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Summary

Former Franciscan Friary church first built in 1282-85. After being surrended to the Crown the main body of the church became a guildhall, but by 1611 it was being used as a prison. It was restored to church use in 1863 by the architect Woodman.

Monument Type(s):

• CHURCH (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1863 AD)

Description

The present church contains early 14th century nave and foundations of the south transept and friary church <1>. The church was almost entirely reconstructed in 1863 by Woodman, but 'on sufficent evidence'. Everything east of chancel arch remained destroyed. The north transept was built wholly afresh. Nave piers mostly original <2>.

An assessment of significance was undertaken on the church by Oxford Heritage Partnership and concluded it was of high significance. Greyfriars began life as the friary church of the Franciscan order in Reading. Built between c.1285 and 1311, it was their second friary in the town, the first (on a poor site grudgingly permitted to them by the Abbey) was abandoned due to regular flooding and its distance from the main settlement. The friary was dissolved by Dr London in 1538, and the church was purchased by the town merchant guild for use as a Guildhall. When a new hall was provided in 1614 the old church became a house of correction and stayed in use as such for most of two centuries, barring brief occupations by military forces during the Civil War.

By the 18th century the building housed the borough Bridewell too, and it was this use that was to prove the most damaging to the fabric since the dissolution; the nave roof was removed to prevent its collapse onto the prisoners, and cells were built within the north aisle and against the north wall. On the south side, a public house and the warden’s house were built on the narrow strip of land between the south wall and Friar Street.

From the mid-19th century the population of the rapidly industrialising town rocketed, and new churches were built to serve them. The Bridewell at Greyfriars was increasingly unfit for purpose, condemned by both prisoner reformers and antiquarians who wished to see the ‘noble’ old church saved from destruction. W.W. Phelps, then vicar of Reading Trinity, proposed a scheme for the restoration of Greyfriars as a district church for the area in 1860, and the idea quickly gained popularity. Phelps bought the church and surrounding parcels of land in 1861, and the last prisoners were removed on 22 March 1862. Restoration work began just a month later under W H Woodman, who renewed the west window and arcades, built new transepts, and laid a new roof. Further repairs would take place in 1894. Wherever possible land adjoining the site was bought to allow extension of church activities; schools were built in 1864 and extended in 1867, and a memorial hall was built to the north in 1902.

This intensive use of the site continued into the 20th century with the addition of a large west end extension and link to the memorial hall wrapping the old church building in 1972, and the demolition of the schools in 1971 to be replaced by a large multi-purpose hall and meeting rooms in 1981-3. The church was reordered in sweeping modern style by Maguire in 1999-2000. Today the church remains as active as it ever has been and has outgrown the existing facilities and spaces provided on the site.

Overall the church building is considered of high significance as the most complete surviving example of a friary church in England. However, its ancillary buildings, including the west end extension, are of poor quality and no significance; they make poor use of the site and the latter in particular actively detracts from the west end of the friary church with its huge and nationally important medieval west window <4>.

<1> Astill, G.G, 1978, Historic towns in Berkshire: An archaeological appraisal, Page 78-79 (Bibliographic reference). SRD6871.

<2> Pevsner N, 1966, The Buildings of England - Berkshire, Page 201 (Bibliographic reference). SRD7728.

<3> Oxford Archaeology, 2018, Greyfriars Church, Reading, Berkshire. Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (Unpublished document). SRM15824.

<4> Oxford Heritage Partnership, 2018?, Reading Greyfriars Statement of Significance (Unpublished document). SRM16010.

Sources

Designations

• Listed Building (I)
• Listed Building (I) 1321952: GREYFRIARS CHURCH

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Associated Monuments

Associated Finds:

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