READING, Description and History from 1868 Gazetteer

READING, comprises the parishes of St. Mary, St. Lawrence, and St. Giles, it is a market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, and county town, county Berks, locally in the hundred of Reading, but exercising separate jurisdiction, 39 miles S.W. of London by road, and 36 3/4 by the Great Western railway, on which it is a principal station. There are also branch lines of the Great Western to Hungerford and Basingstoke, and of the South-Eastern to Reigate, by which last the main lines of the Great Western, South-Western, and South-Eastern are connected. There is also water communication with most of the chief ports of England by means of the Kennet and Avon canal and the river Kennet, which last is navigable from Reading for vessels of 120 tons burden, and has commodious wharves on its banks.

The town, which is of great antiquity, is situated in a richly cultivated country on the banks of the river Kennet, just above its junction with the Thames. It was called by the Saxons Redinges and subsequently Reddynge, as is supposed from the overflowing of the meadows in the vicinity, Rhea signifying "a river," and ing "a meadow," though other antiquaries derive it from the British word rhyd, "a ford." It is first noticed in history about 871, when it was taken from the Saxons by the Danes, who retired hither after their defeat at Englefield by Earl Ethelwolf, and were pursued by that Saxon nobleman, who was slain in attempting to take the town of Reading. On the invasion of England by Sweyn, King of Denmark, in 1006, to revenge the massacre of his countrymen in the reign of Ethelred, this town was again stormed by the Danes, who burnt it to the ground, together with the nunnery founded by Elfrida, in expiation of the murder of her step-son, Edward the Martyr. From this calamity it appears to have only partially recovered, for in the Domesday Survey it is noticed as containing only 28 houses, and at that time formed part of the royal demesne. In 1121 Henry I. founded, on the site of the Saxon fort, an abbey for monks of the Benedictine order, which he endowed with an ample revenue and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, and St. John the Evangelist, in expiation for his having put out his brother Robert's eyes. This monastery ranked among the most wealthy in the kingdom, the abbots being mitred and enjoying the privileges of coining money, conferring the honour of knighthood, and many other immunities. It subsequently became one of the favourite abodes of Henry, who died and was buried here in 1135, as were also his queen Adeliza and his eldest son William.

In the succeeding reign a strong castle was built at the top of Castle-street, which changed hands several times during the civil war of Stephen and the Empress Maud, but was demolished by Henry II. on his ascending the throne, together with other fortresses erected in the preceding reign. This monarch, in 1163, presided at a judicial combat which took place here, on an island to the E. of Caversham Bridge, between Robert de Montford and Henry de Essex, the royal standard-bearer, who was accused by his antagonist of treasonable cowardice in a battle with the Welsh near Chester. Victory having declared for the former, Essex's lands were forfeited to the crown, but his life being spared, he became a monk in the abbey. Another ceremony took place here in 1185, when the same monarch received from the hands of Herodius, the patriarch of Jerusalem, the keys of the Holy Sepulchre and the royal banner of Jerusalem, but Herodius failed in his endeavours to induce the king to undertake an expedition for the recovery of the Holy Land. In the following reigns the kings frequently resided at Reading, where a tournament was held by Edward III. in 1346, and in 1359 a grand ceremonial took place on the occasion of his son John of Gaunt's marriage with Blanche, coheiress of Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, the ceremony being performed in the abbey church.

In the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. four parliaments were held here, the meetings being mostly convened in the great hall of the abbey, where also the latter monarch received his queen Elizabeth Woodville, as portrayed in the illuminated missal in the British Museum. On the dissolution of monasteries the abbey buildings were appropriated as a royal palace, and Henry VIII. took up his residence here for some time after Abbot Farringdon had been hanged for not giving up the abbey. It continued to be a resort of succeeding sovereigns, and Elizabeth had a canopied pew appropriated to her use in the parochial church of St. Lawrence, the floor of which was strewn with flowers and rushes for her reception.

In the beginning of the reign of Charles I. the law courts were twice adjourned from Westminster to Reading, viz: in 1625 and 1635, in consequence of the prevalence of the plague which was then raging in the metropolis. At the commencement of the Civil War, the town was garrisoned for the parliament, but was abandoned by the governor on the approach of the royal forces in 1642, after which, being strongly fortified, it was held by the king's troops till 1643, when it sustained a siege of eight days by the parliamentarians under the Earl of Essex. The King and Prince Rupert attempting to relieve the town were defeated on Caversham Bridge, and the town was eventually surrendered, but not until it had suffered severely from the cannon of the parliamentarians placed on Caversham Hill. After the battle of Newbury, the town was abandoned by the parliamentarians and garrisoned for the king, but on Charles I.'s visit here in 1644 he ordered the military works, of which considerable remains are still traceable in the Forbury, to be demolished. The only other event of historical interest connected with the town was the skirmish which took place in 1688 between some of the Irish and Scotch troops belonging to the army of James II. and the Dutch troops under the Prince of Orange, the anniversary of which, called the "Reading Fight," was annually commemorated till about the year 1788.

From having been so long a garrison town, Reading suffered severely, and eventually the once flourishing trade of cloth-working entirely decayed. It has, however, long since recovered its prosperity. The houses are mostly of red brick, and the more modern of Bath stone. Within the last quarter of a century the town has been considerably extended, and great improvements have recently been effected. The parish of St. Lawrence, lying to the N. of the Kennet, and occupying the point of land at the junction of the Kennet with the Thames, comprises the older part of the town, including the market place, and several of the best business streets; while the parish of St. Giles, which lies to the S. of the Kennet, contains the newer portion of the town, and is occupied by the wealthier classes. St. Mary's parish, on the W. of the other two, is chiefly occupied by the working classes. A large extension has recently taken place in the direction of the London Road, where several new streets and squares have been formed, and for several miles along which the road is skirted by detached villa residences.

The population of the borough has gradually increased from 16,042 in 1831, to 25,045 in 1861. Under the old charter the inhabitants were exempt from serving on juries at the assizes and sessions for the county of Berks, and from the payment of county rates. The sanitary arrangements of the town are under the management of a local board of health, and it has an efficient and well-regulated police. The streets are well paved and lighted with gas, and there is an abundant supply of water from the tank situated on Castle Hill, which contains about 240,000 gallons, raised by means of a water tower 100 feet high, and which stands in Mill-lane between two branches of the river Kennet.

Amongst the principal public buildings are the townhall, rebuilt in 1786, of which the upper part, forming the Council Chamber, contains portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Archbishop Laud, and other worthies, and the under part is appropriated to the use of the free grammar school. The new public hall is a modern structure situated in London-street, and comprises spacious assembly rooms, and offices for the literary and scientific society and mechanics' institute. The county gaol and house of correction is a castellated modern structure, on the summit of Forbery Hill, and is built after the plan of the model prison at Pentonville. The Athenaeum is situated in Friar-street, nearly opposite the railway station. The Berkshire hospital is a modern structure, as are also the new cattle markets, situated near the railway station, and the new corn market, in course of construction.

Among other buildings requiring notice are the borough buildings, the new assize hall, the theatre, the union poorhouse, public baths, savings-bank, three branch banks, a post-office, gas and waterworks, and two railway stations, the one belonging to the Great Western, and the other to the Reading, Guildford, and Reigate lines. There is also a peculiar structure founded by John Kendrick the clothier, towards the commencement of the 17th century, for the employment of poor people, and which has been used for weaving and other trades, but is now in contemplation to he taken down, and private houses and shops erected on the site.

In the town and its immediate vicinity are several bridges over different branches of the Kennet, and one, called the High Bridge, over the Thames into Oxfordshire, also a railway viaduct for the Great Western line over the mouth of the Kennet where it joins the Thames. In the town are iron foundries, boat-builders' yards, extensive breweries, biscuit-making establishments, and manufactories for the celebrated Reading and other sauces. A flourishing trade is carried on in the transmission of flour and other agricultural produce, including timber, corn, seeds, bark, hops, wool, cheese, &c., to London by railway and barges. There are a few persons employed in the manufacture of silk for umbrellas, ribbons, crapes, and galloons, and some in the weaving of floor-cloth, sail-cloth, and coarse linen.

The town, which is a borough by prescription, was first chartered by Henry III. in 1253, and received various immunities from subsequent sovereigns. In 1836 it was divided into three wards, and is governed under the new Municipal Reform Act by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, with the style of "mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Reading." The municipal revenue amounts to about £3,700 per annum, partly arising from the manor rents. The limits of the municipal and parliamentary boroughs are co-extensive, comprising, with the hamlets, an area of 4,870 acres. It has continued to return two members to parliament, from the 23rd of Edward I. to the present time, the mayor being the returning officer. The petty sessions for the Reading division of the county are held here every Saturday, and the borough justices hold their sittings four times a week. The borough quarter sessions, and the county quarter sessions at Easter and Michaelmas, and the spring assizes regularly occur in the town. The Berkshire county court is held here monthly, and the poor-law guardians for the union of Reading, which comprises three parishes, meet every Thursday. It is also the head of an excise collection district, a polling place for the county elections, and the headquarters of the county militia. There is a large cemetery just beyond the borough boundary. One newspaper, the Reading Mercury, is published in the town.

This place gives name to a deanery in the archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford, and comprises the parishes of St. Lawrence, St. Mary, and St. Giles. The benefice of St. Lawrence is a vicarage,* value £276, in the patronage of the Bishop of Oxford. The church, which is situated at the upper end of the old market-place, was rebuilt in 1435 on the site of a more ancient one dedicated to the same saint. It includes a small part of the original structure of Norman character, and has a tower at the W. end, built of chequered flint work, and containing a peal of ten bells, the largest of which weighs 4,109 lbs. The interior contains two brasses, the earliest bearing date 1588, also monuments to John Blagrave, the mathematician, and to Dr. Valpy. Both the other benefices, viz: St. Mary and St. Giles, are vicarages* endowed with great tithes, value respectively £724 and £575, in the patronage of the Bishop of Oxford. The former benefice was once held by Bishops Mews and Lloyd, Archdeacon Nares, and Professor Milman. The church of St. Mary stands near the centre of the town, and was rebuilt about 1551, chiefly from the materials of the Abbey Church, then pulled down. It occupies the site of the ancient nunnery founded by Queen Elfrida, and has a tower, 90 feet high, built of flint and stone in squares, somewhat similar to that of St. Lawrence, but not equal to it in elegance of proportions. The interior contains a brass bearing date 1416. The church of St. Giles is likewise an ancient structure with a square tower surmounted by a slender spire, covered with copper, which last was added in 1790. During the siege of the town in the civil war of Charles I., this church was much damaged by the shot of the parliamentarians, but was subsequently repaired, and was considerably enlarged in 1827, when an E. window was added.

There are besides four district churches, St. John's, Grey Friars, Christ Church, and Holy Trinity, and a chapel-of-ease, called St. Mary's chapel. The Roman Catholic church was built in 1840, in the early Norman or Saxon style of architecture, chiefly of flints from the abbey ruins. It contains a carved altar of stone richly gilt. The Baptists and Independents have each three chapels, the Primitive Methodists two, and the Wesleyans one. There are also a new Congregational church in the Queen's Road, called Trinity chapel, and a meetinghouse for the Society of Friends. There are fifteen public schools, viz, the grammar school, Aldworth's boys' blue-coat school, Girst's green-coat school, Simeon's endowed Sunday-school, five National schools, British schools for boys and girls, three infant schools, school of industry, and two ragged schools; of these the most distinguished are the grammar school, founded by Henry VII. in 1486, in place of St. John's hospital, and which recently attained great celebrity under the late Dr. Valpy, who was for nearly fifty years head master. It has an income from endowment of about £60 per annum, besides two fellowships in St. John's College, Oxford, on the foundation of Sir Thomas White, and two recently founded scholarships. Amongst the many eminent men who have been pupils in this school were Archbishop Laud; John Blagrave, of Tilehurst, the eminent mathematician; Merrick, the poet; and Coates, author of "The History of Reading;" and Palmer, the Protestant martyr, was once master. Aldworth's blue-coat school has an income from endowment of about £1,000 per annum, and at present maintains and educates 47 boys. The girls' green-coat school was established in 1782, and has an income of about £150 per annum, and Simeon's Sunday-school has an endowment of about £125. A National school now occupies the abbey refectory, in which the parliament met on several occasions, and where Cardinal Pandulph held church councils in 1184 and 1212.

The most interesting antiquities are the ruins of the abbey, including a Norman gateway, the refectory, part of the grand hall, the walls of which are 8 feet thick, and the remains of the abbey mill, also the W. window and part of the church of the Greyfriars, founded in 1233, and latterly used as the borough gaol. There were also a leper's hospital, founded before 1134 by Abbot Aucherius, a pilgrim's hospital, founded in 1180 by Abbot Hugh de Reading, and a Franciscan friary; but of these all traces have disappeared.

The charities are numerous and well endowed, producing an aggregate income of about £4,000 per annum, of which the Church lands produce £300, John Kendrick's endowment for the Oracle £750, and Archbishop Laud's bequest for apprenticing poor children near £500. The almshouses are also partially endowed, and are distinguished as Harrison's, Kendrick's, Vachel's, Smith's, Jenkin's, Hall's, Webb's, and Wimbledon's. The races annually take place in August in the King's Meadow, on the N.E. side of the town. Market days are Wednesday and Saturday - the latter, being the great corn market, is numerously attended. Fairs are held on 2nd February, 1st May, 25th July, and 21st September - the last being the great cheese fair, at which upwards of 700 tons are ordinarily sold.

 

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]