Reading, the capital of Berkshire, throws her shadows, her bridges, and her wings over the river Kennet as she joins the Thames. The town is connected with the early history of our country, and was the head-quarters of Ivor the Dane in 868. Situate thirty-nine miles from London, it is approached by three lines of railway-the Great Western, South-Eastern, and South-Western lines. In the time of Queen Elizabeth it was the custom to strew flowers and rushes in St. Lawrence's Church, in which a pew was fitted up for her Majesty; and it is supposed that the town was named by the ancient Britons as from Rhyd, a ford, and Ing, a meadow. John Leland, in the reign of Henry III., speaks of Reading as "a pleasant abode, furnished with good yeomanry, and placed midst fruitful pastures."
Source: The Illustrated London News, July 8, 1882, p.47