CHURCHES
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 49 ft.
6 in. by 27 ft. 10 in. with a modern
north organ chamber and quire vestry, out of which
opens an octagonal clergy vestry, a modern south
chancel aisle, a nave 69 ft. by 29 ft. 9 in., a modern
north aisle, the eastern end of which was originally a
north transept measuring 20 ft. 10 in. by 16 ft. 4 in.,
a south aisle 68 ft. 9 in. by 19 ft. 10 in., a west tower
17 ft. 4 in. by 17 ft. 2 in., and a south porch. These
measurements are all internal.
Little can be said of the early history of the existing
building, the original church having been altered on
several occasions and having suffered badly from the
19th-century restoration. An early 12th-century
doorway reset in the north wall of the north aisle
suggests the existence of a much earlier building than
the present structure, the oldest part of which appears
to be the north-east corner of the north aisle, the walls
here having formed the north-east boundaries of an
early 14th-century north transept, out of which opened
an east chapel. The piers of the south arcade of the
nave are, however, of early 13th-century date, but from
entries in the churchwardens' accounts they appear to
have been brought from the dismantled abbey when the
parish church underwent a drastic rebuilding between
the years 1550 and 1553; it was at this rebuilding
that the south aisle and tower were added and the
nave re-roofed. Further entries in the churchwardens'
accounts state that the steeple was blown down and
rebuilt in 1591, but as the total expense amounted
to but a few pounds, mainly for lead and timber, the
only part of the fabric which was damaged was no
doubt a timber spire. In 1863 the church underwent a thorough restoration, the chancel was entirely
rebuilt, and the chancel aisle and priest's vestry were
added, and the quire vestry built. In 1872 the building was again enlarged by the addition of the north
aisle.
The chancel is built in the Early English style.
Built into the north wall under the sill of the window
is a late 13th-century Easter sepulchre much restored.
It is of two trefoiled arches with crocketed and
finialled gables, supported in the centre by a moulded
corbel and at the sides by small modern jamb shafts
of red granite.
The north and south arcades of the nave are each
of four bays, the middle arches being wider than the
others. The arches of the north arcade are pointed,
and are carried by circular piers with moulded capitals
and bases. The south arcade has a very distinct leaning
towards the aisle, caused by the thrust of the nave
roof. The arches are semicircular and of two orders;
the inner order, which was inserted when the aisle
was added, is almost the entire width of the wall
above and has a very wide chamfer; the arches are
supported by circular piers with semicircular responds.
All the piers have moulded abaci, most of which are
restored. The first and third piers from the east have
carved capitals of a rather crude from, while the bells
to the capitals of the responds are unmoulded. The
capital to the centre pier has a fluted bell, which may
be of 16th-century date. The bases are moulded
and are of the same date as the aisle.
At the north end of the east wall of the north aisle,
opening into the quire vestry, is a 14th-century
pointed archway which was originally in the centre of
the wall, and no doubt gave access to an east chapel.
It has a sunk quarter-round moulding at the angle
and small attached angle shafts, partly renewed, with
much worn capitals, carved with a naturalistic leaf
ornament. To the south of this arch is a modern
pointed opening of about the same span. At the
east end of the north wall of this aisle is a modern
three-light window of 15th-century design, below
which is a modern doorway; the jambs of both are
ancient. The rest of the aisle is modern, and is
lighted by four windows, one opposite each bay of
the nave arcade, and one in the west wall. Between
the two westernmost windows in the north wall is
a blocked early 12th-century doorway, which was
removed from the north wall of the nave when the
north aisle was built; it is round-headed and of two
square orders without abaci or ornament of any sort.
Across the east end, between the old transept and the
modern aisle, are two modern arches carried by a
central column of polished granite.
St. Mary's Church, Reading, from the South-west
The south aisle has three windows in the south
wall and one in the west wall, all modern. Between
the second and third windows from the east is a
16th-century pointed doorway, having a segmental
rear arch and continuously moulded internal and
external jambs.
The tower is in three stages with an embattled
parapet and octagonal buttresses at the angles surmounted by crocketed pinnacles; in the north-east
angle is a stair turret. The tower arch is pointed
and of two chamfered orders. In the west wall of
the ground stage is a doorway with a four-centred
head under a square moulded hood mould with small
uncarved shields in the spandrels. Over the doorway is a pointed four-light window, divided by a
transom, the tracery of which is formed by the intersecting of the mullions, while the lights below the
transoms have four-centred heads. The ringing stage
is lighted from each side by a pointed window of two
lights, and in each wall of the bell-chamber is a threelight window with vertical tracery in a pointed head.
Built into the walls inside the tower are many
12th-century stones and pieces of Norman carving
which came either from the walls of the old church
during the rebuilding, or, more probably, from the
abbey ruins. On the south-west buttress, about 8 ft.
from the ground, are scratched the letters 'I H' and
the date '1572.'
The walls of the chancel, vestries, and north aisle
are faced with flint with stone dressings, but the
other walls are diapered with flint and ashlar squares.
The diaper-work to the tower parapet is set lozengewise. The roofs, which are tiled, are modern, except
those of the nave, south aisle, and south porch. The
nave roof is of the 16th century, and is said to have
been constructed of timber from the abbey. It is
divided into four bays by curved moulded trusses
springing from carved oak corbels; the purlins are
also moulded and support trussed rafters. On the
south side are four dormer windows, the two easternmost of which are apparently of the 15th century and
older than the roof itself. These are each divided
into three cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery
over, while the others, which are contemporary with
the roof, are each of four lights with four-centred
heads. The roof over the south aisle is divided into
six bays by arched trusses, only the centre one of
which has a tie-beam, and there are two purlins on
each side, strutted by curved wind-braces. On the
north side the trusses spring from stone corbels, the
easternmost carved with the figure of an angel.
The font, which is of early 17th-century date, is
octagonal, and rests on a plain stem, the sides of the
bowl being panelled with quatrefoils. In the panels
on the north, south, and eastern sides are roses, but
the western panels have carved shields; the shield in
the north-west panel is charged with a cheveron
between three wheatsheafs, the shield in the west
panel crusilly a cross paty, while the south-west
shield is charged with three sinister bends.
A portion of the upper part of the screen under
the tower arch is Jacobean. On either side, supporting the floor over, are three projecting brackets, the
outer of which are carved in the form of satyrs, while
the middle one takes the form of a shaped console.
Above the figures is an arabesque frieze, and on the
east side is inscribed 'W. F. 1631 R O.' By the
north respond of the tower arch on the east side of,
and of about the same date as, the screen is an oak
almsbox in the shape of a small Doric column;
above the post is a tablet. Eight of the modern
pews in the chancel aisle have Jacobean panels set
in their ends. In the chancel are two chairs and a
small table of the same period, and in the tower is a
stool which may be a little later in date. There is
another Jacobean chair in the clergy vestry.
On the east wall of the south aisle is a brass
inscribed with the name of William Baron, who died
in 1416. On the wall immediately above is another
brass, probably of mid-16th-century date, commemorating John Boorne, Mayor of Reading, and Alice
his wife. The inscription is in black letter, and
states that John Boorne died in his third mayoralty.
On the north wall of the chancel is an elaborate
mural monument of stone, painted in black and gold,
to William Kendrick, who died in 1635. Above a
tablet with a laudatory inscription are the figures of
William Kendrick and his wife kneeling on either side
of a small desk, while above them is an entablature
with a broken pediment, supported by two Ionic
columns. Set within the broken pediment is a tablet
with a carved shield of arms, Kendrick: Ermine a
lion sable impaling Lydall: Azure a saltire or and a
fesse or over all with three roundels sable thereon.
In the floor at the east end of the south aisle is a
stone slab with the matrix of a 14th-century foliated
cross, while in the floor in the middle of the aisle is
another stone slab with the matrices for the figures
of a man and his wife, under which were an inscription and the figures of their children, while in the
four corners were small shields.
There is a peal of eight bells: the treble and
second are by Robert Catlin, 1740; the third is
inscribed 'Love God 1640'; the fourth 'Feare God
1640 W. M.'; the fifth and sixth are by R. Catlin,
1743; the seventh is by Mears, 1863; and the
tenor is of the same date and by the same maker
as the third and fourth. There is a modern sanctus
bell by Mears in a small frame on the roof.
The plate consists of a silver-gilt chalice and cover
paten of 1597; two silver-gilt patens of 1626, one
inscribed 'The guift of Gyllbert Haryson son of Lo:
Goulsmith ano 1626 to ye parish of St. Mary's
in Redinge,' the other 'The guift of Thomas
Haryson Churchwarden ano 1626 to ye pīhe of
St. Mary's in Reding'; a flagon of 1628; a large flagon
of 1652 inscribed 'Ex dono T. B. L.L.D. in usum
Ecclesiae Stae Mariae de Reading,' and a shield with
the arms of Browne; a chalice inscribed 'Calix: Doi
Richard Fellows, Church-warden 1661,' with a cover
paten of the same date; an almsdish inscribed 'The
Gift of Mr. Nathaniel Clissold Gent to the church
of St. Mary's Reading A.D. 1776'; a large silver almsdish of 1861, presented to the parish the following
year; a silver chalice and cover paten of 1867; a silvergilt chalice and cover paten of 1898; two small
silver-mounted glass flagons, one of 1873, the other
of 1874; four pewter almsdishes; and four modern
brass ones. There are also a silver-gilt spoon of
1668; a large silver bowl about 9 in. high inscribed
'The Gift of Mrs Elizabeth Thorne for the use of
the Font of the Parish Church of St. Mary in
Reading A.D. 1767'; a latten paten inscribed 'The
guift of Mrs Marie Mews ye wyfe of Dr Peter Mews
Vicar of St. Maries Parish in Reading to ye Ch: of
ye sayd Parish An: 1664'; and a beadle's badge
inscribed with the names of the overseers for the
years 1786 and 1787.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all
entries 1538 to 1653; (ii) 1653 to 1736; (iii)
baptisms and burials 1737 to 1804, marriages 1737
to 1754; (iv) marriages 1754 to 1774; (v) marriages 1775 to 1788; (vi) marriages 1788 to 1805;
(vii) marriages 1805 to 1812; (viii) baptisms and
burials 1804 to 1812.
The church of ST. GILES consists of a chancel
with a north aisle which is used as an organ chamber
and vestries, a corresponding chapel on the south,
a nave, north and south aisles with slightly projecting
transepts, a west tower, and a south porch.
From the church as it stands to-day nothing can
be gathered of the early history of the building, a
restoration which practically amounted to a rebuilding having taken place in 1872–3, when, with the
exception of the late 13th-century south wall of
the south aisle, the whole of the church east of the
15th-century tower appears to have been pulled
down. If the pieces of carving built into the south
wall of the tower belong to the original structure,
a building must have existed here in the early part of
the 12th century, but it is not improbable that they
were brought from the abbey after its dissolution.
The 19th-century rebuilding was carried out in
the 'decorated' style and the walls are of flint with
dressings of Bath stone. The chancel has arcades
of two bays on the north and south, while the nave
arcades are each of four bays, the easternmost arches on
either side opening into the transepts. In the south
wall of the south aisle are three original, though
much restored, pointed windows, each of two uncusped lights with a pierced spandrel in the head.
The window in the west wall is similar, and all
have chamfered hood moulds. Below the easternmost
window in the south wall is an original trefoiled
piscina having a circular basin, over which is a
credence shelf; this has been considerably damaged.
Under the next window is another piscina with a
round head and foliated basin. At the west end of
the south wall is a 13th-century pointed doorway,
much restored, which has a continuous chamfer to
the outer jamb and a roll label. To the east of the
inner jamb is a mutilated water-stoup which was
originally supported upon a shaft, but this has been
broken off flush with the wall face.
The tower is in two stages, with an embattled
parapet surmounted by an octagonal spire of stone. All
above the floor of the bell-chamber has been rebuilt.
In the north-east corner is a modern stair turret,
entered through an old but reset pointed doorway in
the west wall of the north aisle, and at the western
angles are diagonal buttresses in three stages which
stop at the level of the bell-chamber. The tower
arch is pointed and of two hollow-chamfered orders,
supported by modern semi-octagonal responds. In the
west wall is a pointed doorway, over which is a threelight window, lighting the bottom stage of the tower,
which is used as a large entrance vestibule. Both
doorway and window are modern. The floor of the
vestibule being below the floor level of the body of
the church, the nave is approached from the tower
by a small range of steps. Built into the south wall
and visible internally are the carved stones referred
to above, the earliest of which is a sculptured capital
of the early 12th century, with an enriched abacus
and rudely cut angle volutes on either side of a
central pointed leaf. There are also two small carved
capitals of later 12th-century date, a large capital
of the same period, several pieces of shafts, some
fragments of 'dog-tooth' ornament, a well-carved
19th-century trefoil leaf, and four mediaeval tiles.
A curious piece of masonry built in flush with the
wall appears to be part of an arch, the stones or
voussolrs of which are chamfered. In the middle
of the north and south walls are buttresses of two
stages which stop below the level of the ringing stage,
while built into the north, south, and west walls,
with their apices at about the level of the floor of the
ringing stage, are pointed ragstone relieving arches,
and above them is a narrow band of stonework, flush
with the face of the wall, evidently the remains of a
moulded string-course. In the north, south, and
west walls of the ringing stage are small single lights,
while in each wall of the bell-chamber are two large
modern windows, each of two lights. The walls of
the tower are faced with flint, although they have
been considerably patched up with ragstone and tiles.
On the south wall of the south aisle is a brass to
John Bowyer, who died in 1521, and his wife Jane.
On the chancel steps is a brass tablet to Margaret
Malthus, who died in 1613. On the north wall of
the north aisle is a slab commemorating Dorothy,
eidest daughter of Edmond Daniel of Basingstoke, and
wife of Samuel Jemmett of Reading, who died in
1659. On the same wall is a marble tablet to
'Mrs.' Anne Fiennes, third daughter of the Hon.
Nathaniel Fiennes, who died in 1675.
There is a peal of eight bells, the first two by
Mears & Stainbank, 1890, the others by Thomas
Mears, 1793.
The plate consists of a silver-gilt chalice and cover
paten of 1599; a paten of 1632 inscribed 'The
Gifte of Thomas Towne, 1632'; a silver-gilt chalice
and cover paten of 1618; a paten, recast in 1872,
inscribed 'The Gift of Mary Oades to the Church
of St. Giles, 1727'; two chalices of 1849; a paten
of 1857; two silver chalices of 1910; three silver
flagons of the years 1636, 1637, and 1639 respectively, and a large silver-gilt almsdish of 1872. There
are also an oval silver beadle's badge and a silver
mace-head.
The registers previous to 1812 are as follows:
(i) all entries 1564 to 1599; (ii) all entries 1599 to
1636; (iii) baptisms 1636 to 1646, marriages and
burials 1636 to 1644; (iv) baptisms 1646 to 1787,
marriages 1648 to 1754, burials 1648 to 1787 (at
the end of this volume is an entry of all the deaths
which occurred during the Plague); (v) baptisms and
burials 1788 to 1812; (vi) marriages 1754 to 1771;
(vii) marriages 1771 to 1788; (viii) marriages 1788
to 1803; (ix) marriages 1803 to 1812. There is
also a churchwardens' account-book from 1518 to
1807.
The church of ST. LAWRENCE consists of a
chancel about 35 ft. 10 in. by 21 ft. 4½ in., north
chapel 36 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft. 9 in., nave 92 ft. 6 in. by
26 ft., north aisle 115 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 6 in., and
west tower 15 ft. 1 in. by 14 ft. 6 in. These measurements are all internal.
The earliest building on the site was probably
erected in the early part of the 12th century, and
appears to have consisted of an aisleless nave and
chancel with a large western tower. Of this building
there remain the south wall of the nave, the lower
part of the south wall of the tower, and a reset window
at the south-west of the present nave. In 1196
or thereabouts, in consequence of the founding of
the hospitium of St. John Baptist and the resulting
need for greater accommodation, the church appears
to have been enlarged by demolishing the western
tower and throwing the space thus gained into the
nave. At the same time the chancel was rebuilt and
new windows and doorways were inserted in the
nave walls. To this period belong the east windows
of the chancel, the south doorway, the jambs of a
south-east nave window, and the fragments of a north
doorway now built into the north wall of the north
aisle. A few years later, c. 1220, the north chapel
was added to the chancel; the addition of a north
aisle at some period in the same century is suggested
by the springer of an earlier arch upon the west
respond of the existing arcade. At this period the
nave must have been very badly lighted, the west
gate of the abbey, which abutted upon its south wall,
only allowing windows at the east and west ends of
this wall, while the buildings of the adjoining hospitium
prevented the construction of windows in the west
end of the north wall of the aisle. The few old
stones remaining in the jambs of the two windows at
the south-east point to the 14th century as the date
when they were inserted to remedy the darkness of
the nave in place of the single window of 1196, the
jambs of which are still partly visible. To the same
date may belong the window to the west of the south
doorway. In 1410 the church was re-roofed with
timber from Earley. The oldest roll of the churchwardens' accounts gives a list of contributors to the
cost. The eastern and western trusses of the nave
roof are apparently the only surviving portions of
this work. About 1440, again with the object of
better lighting, always the ruling motive of the
alterations to the fabric, the north arcade was rebuilt;
the only part of this arch remaining in situ is the east
respond and the east limb of the eastern arch. In
the drum of the eastern column, set too high to be
in its original position, is the shield of Aiscough
Bishop of Salisbury, 1438–50. The churchwardens'
roll for the year 1458 gives the names of contributors
towards the expense of the 'emendation of the campanile.' The statement presupposes an earlier tower,
but of this nothing now remains with the exception
of some earlier stones incorporated in the walls.
Late in the 15th century the north aisle appears to
have been rebuilt, and perhaps extended westwards
to its present length. The windows of the north
chapel also date from some repair in this century.
The next important piece of work seems to have been
the reconstruction of the nave roof; an entry in the
churchwardens' accounts for 1520–1 records the payment of a sum of 'vjs for takyng doune the bracis of
the beamys and for settyng up vj new corsis iijs.'
About the same time the two south windows of the
chancel seem to have been inserted, 13s. 4d. having
been paid 'for arrerag.s of the glasse for the new
wyndows in the quere in full payment for the same
wyndows.' The lighting of the church must still
have been very unsatisfactory, for a year later the
nave arcade was raised and the present four-centred
arches constructed, using the stones of the former
two-centred arches where possible, new springers
only being introduced, struck from the new centres.
The entry in the accounts, 'paid for the timber and
sawyng of viij Corvetts for the new arches, viijd,'
seems to imply that eight new arches were then constructed; it is possible that the tower arches belong
to this work, though the detail of their mouldings is
better than would be expected by comparison with
the coarseness of the capitals of the nave piers. In
1524 the roof of the north aisle was repaired with
boards; this roof still exists. In 1620 the arcade
known as Blagrave's Piazza was built on the same
side of the church; it is described in 1802 (fn. 1) as 'a
handsome portico called the church
walk.' Soon after this, in 1637, a
burial chapel was built by Sir Francis
Knollys on the south side of the nave;
old views show that its position was
immediately to the west of the second
window from the east. Both these
features were removed in the past
century. In 1848 the chancel arch was
rebuilt in its present form, and in 1881
the church was generally restored.
Plan of St. Lawrence's Church, Reading
St. Lawrence's Church, Reading: North Aisle looking East
The chancel is lighted from the east
by three grouped lancets of c. 1196.
The jambs are shafted, and the rear
arches are moulded with a roll between
two hollows. The shafts have cushion
capitals and chamfered abaci. The
north wall is occupied by an early
13th-century arcade of three bays
opening into the north chapel. The
arches, which are two-centred, are
supported by circular columns and
responds with foliated capitals and
moulded bases standing upon double
circular plinths. In the south wall are
the two early 16th-century windows
referred to above. Each is of three
cinquefoiled lights within a fourcentred head and between them is a
small doorway of the same date. All
the windows of the north chapel are
of the 15th century and have vertical
tracery under square heads, the west
window being of three cinquefoiled
lights and the north windows of two
cinquefoiled lights.
The 16th-century nave arcade is
of six bays with five complete fourcentred arches moulded with a wide
casement between two braces. The stones of the
upper curves of all the four-centred arches are
probably those of the arcade of c. 1450, which it
replaces, new springers being cut to raise their
haunches, while the eastern limb of the eastern arch
is left with its original respond, only the western half
being struck from two centres to take its bearing on
the heightened pier. The west respond appears to be
that of a 13th-century nave arcade; there is no capital,
and the springer of the original western arch is utilized
as a corbel, from which springs the present 16thcentury four-centred arch. Over the piers of the
arcade on both chancel and nave faces are five image
niches with carved corbels formed by angels holding
shields, and having on the nave side cinquefoiled
heads with crowns for canopies above. The heads on
the aisle side have been destroyed, and the corbels
now serve to support large knees of timber carrying
the aisle roof-plate. On the nave side the shields
have the following charges, beginning with the
easternmost: (1) a gridiron, (2) two cheverons
between three roses, (3) a tun inscribed with a
capital 'B,' (4) a cheveron between three tuns,
(5) three cheveronels between three roundels. On
the aisle side the shields have: (1) an angel holding
a label, (2), (3) and (4) are blank shields divided
palewise, (5) a flower, probably a merchant's mark.
At the south-west of the nave, forming the lower
part of the wall, is a fragment of the tower of the
original early 12th-century church, and above this is
a reset window of the same date with a round head
and plain internal splays. Of the five remaining
windows in this wall the jambs of the two easternmost and of that immediately to the west of the
south doorway are probably of the 14th century,
though their tracery is modern. The two windows
in the centre of the wall are completely modern, and
occupy the position where the compter-gate of the
abbey originally abutted upon the nave, and subsequently the 17th-century Knollys chapel. Below
the sill of the second window from the east has been
uncovered the lower portion of the east jamb of an
original south-east window of c. 1196, containing a
piscina niche with a two-centred head. To the west
of the present window, and a little above the springing of the arch, a part of its western shafted jamb
has also been uncovered. Of contemporary date,
though much restored, is the south doorway, which
has externally a well-moulded round head of two
orders, the jambs of the outer shafted, and a segmental
rear arch.
With the exception of the easternmost, where the
hospitium abutted upon the church, all the squareheaded windows of the north aisle are of original
15th-century date, though much renewed, and the
three-light west window and doorway are of the same
period. To the north of the doorway is a semicircular-headed niche, probably a stoup. The aisle
is continuous with the north chapel, there being no
arch between them, but only a slight break in the
wall.
The tower is of three stages with an embattled
parapet and octagonal buttresses, surmounted by
pinnacles at the angles, the south-east buttress containing the vice, which is entered from the nave.
The ground stage opens into the nave by a tall
and well-moulded two-centred arch of three orders,
the outer continuous, and the inner carried by
slender shafts with moulded capitals and bases. A
similar but smaller arch opens into the aisle. The
west window is of five lights with a traceried twocentred head, and beneath it is a doorway with a
four-centred head flanked externally by image niches.
The bell-chamber is lighted on all four sides by
windows of three uncusped lights with traceried twocentred head, and the ringing chamber by windows
of two cinquefoiled lights with heads of similar form
on the north, west, and south. The whole tower,
with the possible exception of the nave and aisle
arches, which may have been enlarged in the early
16th century with the nave arcade, dates from c. 1450,
though every external detail has been renewed.
Externally the walls throughout the whole building are faced with flint and have been much renewed.
Beneath the east window of the chancel is a stringcourse partly of original date. The buttresses of the
north chapel and at the south-east of the chancel are
probably of the 13th century, while those of the
north aisle are of the 15th century.
The roof of the chancel is modern. The eastern
and western trusses of the nave roof are of the
braced collar type and probably belong to the
roof constructed in 1410, while the six remaining
trusses, which are of an early queen-post type with
large cambered tie-beams, strengthened by wallposts
and curved braces on the south side, probably belong
to the roof constructed in 1520–1. The north
chapel has a timber ceiled roof of seven cants divided
into panels by moulded ribs with carved bosses at
their intersections. The work appears to be of
the 15th century. The aisle roof has a timber
ceiling of similar but slighter construction, which
almost certainly dates from the repair of 1524 above
mentioned.
The font was made in 1522. (fn. 2) In the east wall of
the nave to the south of the chancel arch is a small
15th-century alabaster bas-relief of the Adoration.
The Blessed Virgin is lying upon a couch, propped
up on pillows, and holding on her lap the child Christ.
A figure bending over the foot of the couch is making
an offering, and behind him is a seated figure, probably Joseph. In the background are three standing
figures, two crowned, while the third appears to be a
girl. The alabaster is cut off above the heads of the
figures, but there appears to have been a crowning
canopy of elaborate workmanship. The whole has
been much mutilated and the faces of the figures
destroyed. There are slight traces of colour. In the
chancel are five 15th-century bench-ends with poppyhead finials and traceried panelling.
On the north respond of the nave arch of the
tower a ragged staff has been rudely scratched in two
places, and on the north respond is cut in black letter
'I.h.m.' (perhaps for 'Jesu mercie').
On the east wall of the nave to the north of the
chancel arch is a palimpsest brass, hung in two
portions in hinged brass frames to facilitate inspection.
The brass is that of Water Barton, who died in 1538,
as the inscription states, and the matrix may be seen
in the chancel floor. On the back of his figure,
which is in two pieces, may be distinguished the feet
of a knight, resting on the back of a collared lion,
and a fragment of a shield of arms. By the side of
the shield is part of the hilt of a sword. On the
back of the inscription and presumably belonging to
these fragments is inscribed: 'Hic jacet Joh[anne]s
Popham miles qond[am] d[omin]us de Gurney in Normandia
& d[omin]us | de Chardeford de Dene ac de Alvyngton &
Alibi in Anglia . qui obiit xiiiio | die mensis Aprilis
Anno d[omin]i mill[essim]mo ccccolxiiio cui' a[nima]e ppicietr de.'
Below this, removed from its matrix, which is now
in the chancel floor, and set in a modern oak frame,
is an undated brass, probably of the last half of the
15th century, to John Kent, 'Burgensis de Redyng,'
and his wife Johanna. Above the inscription are
their figures. In the chancel floor is a brass to
John Andrew, who died in 1428, with the matrices
of a figure and a shield above and below the inscription, which is as follows:—
'Vermibus hic donor: et sic ostendere conor
Ut sicut ponor: ponitur omnis honor
Quisquis eris qui transieris sta perlege plora
Sum quod eris fuer[amq]ue quod es p[ro] me precor ora
Hic jacet dūs Joh[ann]es Andreu qui obiit tercio | die
marcii Anno d[omini] Mill[essim]o ccccoxxviiio.'
In the tower are slabs with indents of the figures
of a man and wife and of a man and two wives. On
the south wall of the chancel is a brass, with figures,
to Edward Butler of Reading, 'fyve tymes maior of
this toune,' who died in 1584, and to his wife Alice,
1583. On the same wall, with the inscription partly
concealed by the present chancel steps, is a monument
of c. 1600 to Thomas Lydall and Margery his wife.
It is divided into two arched compartments by three
Corinthian columns of marble supporting an entablature. In the dexter compartment are figures of
Thomas Lydall and three sons, in the sinister his wife
and six daughters. At the south-west of the chancel
is mural monument to Martha, the wife of Charles
Hamley 'of Cornwall,' and daughter of Thomas
Seakes of Henley-on-Thames, who died in 1636.
Her figure in painted alabaster, wearing a hat and
ruff, is represented kneeling at a desk, with the
hands in prayer. High in the wall between the
two south windows is an elaborate monument to
Anne Haydon, wife of Gideon Haydon, who died
in 1747.
Plan of Greyfriars Church, Reading
On the south wall of the nave is the monument to
John Blagrave, the mathematician. An architectural
frame, ornamented with personifications of the five
regular geometrical solids, surrounds his half-length
figure, which holds a sphere in the right hand and a
quadrant in the left. The inscriptions have suffered
considerably by repainting, and the date of his death
has been apparently cleaned off. The church contains no other monuments of interest.
There is a ring of ten bells: treble, 'Richard
Cobb Ch. Warden, R.C. 1748'; (2) 'By adding
two our notes we'll raise & sound ye good subscribers
praise 1748'; (3) 'Robert Catlin fecit 1748';
(4) 'Prosperity to all our benefactors, R.C. 1748';
(5) 'Imprimis venerare deum mandataque serva,
Quere non alios unicus ipse deus, R.C. 1748';
(6) and (7), by Taylor & Co., 1881; (8) recast by
Thomas Mears, 1803; (9) by the same, 1793;
tenor, by Taylor & Co., 1882. There is also a
small sanctus bell by Thomas Mears, 1793.
The plate consists of two cups, each
with cover paten, all of 1637, given
by Richard Curtis; a flagon and large
paten or almsdish, both of 1631 and
given by Richard Johnson in the following year; a flagon of 1638 given
by John Saunders; a paten without
date letter, inscribed with the date
1701 and the names of the then
churchwardens; a paten of 1708; an
almsdish of 1735; another of 1752,
given by Mrs. Barbara Foster; a good
wine-strainer, funnel-shaped, with a
beaded rim, of 1739; a silver-mounted
shell of 1870; a cruet with plated
mounting, and a mace-head of silver,
unmarked.
The registers previous to 1812 are
as follows: (i) baptisms and marriages
1605 to 1653, the latter fragmentary
from 1649, burials 1605 to 1644 (a
note in the register states 'Lost from
1644 to 1654 in burials'); (ii) all
entries 1654 to 1687; (iii) 1686 to
1724; (iv) baptisms and burials 1724
to 1772, marriages 1724 to 1754;
(v) baptisms and burials 1772 to
1812; (vi) marriages 1754 to 1762;
(vii) marriages 1762 to 1772; (viii)
marriages 1772 to 1779; (ix) marriages 1779 to 1782.
The church of GREYFRIARS consists at present of a nave about 77 ft.
6 in. by 29 ft., north and south transepts, each about 24 ft. in depth and 28 ft. wide, a
small modern vestry to the west of the north transept, and north and south aisles each about 48 ft. by
9 ft. 6 in. Over the eastern gable is a modern
bellcote containing three bells.
The nave, aisles, and foundations of the south
transept date from the early 14th century. This is
fixed approximately by the will of Alan de Baunebury, who died at Reading in 1311 and bequeathed
a sum of money operi fratrum minorum. (fn. 3) The
chancel has entirely disappeared, leaving only the
chancel arch. The body and side aisles of the
church were granted by Henry VIII in 1542 to the
Mayor and burgesses of the borough of Reading,
when it was converted partly into a town hall and
partly into an almshouse. By 1613 it had become a
house of correction. (fn. 4) In 1863 the church was
restored to its original use, when the present north
transept was added, and the eastern end of the building, including the still surviving chancel arch, with
the south and west walls of the south transept, were
rebuilt.
The bricked-up chancel arch is two-centred with a
containing label, and of three orders, each moulded
with a deep hollow; the responds are triple shafted
with moulded capitals and bases. The nave arcades
are of five bays, two occupying the width of the
transepts. The arches throughout are of three orders,
and are moulded in the same manner as the chancel
arch. On both aisle and nave faces are labels of the
overlapping roll section with head-stops at their
intersections, partly original. The piers, with the
exception of those of the easternmost arches, which
are of smaller span, have an inner square with semicircular shafts attached to each of the four faces.
The shafts have bell capitals with well-moulded abaci
and neckings, and
double - roll bases
standing on large
plinths, which follow
the semicircular plan
of the shafts and
overlap the inner
square. The western
responds are halfpiers of the same
form. The eastern
piers have four clustered shafts with
capitals and bases of
the same section.
The outer orders of
the arches die upon
the east wall of the
nave, the inner being
carried by short
shafts of the ruling
type, corbelled off
and stopped by foliage. The lower part
of the eastern shaft
of the southern pier
is left square as if to
receive some kind of
screenwork.
The tracery of the east windows is modern, but
some old stones are used here and there in the heads
and jambs, which are shafted internally. The remaining windows of the transepts are entirely modern.
Acute two-centred drop arches of two chamfered
orders, abutting upon the second from the east of
the nave arcade piers, carry the west walls of the
transepts and separate them from the aisles. The
inner order in each case is carried by the semicircular
attached shaft on the aisle side of the nave pier, and
by a corbel on the aisle wall. The outer order is
stopped clumsily on the outer order of the nave
arcade, and dies upon the aisle wall on the west,
descending unbroken on the east upon the angle
made by the aisle and transept walls. The splendid
west window of the nave, though much restored, is a
particularly fine example of the period. It is of five
trefoiled ogee lights with reticulated tracery within
a two-centred head having an external label. Externally the jambs have a deep, narrow hollow, and
the angles of the internal splays are finished with a
roll between two hollows.
The side walls of the aisles have each two windows
of three trefoiled ogee lights with flat segmental heads
and labels containing reticulated tracery. The north
doorway has a two-centred external head of two
chamfered orders and a ribbed rear arch. The south
doorway, which has a head of similar form, with
an external leaf-stopped label, is of two elaborately
moulded orders with a ribbed segmental rear arch.
These details, though considerably restored, are all
original.
The walls are of flint, the stones of the facing being
split and squared; the facing of the south aisle is
largely original and is remarkable for the wonderful
precision with which the stones are set. The open
timber roofs are all modern. Some 14th-century red
and yellow tiles, dug up at the restoration of the
church, are preserved in a frame hung up on the
west wall of the north aisle. The patterns include a
dog with a collar and bell, upon a background of
oak leaves and acorns; a hare with a ground of trefoil
foliage; an antlered stag; and a geometrical design
of four small squares divided gyronwise. The living
is a vicarage in the gift of trustees.
Greyfriars Church, Reading, from the South-west
The church of ST. MARY, Castle Street, consists
of a chancel, with a north organ chamber and vestry,
a nave, north and south aisles, and a west entrance
vestibule extending the full width of the building, with
staircases at either end leading up to the galleries,
which are continued across the west end of the
nave.
The church was built in 1799 on the site of the
old county gaol, the portico added in 1840 and
the chancel in 1842. It was founded by a body of
churchmen who seceded from the congregation of
St. Giles, not liking the successor of the Hon. and
Rev. W. B. Cadogan. For some time before 1820
services were held by Nonconformist ministers. The
body of the church is of brick, but the portico
on the western front, which is hexastyle and of the
Corinthian order, is of stone and is surmounted by
a square bell-turret of the same material. The
galleries are supported by Doric columns, superimposed upon which is an Ionic order carrying the
coved ceiling of the nave. The living is a perpetual
curacy in the gift of trustees.
The church of ST. STEPHEN, Orts Road, consists
of a chancel, north vestry and organ chamber, south
chapel, nave, north and south aisles, and north porch
of timber. A bellcote containing two bells surmounts
the west gable of the nave. The materials are red
brick with stone dressings and the style adopted is
'early decorated.' It is a chapel of ease to St. John
the Evangelist. The roofs are of timber, covered
externally with tiles.
The church of ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
consists of a chancel, with north organ chamber and
vestry, a nave, north and south aisles, slightly projecting north and south transepts, a baptistery at the west
end of the north aisle, a south-west tower, the bottom
stage of which is used as an entrance vestibule, and a
north-west turret and vestibule with a staircase leading
to the gallery over the west end of the nave. The
present church was erected in 1872–4 from the designs
of Mr. W. A. Dixon, and is built in the early French
Gothic style of Kentish rag with Bath and red sandstone dressings. The living is a vicarage in the gift
of trustees.
CHRIST CHURCH, Whitley, consists of a chancel,
north vestry and organ chamber, south chapel, nave,
north and south aisles, and a tower and spire at the
north-west. The church was originally built in
1861–2, the south aisle and tower being added in
1874. The material is quarry-faced coursed rubble
with ashlar dressings and the design is in the early
decorated style. The roofs are of timber and covered
externally with slates. The living is a vicarage in
the gift of the bishop.
The church of ALL SAINTS consists of a chancel
with an apsidal end, a north organ chamber and south
chapel, a nave of five bays, north and south aisles, a
north vestry, and a galilee porch; above the east
gable of the nave is a small bell-turret containing
one bell. The church was built in the year 1865,
and was enlarged westwards by the addition of two
bays in 1874, while the vestry was enlarged in 1896.
It is a dignified building in the decorated style, and
is built of coursed rubble with Bath stone dressings.
It is a chapel of ease to St. Mary's.
The church of ST. BARTHOLOMEW, Earley,
consists of a chancel, north and south chapels, a north
vestry, nave, and north and south aisles. A bellcote,
containing two bells, surmounts the west gable of the
nave. The church was originally built in 1878–9,
but the chancel was rebuilt and the chapels added in
1903. The materials of the older part of the church,
which is of an Early English character, are red and
blue brick with stone dressings. The new portion is
of red brick with stone dressings; the east walls are
faced internally with ashlar. It is designed in an
eclectic version of English decorated. The living is
a vicarage in the gift of the bishop.
The church of ST. LUKE, Redlands Estate, consists
of an apsidal chancel, north and south transepts, south
vestry, nave, north and south aisles and a west porch
or galilee. Over the east gable of the nave is a
bellcote. The church was erected in 1883. The
materials are red and yellow brick with stone dressings,
and the style adopted is Early English in character.
The incumbent is appointed by the vicar of St. Giles.
The church of ST. SAVIOUR, Wolseley Street,
consists of an apsidal chancel, north vestry and organ
chamber, south transept, nave, north and south aisles,
and a temporary western porch. The materials are
red brick with stone dressings; the building was begun
in 1887 and is not yet complete. It is a chapel of
ease to St. Mary's.
The church of HOLY TRINITY was originally
built as a proprietary chapel by the Rev. George
Hulme in 1827. The building ceased to be a proprietary chapel in 1875, and in 1888 was reconstructed and partially rebuilt, and in its present state
consists of a chancel, a north chapel and south vestry,
a large and lofty aisleless nave, with a gallery at the
west end, in which is placed the organ, and a large
vestibule extending across the whole front of the
church, with staircases at either end leading up to
the gallery. At the apex of the west gable is an
octagonal bell-turret containing one bell. The building is of brick, the west front being faced with stone,
and the style may best be described as 'pointed.'
The living is a vicarage in the gift of the vicar of
St. Mary's.
The church of ST. MARK, built in 1904, consists
of a chancel, a nave with north and south passage
aisles, north vestries, and a west gallery with a southwest stair turret. The materials are red brick and
stone and the style is an eclectic version of Gothic.
It is a chapel of ease to St. Mary's. A small iron
building standing to the north of the new church
was previously used to hold the services in.
The Roman Catholic church of ST. JAMES in
North Forbury Road was built in 1840.
There are also Congregational, Baptist, Wesleyan,
Presbyterian, Unitarian and Primitive Methodist
chapels, a Friends' meeting-house and a synagogue.
ADVOWSONS
The church of St. Mary the
Virgin according to ancient tradition represents the church held
before the Conquest by Leveva the abbess and given
by the Conqueror to Battle Abbey. (fn. 5) Possibly its
origin was connected with the monastery destroyed
by the Danes. (fn. 6) It was a parish church certainly
as early as the year 1129, for it is mentioned in
a confirmatory charter granted by the Bishop of
Salisbury to Hugh first Abbot of Reading, who in
that year was preferred to the archbishopric of
Rouen. (fn. 7) As no other church is mentioned it was
probably then the only existing one. The abbot
was rector and he appointed a vicar to serve the
church. In 1291 the church was worth £8 per
annum, (fn. 8) out of which the vicar was obliged to pay
to the rector a pension of £3. In the reign of
Henry VIII it was worth £11 4s. 3d. per annum. (fn. 9)
At the Dissolution the rectory and advowson
lapsed to the king. In 1545 he granted the
rectory to Sir Francis Englefield, (fn. 10) who granted the
rectory impropriate to the vicar, John Weatham, and
his successors. (fn. 11) After the exile of Sir Francis
Englefield this arrangement was confirmed by Elizabeth (1574) to Weatham's successor William Powell,
so that the incumbent of the living is at once vicar
and rector. (fn. 12) The advowson continued in the Crown
until it was transferred to the Bishop of Oxford in
1855. (fn. 13)
A chapel of All Saints is mentioned in connexion
with St. Mary's about the end of the 12th century. (fn. 14)
It was probably a detached chapel, as it is sometimes
called an 'ecclesia,' (fn. 15) and a vicus omnium sanctorum is
mentioned. (fn. 16) The chapel seems to have had some
connexion with the gild merchant, for on the eve of
All Saints' Day fuel was sent by the gild to be burned
in a bonfire outside and wax candles to be burned
inside the chapel. (fn. 17) It seems to have disappeared
before the Reformation.
The Colley or Colney chapel or chantry was
founded in St. Mary's Church in the reign of
Edward III. In 1371 the king granted to William
Baron and Bartholomew Mayhew licence to assign
the rent of a messuage to a priest who was to say
mass every day 'in a certain chapel called Colneyes
Chapel' for William Catour and his wife while they
lived and for their souls after their death as well as
for the souls of Thomas and John de Colneye. (fn. 18) The
presentation to the chaplaincy was to be vested in
the Mayor of Reading, but if within three months he
failed to appoint the presentation was to lapse to the
bishop or his representative for that turn only. The
successive mayors exercised this right and jealously
prized it, as may be seen from references in the corporation diary to the careful keeping of the charters
connected with the chantry. The right was cited
as an evidence of the corporation of the borough of
Reading in the late 15th or early 16th century. (fn. 19)
In 1535 the chantry was valued at £7 6s. 6d.
per annum, (fn. 20) by the Chantry Commissioners at £9
per annum, of which £8 8s. 2d. formed the stipend
of the priest whose duty it was to sing mass daily.
The incumbent was Richard Turner, but the intention of the founder was not carried out. (fn. 21)
A fraternity known as the Jesus fraternity also
existed in St. Mary's Church. (fn. 22) In 1617 Sir Thomas
Vachell, 'to whom a great estate of inheritance is
descended within the parish' of St. Mary, was allowed
by the churchwardens and parishioners to have 'a
place, howse or I'le sometime used as a schoolehouse'
on the north side of the church, which apparently
had once been part of the church, for a family seat and
burial-place. He and his successors were to pay a
yearly rent to the church of £1 and were to keep
the aisle in order. The first payment is recorded in
1619 (fn. 23) ; the aisle became known as the Vachell
aisle, and in it the Vachells were buried as long as
they continued at Coley.
St. Giles's Church is first mentioned in a confirmatory charter given by Hubert Walter, Bishop of
Salisbury (1189–93), to the Abbot and convent of
Reading. (fn. 24) The abbot was rector, and the church
was served by a vicar. In 1291 it was the richest
church in the town, being worth £10, (fn. 25) while
St. Mary's was worth £8 and St. Lawrence's only
£5. It paid a pension of £2 per annum to the
Abbot of Reading. It held the same position in
the reign of Henry VIII, being worth £14 17s.,
while St. Mary's was worth £11 4s. 3d. At the
dissolution of Reading Abbey the rectory and advowson lapsed to the king. In 1545 he granted them
to Sir Francis Englefield, (fn. 26) who granted the rectory
impropriate to the vicar, Edward Yonge, and his
successors, which arrangement was confirmed by
Elizabeth. (fn. 27) The incumbent is thus, as at St. Mary's,
at once vicar and rector. The advowson continued in the Crown, but Sir Edmund Ludlow
is found appointing to the vicarage in 1616. (fn. 28) In
1855 the advowson was bought by the Bishop of
Oxford. (fn. 29)
In St. Giles's Church at the time of the Reformation there was a confraternity of Jesus. (fn. 30) The Englefield chantry was dissolved in 1536 without the king's
licence by one of the Englefield family. (fn. 31)
St. Lawrence's Church is first mentioned in a
charter of Hubert Walter when Bishop of Salisbury,
confirming the gift which Hugh Abbot of Reading
had made of it to the hospital of St. John Baptist. (fn. 32)
In the text of this charter it is called capella Sancti
Laurentii. (fn. 33) It paid a pension of £5 per annum to
the Abbot of Reading. (fn. 34) At the dissolution of the
abbey the advowson became the property of the
Crown. Charles I in 1640, probably through the
good offices of Laud, who was born in the parish,
granted it to St. John Baptist College, Oxford, (fn. 35) which
held it until it was bought by the Bishop of Oxford
in 1861. (fn. 36) The chapel of St. Edmund was founded
in 1204 under a licence of Abbot Helyas by Laurence
Burgeys alias Abyndus, bailiff of the town of Reading,
who endowed it with a house (mansio) in New Street
and became a hermit there. (fn. 37) It is mentioned in
connexion with St. Lawrence's Church in 1272. (fn. 38)
The people of Reading complained to Edward IV
when he visited the town that this chapel 'at the
west end of the towne of Seynt Edmund the Kynge
and Martyr wherein lyeth the bonys of many cristen
people' had been turned into a barn. It does not
appear to have been restored. In 1545 the site was
granted to William Grey, (fn. 39) and so passed to the
Blagraves. On the site where it is believed to have
stood some remains of an ancient barn were to be
seen about the middle of the 18th century. A
capella Sancti Spiritus is mentioned in 1272, apparently in connexion with St. Lawrence's Church. (fn. 40)
The 'Mass of Jesus' in this church was apparently
founded by Henry Kelsall, clothier, of Reading, who
died in 1493. (fn. 41) Richard Cleche and John Baxster
were among the first 'brethren of the Mass of Jesus.'The chantry was refounded under royal licence (1506),
and was in existence at the Reformation, at which
time there was also a stipendiary priest who was paid
by the Haberdashers' Gild in London. (fn. 42)
The records of St. Lawrence's Church make
mention of many altars besides the High Altar,
those of our Lady, of St. Thomas, of St. George,
of St. Nicholas, that of St. Blaise (mentioned in
1433), who was the patron saint of woolcombers, and
whose altar was perhaps connected with a gild of
woolcombers, Mr. Justice's altar founded 1520 and
the Trinity altar. The 'lights of St. Catherine' in
the chapel of St. John are mentioned in the 15th
century. (fn. 43) There was a chantry, which may have
been connected with one of these altars, to furnish a
chaplain for which Thomas Carpenter (d. 1520) left
a house in High Street, Reading, to the Mayor of
Reading and the proctors or guardians of St. Lawrence's. (fn. 44)
Until the middle of the 16th century the
parishioners of St. Lawrence were buried in a
churchyard 'lying next unto the late Churche of the
late Mon[astery] ther'; this ground (the right of burial
in which was no doubt a survival of the days when
the abbey church served the future parish of St. Lawrence) was taken from them, and in 1556 another
ground next to the parish church was granted in lieu
of it. (fn. 45)