Coley Avenue (formally Coley Walk and Coley Lane)

The main entrance to Coley Park Farm (formally Great Coley Farm) and the original Vachell manor house was by the lane (originally known as Coley Walk) which ran from the intersection of Bath Road and the top of Castle Hill in a fairly straight line to the manor. Prior to 1800, the lane was already treelined and still flanked by open meadows on both sides. On the Castle Hill side of the entrance were the remains of a much older nursery garden. Some of the meadows surrounding the lane were known as Upper Garden, Eleven Acres and Cockshot Field.

After the purchase of Coley Park estate by John McConnell in 1802, a new manor house (Coley House) was built and security to the estate was also upgraded. A lodge was built at the entrance and on each side were erected stone gateposts topped with winged dragons (known as Wyverns). A turnpike was later built at this location for the collection of road tolls for traffic travellling the Bath Road in and out of Reading. Just prior to the new house were erected two more lodges, known as the East and West Lodges.


Westbourne Villa
In 1860, Samuel Collier (Brick and Tile maker) and his wife Jane, purchased land on the west side of Coley Avenue from the estate owner, John Bligh Monck of Coley Park. Westbourne Villa was built in 1862 on the west side of Coley Avenue (now at the north west corner of Coley Avenue and Berkeley Avenue).

Parkfield (formally Park Villa, formally Enbourne Villa)
In 1863, Samuel and Jane Collier, built another house on Coley Avenue called Enbourne Villa, which was renamed to Park Villa, and later Parkfield. In 1875 the house was sold to George Carley. In 1894 the house was purchased by Charles Kaines Thomas of Henley, Oxon.

By the 1880's the following residencies were were located on Coley Avenue. They only had names (no street numbers) and were mainly on the west side of the Avenue. On the west side were: Westbourne Villa (1862), Weddington House, Mansefield, Park Villa (1863), The Elms and Bath Place. On the east side was the Lodge protecting the entrance to Coley Avenue and the large Castlehill House, and then nothing until Avenue Villa. Avenue Villa was built near the accessway (now incorporated into Berkeley Ave) to Avenue Works Kilns (then still in production). The villa still survives on the northeast corner at the intersection of Berkeley and Coley Avenues.

Castle Crescent which runs off Coley Avenue, only had housing on the south side of the street in 1880. The housing was detached or semi-detached with large gardens. The earlier homes being stuccoed with italianate details, and the later buildings being built from red and blue brick with heavy decorating. There was a vicarage about halfway along Castle Crescent, named Greyfriars Vicarage. Some converted 19th century gas lanterns still exist today along the crescent.

	An excellent photograph (early 1900s) of the main gates to Coley Park, with the Gatekeepers House on the right. A few houses can be seen in the distant mist. The sign on the lamppost reads "CARS STOP HERE IF REQUIRED". The cars referring to the Tramcars that once ran along Bath Road. See below for further information.
	An early postcard depicting the main entrance gate to Coley Park estate showing gateposts topped with winged dragons and the gatekeeper's house. c1900.
	A small colourised image of the gateway.
	A couple of lads pose along the tree and hedge lined avenue in this early photograph from the 1900s.
	Looking back along the unsealed lane (Coley Avenue) towards the main gate. c1920.
	Similar postcard image that again shows Coley Avenue looking towards the main gate. (Image: Courtesy of Anthea Harris)

Coley Avenue - looking from Berkeley Avenue towards the
East and West Lodges and entrance to Coley House
©Uli Harder 9-April-2006

Electric Trams and Coley Avenue

The Electric Trams replaced the Horse Drawn trams in 1903. The main line was extended with a branch line from Bath Road to Broad Street (and continuing on to Erleigh Road). All the tramcars were four wheeled and the top deck was open top due to low headroom under the low railway bridges in Caversham Road and Oxford Street.

Reading Electric Tramcar #22

By 1904 the service between Bath Road and Broad Street ran every 10 minutes, thus providing quick transport to the town for the new residents of Coley Avenue. Unfortunately the first line to close was the Bath Road branch in 1930.

Further reading: Reading Trams at the Reading History Trail