Editing Tilehurst (section)

== Architecture ==

[[File:Houses at Tilehurst - geograph.org.uk - 1521473.jpg|thumb|Late 20th-century housing estate]]

The architecture of Tilehurst ranges from 19th century [[thatched]] cottages<ref name="BFHS" /> to late 20th-century [[housing estate]]s. [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian architecture|Edwardian]] [[terraced house|terraces]]<ref name="Hill 49">{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Harold|title=Images of Reading and surrounding villages|year=1995|publisher=Breedon Books|location=Derby|isbn=1-85983-024-2|page=49}}</ref> (built using bricks from the Tilehurst [[kiln]]s) are common in the area; streets such as Blundells Road and [[Norcot]] Road display this type of architecture.<ref name="Hill 51">{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Harold|title=Images of Reading and surrounding villages|year=1995|publisher=Breedon Books|location=Derby|isbn=1-85983-024-2|page=51}}</ref><ref name="Hill 53">{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Harold|title=Images of Reading and surrounding villages|year=1995|publisher=Breedon Books|location=Derby|isbn=1-85983-024-2|page=53}}</ref> 

As the area expanded, a huge number of semi-detached dwellings were built in the mid-20th century,<ref name="Hill 49" /><ref name="Hill 50">{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Harold|title=Images of Reading and surrounding villages|year=1995|publisher=Breedon Books|location=Derby|isbn=1-85983-024-2|page=50}}</ref> in areas such as St Michael's Road (1930s)<ref name="Hill 50" /> and on the Berkshire Drive estate (1950s).<ref name="Hill 54">{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Harold|title=Images of Reading and surrounding villages|year=1995|publisher=Breedon Books|location=Derby|isbn=1-85983-024-2|page=54}}</ref> 

[[File:Park Lane Water Tower - geograph.org.uk - 9736.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Tilehurst Water Tower was built in the 1930s, to provide water at pressure to the growing village population]]

Examples of unique architecture in Tilehurst include two water towers: [[Tilehurst Water Tower]] is a 1932 concrete building, open octagonal in design with [[Arcade (architecture)|arcading]] supporting a cylindrical drum;<ref name="BFHS" /><ref name="Tyack 487">{{cite book |last=Tyack |first=Geoffrey |title=Berkshire |year=2010 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT |isbn=978-0-300-12662-4 |page=487 |author2=Simon Bradley |author3=Nikolaus Pevsner}}</ref> Norcot [[Water Tower]] is an 1890s brick building with tiered [[Blind arcade|blind arcading]].<ref name="Tyack 487" /> 

The Mansion House in [[Prospect Park, Reading|Prospect Park]] (19th century) is a [[Regency architecture|regency]] [[mansion]] built in [[Portland stone]].<ref name="Prospect listed">{{cite web|title=Prospect House, Prospect Park, Reading|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-38758-prospect-house-prospect-park-reading|work=British Listed Buildings|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> The north and south faces feature [[Doric order|Doric]] and [[Ionic order]] [[portico]]s respectively.<ref name="Prospect listed" />