Corporation (later known at the Reading Borough Council) purchased a large parcal of land for a new housing estate in 1956, extending housing already constructed on Holybrook Road and St. Saviours Road.
By 1957 construction was starting on the new roads and houses on Coley Park estate. By 1958 the new residents were arriving and the estate was taking shape. Some of the first residents of Coley Park estate were relocated and re-housed from inner areas of Reading that were being demolished for the redevelopment of central Reading.
Construction started around 1959 to build three 15-storey flats (apartments) on vacant land on Wensley Road, and three smaller maisonettes on Lesford Road (two at the east end and one located at the west end).
Coley Park aerial view from 1997
A row of five new shops (locally known as the 'top shops') were completed in 1961, located on vacant land on Wensley Road, near Carsdale Close. A telephone box and post box were placed on the verge in front of the shops. Public toilets were positioned at the rear of the shops, but are no longer in operation.
The 'Top Shops' at Coley Park
(Click the image for an alternate view)
In the early 1960's new streets were built on the farm land adjacent and to the left of the entrance to the Coley Park Farm. The extension to St. Saviours Road was built and now connects here to Wensley Road and a new street, Tintern Crescent, was built. Previously the land was used to grow vegetables and had pig compounds. Opposite here on Wensley Road, to the right of the roundabout were constructed a number of small flats/apartments.
