Reading’s forgotten future, rediscovered

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) played a defining role in Reading’s transformation from a traditional manufacturing town into Britain’s first technology hub. At its peak, DEC was the town’s largest employer and a catalyst for a new local economy that would become Silicon Thames Valley.

Yet this story was at risk of being lost. Reading remained better known for its historic biscuit, bulb and beer industries, while DEC’s legacy survived largely in anecdote. Historically significant objects were dispersed between museums and in private hands, and the experiences of those who built Reading’s tech industry were undocumented.

With a significant National Lottery Heritage Fund award marking 60 years of Digital in the UK, Reading Museum wanted to capture and secure this disappearing history – and introduce local audiences to the role their town played in Britain’s early digital revolution as a centre of business and research and development.

Vision
The ambition was to tell DEC’s story through the touch points of place and people. Rather than focusing on technology, the exhibition needed to show how DEC reshaped Reading – its workforce, its identity and its future.

The aim was therefore to position Digital within the past and future development of the town, enabling visitors to recognise their own lives, families and streets in the story. Success meant audiences understanding DEC not as a remote technology company, but as a force that transformed Reading – with a legacy that continues to exert influence.

Approach
Blended Past created an interpretative framework shared across both Reading Museum and The National Museum of Computing, ensuring a consistent set of core messages while allowing each venue to emphasise a distinct perspective: social and local impact at Reading, technology and innovation at TNMOC.

At Reading, we led interpretation across two exhibitions and an online experience – Reading’s Digital Revolution. We established a set of foundational themes – people, place, customers and technology – to anchor a complex story involving many contributors and viewpoints. Alongside this, we defined tone, language and narrative treatment to make complex technological subjects accessible to a general audience.

Central to the work was a large-scale community research programme led by Blended Past to build knowledge, identify key voices and trace historically significant objects. This resulted in a curated collection of 30 oral histories, selected from more than 400 potential interview candidates, capturing first-hand accounts of former employees, customers and community members whose lives were shaped by DEC. These oral histories functioned as primary research, directly shaping both interpretation and object selection.

Working with designers, artists, filmmakers, academics and volunteers, we translated research into compelling exhibition content. Technology objects were interpreted for relevance and meaning, while personal stories and items ensured the narrative remained grounded. Work was enriched through displays co-created with local students.

Outcome
Reading’s Digital Revolution became Reading Museum’s first exhibition to present the social and economic reinvention of the town at the heart of Silicon Thames Valley.

Delivered through a bold mix of digital artwork, film and design, the exhibitions reframed Reading’s identity as a place of technological innovation. The project attracted strong public engagement and brought new audiences into the museum – including many first-time visitors. Crucially, it also established the collection, interpretation and display of local technology heritage as a long-term curatorial activity for Reading Museum.

Together with the TNMOC exhibition, the project secured Digital’s legacy from two complementary perspectives: the technology and innovation that changed computing, and the people and place that made change possible – and were shaped by it.