Alfred Reading was born in Harborne, near Birmingham, England on 7 April 1850 and was articled to Frank Barlow Osborn (1840-1908) in 1864. From 1876 he was in partnership with Osborn as Osborn & Reading.
The partnership between Osborn and Reading was dissolved by mutual consent on 31 December 1890, following which both architects worked independently.
Reading was awarded the Soane Medallion in 1872 and won the Tite Prize in 1876. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1878.
His address was given 13 Bennett Hill, Birmingham in 1878; 95 Colmore Row, Birmingham in 1891 and 1904; and Sunneymead, Alvechurch, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire where he died on 17 April 1908
Architectural projects by the Osborn & Reading partnership included The Joint Stock Bank, New Street, Birmingham (1877); Stable and coach house, Augustus Road, Edgbaston (1877); House, Augustus Road, Edgbaston (1877); House and out offices, Hagley Road, Edgbaston (1877); House, Woodbourne Road, Edgbaston (1878); House, Hagley Road, Edgbaston (1879); Four retail shops, 206, 209, Deritend, Birmingham (1880); Medical Institute, Edmund Street, Birmingham (1880); Additions and alterations to workshops, Warstone Lane, Birmingham (1880); Additions to factory, Weaman Street, Birmingham (1881); Stables, 205, 209, Deritend, Birmingham (1881); Volunteer Headquarters, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Thorpe Street, Birmingham (1881); Volunteer Headquarters, 1st South Staffs Regiment, Belgrave Terrace, Handsworth (1881); House, Augustus Road, Edgbaston (1882); Workshops, Park Mills, Birmingham (1882); Worcester City & County Bank, Colmore Row, Birmingham (1882); House, 32 Westfield Road, Edgbaston (1882); Additions and lodge to Westfield, 44 Augustus Road, Edgbaston (1883); Shop, back of 63 Northampton Street, Birmingham (1883); Two shops, 221, 223, Lower Priory, Birmingham (1883); Edgbaston Assemby Rooms, Francis Road, Edgbaston (1884); House, Westfield Road, Edgbaston (1884); Conservative Club, 53 Temple Row, Birmingham (1885); St. Martin's Hotel and Market Entrance, St. Martin's Lane, for Corporation of Birmingham (1886); Edgbaston Vestry Hall, Islington Row, Edgbaston (1886); St. Philip's Rectory, St. Philip's Churchyard, Birmingham (1886); House, Clovelly, 4 Manor Road, Birmingham (1887); Factory, 88, 89 Weaman Street for P. Webley & Son (1887); Methodist Central Hall, Corporation Street, Birmingham (1887); Assurance building, Colmore Row, Birmingham (1887); House, Endcliffe, 2 Manor Road, Birmingham (1888); Shop front, 71 High Street, Birmingham for Messrs Noirton & Co. (1888); Business Premises, 19-21 Corporation Street, Birmingham for Messrs. Norton & Co. (1888); Rebuilding of St. James's Parish Church, Norton Canes, Cannock (1888); Seven Houses for Thomas Harris, Kenyon Street, back of Wheel Tavern (1889); House for Ben Tilley, Cromartie, 17 Westfield Road, Edgbaston (1889); Billiard Room for Arthur Warden, The Vale, 25 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham (1889); Shop, rear of 53, 54 Whitmore Street, Birmingham (1889); Mission Room, Dollman Street, Birmingham for James Ashted (1889); Out-Patients Department, Birmingham Royal Orthopedic Hospital, Great Charles Street, Birmingham (1889); Girl's Friendly Society Diocesan Lodge, Barwick Street, Birmingham (1890); Offices and premises, Sheepcote Street for James Booth & Co. (1890); Extension to warehouse, Bridge Street and Broad Street for Wm. Pearce (1890); and Rebuilding of Christ Church, Hagley Road West, Quigley, Birmingham (1890)
Abbott, Donald. ‘Frank Barlow Osborn’ in Birmingham’s Victorian and Edwardian Architects, edited by Phillada Ballard. Wetherby: Oblong Creative Ltd. for the Birmingham and West Midlands Group of the Victorian Society, 2009 pp. 275-291