Founded by the Saxons in 800 AD, Reading grew up in what was an ideal location. Its proximity to the Thames and the Kennet rivers gave it excellent transport links for its market to develop, meaning that it could supply the Thames Valley and London, which lies just 41 miles away to the east. It was originally called Reada Ingas, which means ‘people of Reada’. Reada was a tribal Saxon leader who settled in the area. The area suffered invasion and capture over the years by both the Vikings and the Normans, and by the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, it still only numbered some 600 residents. But…