Reading in Berkshire, England, is celebrating 200 years of biscuit heritage in 2022 with a special exhibition, guided tours, museum collections and afternoon tea!

In 1822, one of the most famous names in baking, Huntley & Palmers biscuits, began life as a small baker’s shop in London Street, Reading. Within 40 years, the company that created Nice biscuits, the Gingernut and the Bath Oliver, was exporting its goods across the globe and Reading became known as Biscuit Town, home to the largest biscuit manufacturer in the world with cakes and biscuit names still known today.

While the company is no longer located in Reading, biscuits (and by that we mean cookies!) have left their mark on the town. To mark the anniversary, Reading is re-discovering its biscuit heritage with a series of events and visitor opportunities.

A piece of artwork from the Huntley & Palmer Collection at The MERL (Museum of English Rural Life)

The MERL (Museum of English Rural Life) is hosting a special exhibition ‘Biscuit Town: 200 years of Huntley and Palmers in Reading’ from 10 May - 25 September 2022. The museum is located within what was Alfred Palmer’s (of Huntley & Palmer) family home which also houses the Huntley & Palmer company archives 1837- 1995, part of the University of Reading's Special Collections.

An astonishing collection of decorative biscuit tins and ephemera bring the story to life at Reading Museum. The dedicated Huntley & Palmers Gallery displays almost 300 decorative biscuit tins and includes the earliest surviving film of a British factory. You can also see a biscuit supplied to Captain Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition, and the rude ‘Kate Greenaway’ biscuit tin that embarrassed the biscuit company in 1980!

Enjoy a Biscuit Walkabout guided tour of Reading’s biscuit heritage which takes in many of the places synonymous with biscuits in Reading, as well as other aspects of Reading’s history. And then why not finish off your visit with afternoon tea at the Roseate Reading Hotel, complete with biscuits of course, or on a Thames River Cruise as the banks of the river glide by.

Huntley & Palmer Gallery at Reading Museum

There's lots more to see and do beyond biscuits in Reading. Reading Abbey dates back to 1121 and is the burial site of King Henry I. Jane Austen was a schoolgirl at Reading Ladies Boarding School and The Abbey Gateway, which housed the school, can be visited on organised tours. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in Reading Gaol in the late nineteenth century and, while there, he wrote De Profundis and on his release penned The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Reading Museum is home to the only full scale facsimile copy of the Bayeux Tapestry, stitched by Victorian women in Staffordshire in central England. 

Reading offers boat trips, along the longest stretch of the River Thames in any English local authority area, and the region’s best range of hotels, not to mention excellent shopping, dining and a riverside spa. Reading is also on the Great West Way touring route, which follows 500 miles of navigable routes through the glorious English countryside between London and Bristol.

Alex Brannen of Reading UK, which works to enhance visitor experiences in the town, said: “Reading’s fascinating biscuit town story will be the centrepiece of our trade and group offer for 2022… and there are lots of exciting other attractions in Reading such as the 900 year-old Abbey Ruins and the region’s best shopping experience.”

Janet Redler Travel & Tourism added: “Tea and biscuits is a British institution and Reading is the home of biscuits. The 200th anniversary of one of England’s most famous biscuit factories is without doubt the perfect excuse to visit the popular town of Reading – just 37 miles from London – and to discover more about the history of British biscuits!”

If you or your group would like to enjoy a tailor-made tour of England including a visit to Reading, to discover more about the town’s biscuit-making traditions, please do contact our friendly team today. Or why not discover more about the culinary history of the UK on one of our Food and Drink Tours?