The Holy Brook is a channel 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...

 in the vicinity of 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...

 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....

, 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...

. While of considerable historical significance, the origin and nature of the brook is still unclear. It is probable that some parts of the channel are natural, while other parts were created in mediaeval times to supply water to water mills and fish pond

Fish pond

A fish pond, or fishpond, is a controlled pond, artificial lake, or reservoir that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, or is used for recreational fishing or for ornamental purposes...

s.

The Holy Brook leaves the main channel of the Kennet at a structure known as Arrowhead near the village of Theale

Theale, Berkshire

Theale is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village has many of the attributes of a small town, with a high street lined with shops, pubs and restaurants.- Location :...

, and flows to the north of the main channel until rejoining the main channel in the centre of Reading, adjacent to the site of Reading Abbey

Reading Abbey

Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors...

. The channel is some 6 miles (9.7 km) in length. Along the way it served two water mills, Calcot Mill

Calcot Mill

Calcot Mill is an historic former watermill on the Holy Brook, a channel of the River Kennet in the English county of Berkshire. The mill is situated in the civil parish of Holybrook and to the south of Calcot, a suburb of Reading....

 and Abbey Mill

Abbey Mill, Reading

Abbey Mill, or Abbey Mills, is a ruined former watermill on the Holy Brook, a channel of the River Kennet in the English county of Berkshire....

, both of which originally belonged to Reading Abbey.

For the first stretch of its route, the channel forms the boundary between the Reading suburbs of Beansheaf Farm

Beansheaf Farm

Beansheaf Farm is a suburb of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It lies south of the A4 and is approximately south-west of the centre of Reading....

, Fords Farm

Fords Farm

Fords Farm is a suburb within Reading in the English county of Berkshire.Fords Farm lies south of the Bath Road west of the centre of Reading....

, Calcot, Southcote

Southcote, Berkshire

Southcote is a suburb and local government ward of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.The suburb of Southcote is bounded to the north by the Bath Road and Prospect Park, to the west by the more recently developed suburb of Fords Farm, to the south by the Holy Brook and the water meadows of...

, Coley Park

Coley Park

Coley Park is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is largely built on the estate of a country house of the same name.-Location:...

 and Coley

Coley, Berkshire

Coley is an inner-town district near the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire.The district has no formal boundaries, but the historically the name referred to the area roughly bounded by Castle Street, Castle Hill and the Bath Road to the north, Berkeley Avenue to the...

 to the north and the Kennet water meadows to the south. In this area the channel gives its name to the nearby civil parish of Holybrook

Holybrook

Holybrook is a civil parish on the outskirts of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The parish takes its name from the Holy Brook, a watercourse which forms its southern boundary....

.

Once past Coley Park the Holy Brook enters the centre of Reading and is culvert

Culvert

A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...

ed for several stretches, only showing itself intermittently. The channel can clearly be seen where it flows under one of the entrances to the Oracle

The Oracle, Reading

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...

 shopping centre, and also where it passes under the Reading Central Library

Reading Central Library

Reading Central Library is a public library in the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire.- History :From 1882, the main library was in the Town Hall. However as early as World War I complaints were being made there was insufficient space for books and readers...

. In this area the Holy Brook has given its name to the 'Holy Brook Mall', the lower of the two enclosed shopping malls within the Oracle centre.

At its eastern end, the Holy Brook formed the southern boundary of Reading Abbey, driving the Abbey's mill and supplying water to its neccessarium. It re-entered the main channel of the River Kennet immediately to the south of the Abbey church.