The Oracle, Reading
Encyclopedia
The Oracle is a large indoor shopping and leisure mall
, located on the banks of the River Kennet
on the site of a 17th century workhouse
of the same name in the town of Reading
in the English
county of Berkshire
. It was developed by, and is owned by, a joint venture of Hammerson
and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
.
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The Oracle takes its name from the 17th century Oracle
workhouse built by funds from a local man John Kendrick
. This once occupied a small part of the site now occupied by the shopping centre.
In March 1997 Hammerson acquired a 22 acre
site of largely derelict and undeveloped land immediately to the south of the town centre. Most of this site was previously occupied by Simond's Brewery (latterly owned by the Courage
brewing company) and by the Reading Transport bus depot (formerly the Reading Corporation tram
depot). The brewery had earlier relocated to a new site adjoining the M4 motorway
, whilst the bus depot was relocated to a location just west of the town centre as one of the first phases of the redevelopment.
Hammerson’s strategy was to create a combination of big-name retailers at the new centre, including a number of international retail banners fairly new to Britain. The merchandise mix has strong emphasis on fashion and is slightly higher-end than the average for Reading’s main street shops. Peter Cole, the development director for Hammerson said “We were looking to bring in a retail mix that would enhance what was already there - we wanted to get the right caliber retailers to suit the slightly higher-end shopping demographic of the area.”
The main shopping malls comprising phase I of The Oracle were opened in September 1999, followed in November by the Riverside restaurants, pubs and cinema that made up phase II. Once phase I was complete, the way was open to relocate the Debenhams department store from its previous location on Broad Street into the centre. This in turn allowed for the redevelopment of the old Debenhams site as phase III of The Oracle, linked to phase I by a bridge over Minster Street. Phase III provided The Oracle with its all-important direct link to Broad Street
, and was opened in May 2000 by The Princess Royal
.
Although now well-respected and appreciated by local residents, the Oracle caused local controversy when first opened. On the other hand, many of the stores within the Oracle did not previously exist in Reading and have substantially improved its status as a shopping destination.
The centre contains 90 shops, including department store
s from the Debenhams
(136,000 ft²) and House of Fraser
(150,000 ft²) chains. A third and larger department store, John Lewis
(still referred to locally by its older name, Heelas), is adjacent to the Minster Street entrance but not part of the centre itself. There are also 22 restaurants, cafés and bars along the riverside of the Kennet
, and a 10-screen Vue
cinema. The Oracle increases Reading’s retail footage by one-third, and it has attracted some retailers who would otherwise not have located in Reading.
The Oracle Riverside area, with is restaurants and bars, spans the Brewery Gut, a particularly narrow stretch of the River Kennet. The layout allows space for outdoor tables, and there is granite stadium-style seating and a sail-like canopy. Two bridges have been installed spanning the Kennet, Cooks Bridge, a straight footbridge which links The Riverside Car Park to House of Fraser, and Delphi Bridge, an ‘ellipse-shaped’ bridge giving access from the Vue cinema to Debenhams.
The Free Form Arts Trust were appointed as the arts agency with responsibility for the appointment and contractual arrangements with artists. Specially commissioned artworks include the Crystal Beacon, a reflective translucent prism by Welsh
artist John Gingell that tops off the multistory car park.
The overall center design concept was created by Haskoll & Co., London. They were called in to design a "retail for leisure" concept, linking the site to a heritage trail around the town.
The Oracle also provides two large car parks providing 2300 spaces. In line with other car parks in central Reading, charges are comparatively high, especially for long term parkers.
. In a separate poll carried out by Verdict, Reading was placed 10th in the table of UK shopping destinations.
ROSPA Gold Award 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
, located on the banks of the River Kennet
River Kennet
The Kennet is a river in the south of England, and a tributary of the River Thames. The lower reaches of the river are navigable to river craft and are known as the Kennet Navigation, which, together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames, links the cities of Bristol...
on the site of a 17th century workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
of the same name in the town of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. It was developed by, and is owned by, a joint venture of Hammerson
Hammerson
Hammerson plc is a major British property development and investment company. The firm switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is a sovereign wealth fund owned by Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi....
.
History
Oracle (workhouse)
The Oracle was a workhouse that produced cloth in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The Oracle shopping mall which occupies a small part of the site takes its name from the Oracle workhouse.- History :...
workhouse built by funds from a local man John Kendrick
John Kendrick (cloth merchant)
John Kendrick was a prosperous English cloth merchant and patron of the towns of Reading and Newbury in Berkshire....
. This once occupied a small part of the site now occupied by the shopping centre.
In March 1997 Hammerson acquired a 22 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
site of largely derelict and undeveloped land immediately to the south of the town centre. Most of this site was previously occupied by Simond's Brewery (latterly owned by the Courage
Courage (brewery)
Courage is a former British brewery. The brands are now 100 per cent owned and brewed by Wells & Young's Brewery as part of a venture called Courage Brands Ltd.-History:...
brewing company) and by the Reading Transport bus depot (formerly the Reading Corporation tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
depot). The brewery had earlier relocated to a new site adjoining the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
, whilst the bus depot was relocated to a location just west of the town centre as one of the first phases of the redevelopment.
Hammerson’s strategy was to create a combination of big-name retailers at the new centre, including a number of international retail banners fairly new to Britain. The merchandise mix has strong emphasis on fashion and is slightly higher-end than the average for Reading’s main street shops. Peter Cole, the development director for Hammerson said “We were looking to bring in a retail mix that would enhance what was already there - we wanted to get the right caliber retailers to suit the slightly higher-end shopping demographic of the area.”
The main shopping malls comprising phase I of The Oracle were opened in September 1999, followed in November by the Riverside restaurants, pubs and cinema that made up phase II. Once phase I was complete, the way was open to relocate the Debenhams department store from its previous location on Broad Street into the centre. This in turn allowed for the redevelopment of the old Debenhams site as phase III of The Oracle, linked to phase I by a bridge over Minster Street. Phase III provided The Oracle with its all-important direct link to Broad Street
Broad Street, Reading
Broad Street is a main pedestrianised thoroughfare and the primary high street in the English town of Reading. The street is situated in the town centre, running for approximately , from west to east. The western end of the road lies at the crossroads with Oxford Road, West Street and St Mary's...
, and was opened in May 2000 by The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.
Although now well-respected and appreciated by local residents, the Oracle caused local controversy when first opened. On the other hand, many of the stores within the Oracle did not previously exist in Reading and have substantially improved its status as a shopping destination.
Stores and facilities
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s from the Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
(136,000 ft²) and House of Fraser
House of Fraser
House of Fraser is a British department store group with over 60 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891 it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, but after the Second...
(150,000 ft²) chains. A third and larger department store, John Lewis
John Lewis Reading
John Lewis Reading is a major department store in Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Until 2001, the store was known as Heelas, and that name is still in common usage. The store fronts on to Reading's main pedestrianised shopping street, Broad Street, and backs onto Minster Street and...
(still referred to locally by its older name, Heelas), is adjacent to the Minster Street entrance but not part of the centre itself. There are also 22 restaurants, cafés and bars along the riverside of the Kennet
River Kennet
The Kennet is a river in the south of England, and a tributary of the River Thames. The lower reaches of the river are navigable to river craft and are known as the Kennet Navigation, which, together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames, links the cities of Bristol...
, and a 10-screen Vue
Vue (cinema)
Vue Entertainment , formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded...
cinema. The Oracle increases Reading’s retail footage by one-third, and it has attracted some retailers who would otherwise not have located in Reading.
The Oracle Riverside area, with is restaurants and bars, spans the Brewery Gut, a particularly narrow stretch of the River Kennet. The layout allows space for outdoor tables, and there is granite stadium-style seating and a sail-like canopy. Two bridges have been installed spanning the Kennet, Cooks Bridge, a straight footbridge which links The Riverside Car Park to House of Fraser, and Delphi Bridge, an ‘ellipse-shaped’ bridge giving access from the Vue cinema to Debenhams.
The Free Form Arts Trust were appointed as the arts agency with responsibility for the appointment and contractual arrangements with artists. Specially commissioned artworks include the Crystal Beacon, a reflective translucent prism by Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
artist John Gingell that tops off the multistory car park.
The overall center design concept was created by Haskoll & Co., London. They were called in to design a "retail for leisure" concept, linking the site to a heritage trail around the town.
The Oracle also provides two large car parks providing 2300 spaces. In line with other car parks in central Reading, charges are comparatively high, especially for long term parkers.
Awards
In 2002 Reading was named eighth best town centre in the country. In 2007 the Oracle centre was ranked 16th in a league table of best performing retail centres in the UK compiled by economic analyst ExperianExperian
Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US...
. In a separate poll carried out by Verdict, Reading was placed 10th in the table of UK shopping destinations.
- BCSC award for best new centre in 2000
- ICSCInternational Council of Shopping CentersFounded in 1957, the International Council of Shopping Centers is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 60,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders,...
award for best International Shopping Centre in 2001 - Secure Car Park award 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010
- Loo of The Year award 2001 and 2002
- BCSC Best Advertising Campaign 2003
- BCSC ‘Established Centre’ Gold Award 2007
ROSPA Gold Award 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
External links
- Official website
- Mall Guide
- The Oracle Centre at hammerson.com
- Assessing the Impact of Major In-Town Shopping Centres
- Public Art Strategy - Free Form