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I live a few minutes' walk from junction 11 of the M4. The Oracle shopping mall, built and named by Hammerson, is on the site of the 17th century Oracle workhouse. It is suggested that the name Oracle was in memory of the builder's brother who had the idea for the workhouse, or that it is derived from orchil, a violet dye from lichen, used in the workhouse. The mall encompasses several waterways, the Holy Brook (which fed the mills of Reading Abbey), River Kennet and Kennet and Avon Canal. It is not the only Oracle in Reading. The railway line from London passes the offices of Oracle, the American software company, as it enters Reading. There is an annual charity race along the canal towpath between the two Oracles.

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