Author: jmcminn

Year 1
Cycle B

Our Beautiful World
History - What can we find out about the 3 ‘B’s in Reading? - Bulbs, Biscuits and Bricks.
Why were these important to the growth of Reading and EP Collier school?

Key Vocabulary
Bulb - a plant bud that begins to grow usually underground
Biscuit - a small flat cake that is baked and is usually sweet
Bricks - mostly made of clay and joined together to be used for building

Key Knowledge
From 1870 until the 1970s, Reading was known as ‘Biscuit Town’ because of the fame of Huntley & Palmers biscuits. The company began when Joseph Huntley opened his own bakery on London Street in 1822 and in 1841 he went into partnership with George Palmer. As the railways developed, Reading's position on the main line from London to the West Country meant that Huntley & Palmers biscuits could be easily transported around the country. The opening of the King's Road factory in 1846 led to a dramatic increase in the number of people employed by the firm. From 16 workers in 1844 to over 5000 50 years later. Because so many people were needed to work at the biscuit factory the number of people living in Reading quickly grew. The biscuit factory closed down in 1976 as the site was too cramped to continue making biscuits. Only one small part of the factory buildings can still be seen in Reading now.
Suttons Seeds was founded in Reading in 1806 by John Sutton. It was initially named the 'House of Sutton' and it supplied corn. When the business grew it moved to Market Place and they launched the flower and vegetable seed business. The company continued to expand and new offices and warehouses were built. These new premises were huge and even had their own fire station along with cottages for the firemen, and stables. Eventually in 1976 the company relocated to another town because Reading couldn't provide enough people to work there.
Reading’s largest brick makers were S & E Collier Ltd who built bricks in Reading for over 100 years. The company was well known for their terracotta and ‘Reading Red’ bricks that our school is made from. Brick making was hard work and the hours were long.
Edward Philip Collier donated the bricks to build our school after the law changed to say that every 5-13 year old had to go to school. The school opened in 1899 and to begin with was called Swansea Road Board School. It’s name was then changed to E P Collier after Edward Philip Collier died in 1920.
The biscuit, bulb and brick industries all contributed to the growth of the town of Reading. People moved to Reading for the jobs in the factories. Lots of new houses were built for the people who moved into the area and the town developed.