RIVERSIDE MUSEUM

The Riverside Museum at Blake’s Lock is a 19th century museum located in the premises of the Abbey Quarter between the rivers of Kennet and Thames. It's unique and one of the most interesting tourist attractions in Reading which exhibits and preserves the heritage of the gipsies of Berkshire.

Riverside Museum at Blake’s Lock in the Reading town is dedicated to document the history of human activities in the town. It has rightly been listed amongst must places to go in reading due to its architectural beauty as well as location, for it’s located between the rivers of Kennet and Thames. The museum aims to preserve the industrial heritage of the Reading town in the county of Berkshire like a Victorian printings shop, a bakery, barber’s shop, a gypsy caravan turbines dating back to 1920s.

The building of the museum is basically a gypsy caravan which was built by the local firm of Dunton and Sons in 1914. The lively heritage of gypsy life inside the caravan is preserved and exhibited. To showcase the richness and liveliness of the lives of gipsies, the building of the museum has been decorated well with green and gold paint, and it has been furnished to illustrate life on the road. The museum has two Listed former waterworks buildings, the Screen House and the Turbine House.

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Highlights

• Visit one of the most special and one of its own kind of museums in Reading which tells you about the lives of the locals of the town.
• At the unique Caravan styled built museum, you see exhibits including a variety of objects illustrating life by the river, from stuffed fish to regatta tickets, including a mediaeval wooden wheel from St Giles Mill.
• Take a detailed tour around the waterworks buildings, the Screen House and the Turbine House of the museum.