- Reading Abbey
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined
abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county ofBerkshire . It was founded by Henry I in1121 "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 and successors".*cite book | author=The staff of the Trust for Wessex Archeology and Reading Museum and Art Gallery | title=Reading Abbey Rediscovered, a summary of the Abbey's history and recent archaeological excavations | publisher=Trust for Wessex Archeology | year=1983] King Henry I is buried somewhere in the abbey grounds.History
Following its royal foundation, the abbey was established by a party of
monks from the French abbey ofCluny , together with monks from the Cluniacpriory of St Pancras atLewes inSussex . The abbey was dedicated to theVirgin Mary andSt John the Evangelist . [Charles Tomkins, "Views of Reading abbey, with those of the churches originally connected with it", 1805] The first abbot, in 1123, wasHugh of Amiens [C. Warren Hollister, "Henry I" (2001), p. 282-3.] who becamearchbishop of Rouen and was buried inRouen Cathedral .According to the twelfth century chronicler
William of Malmesbury , the abbey was built on a gravel spur "between the rivers Kennet and Thames, on a spot calculated for the reception of almost all who might have occasion to travel to the more populous cities of England". The adjacent rivers provided convenient transport, and the abbey established wharves on theRiver Kennet . The Kennet also provided power for the abbeywater mill s, most of which were established on theHoly Brook , a channel of the Kennet of uncertain origin.*cite book | author=The staff of the Trust for Wessex Archeology and Reading Museum and Art Gallery | title=Reading Abbey Rediscovered, a summary of the Abbey's history and recent archaeological excavations | publisher=Trust for Wessex Archeology | year=1983 ]When Henry I died in
Lyons-la-Forêt ,Normandy in1135 his body was returned to Reading, and was buried in the front of thealtar of the then incomplete abbey. Other royal persons buried in the abbey include parts ofEmpress Matilda , William of Poitiers, andConstance of York .Because of its royal patronage, the abbey was one of the
pilgrimage centres ofmedieval England, and one of its richest and most important religious houses, with possessions as far away asHerefordshire andScotland . The abbey also held over 230relic s including the hand of St James. A shriveled human hand was found in the ruins during demolition work in1786 and is now in St Peter's RC Church, Marlow. The songSumer is icumen in , which was first written down in the abbey about1240 , is the earliest known four part harmony from Britain. The original document is held in theBritish Library .The abbey was largely destroyed in
1538 during Henry VIII'sDissolution of the Monasteries . The last abbot,Hugh Cook Faringdon , was subsequently tried and convicted ofhigh treason andhanged, drawn and quartered in front of the Abbey Church. After this, the buildings of the abbey were extensively robbed, with lead, glass and facing stones removed for reuse elsewhere.*cite book | author=The staff of the Trust for Wessex Archeology and Reading Museum and Art Gallery | title=Reading Abbey Rediscovered, a summary of the Abbey's history and recent archaeological excavations | publisher=Trust for Wessex Archeology | year=1983 | id=No ISBN known]St James' Roman Catholic Church was built on a portion of the site of the abbey between
1837 and1840 . Its founder was James Whebble, who owned land in the area at that time. Reading Gaol was built in1844 on the eastern portion of the abbey site, replacing a small county Gaol on the same site. James Whebble sold the rest of his portion of the abbey site to Reading Corporation to create theForbury Gardens , which were opened in1861 .cite web | url = http://www.jameswilliam-reading.org.uk/documents/StJamesChurch-avisitorsguide2007.pdf | title = St James Church - A guide for Visitors | publisher = St James Church | accessdate = 2007-10-24] cite web | url = http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/prisoninformation/locateaprison/prison.asp?id=625,15,2,15,625,0 | title = HM Prison Service - Reading | publisher = United Kingdom Ministry of Justice | date = 2004 | accessdate = 2007-10-24] cite web | title = Forbury Gardens | publisher = Reading Borough Council | url = http://www.reading.gov.uk/leisureandculture/parksandopenspaces/fulllistofparksandopenspaces/General.asp?id=SX9452-A77F90A5 | date = 2000-2007 | accessdate = 2007-10-24]Remains
The inner rubble cores of the walls of the major buildings of the abbey still stand, and in recent years have been conserved and stabilised. They are Grade I listed. These are now freely accessible to the public as part of the
Forbury Gardens , a town centre park. Other parts of the former abbey are now buried below Reading Gaol.The inner gateway of the abbey survives intact, though heavily 'restored' in the Victorian era, and now stands adjoining the Reading
crown court and a large commercial office building, overlooking Forbury Gardens. Similarly the abbey'shospitium dormitory survives, and after various uses has now been incorporated into a recent office development. The abbey school, which was founded in1125 , survives as a stategrammar school calledReading School , albeit in different buildings on a different site. Some remains of the former Abbey Mill still remain alongside theHoly Brook at the south of the abbey site.The grave of Henry I is marked by a plaque near its original location but no other graves are marked. Plaques have also now been placed on the walls of the chapter house to cite certain events there.
In 1995, the ruined South Transept was used as the setting for the first Abbey Ruins Open Air Shakespeare production by
MDM Productions andProgress Theatre in partnership with Reading Borough Council. In 1996, the outdoor production moved to the ruined chapter house and since 1999 has been staged by Progress Theatre in partnership with Reading Borough Council. This annual event expanded to the "Reading Abbey Ruins Open Air Festival" in 2007.cite web | url = http://www.abbeyruins.com/history.html | title = Reading Abbey Ruins Open Air Festival: History | publisher = Progress Theatre| accessdate = 2008-07-14]References
External links
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12673a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Reading Abbey]
* [http://www.berksarch.co.uk/fora/ Friends of Reading Abbey]
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/reading_abbey.html Royal Berkshire History: Reading Abbey]
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/kids/reading_abbey.html RBH for Kids: Reading Abbey]
* [http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/abbey.htm Reading Museum Service: Reading Abbey]
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