Summary
Gated close of 32 almshouses, completed in 1867 to designs by the local architect, William Henry Woodman (1822-1879).
Reasons for Designation
Vachel Almshouses, Castle Street, Reading, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* a distinctive composition of 1867 by renowned local architect, William Woodman, with good quality brick and stone detailing to the exteriors.
Historic interest:
* indicative of philanthropic provision of welfare facilities, originating in the early C17.
Group value:
* close proximity to a large number of listed buildings, forming part of a strong historic grouping.
History
Castle Street forms part of the ancient route through Reading between London and Bath, and the street historically contained many inns and guesthouses. John Speed’s Map of Redding (1611) depicts both sides of the road as densely developed for some distance west of the crossroads. As Reading expanded beyond its medieval limits during the C18 and C19, development spread further along Castle Street. Earlier buildings were gradually replaced with substantial townhouses and public buildings in brick or Bath Stone, although some timber-framed buildings of the C16 and C17 survive. Until the mid-C20, redevelopment on the street was piecemeal and mostly confined to individual plots, leading to the street’s great architectural diversity.
In 1634, a group of almshouses were built in St Mary’s Butts following an endowment by the local landowner, Sir Thomas Vachel (about 1550-1638). These original almshouses, named St Mary’s Almshouses, were demolished in 1867 and replaced with the current almshouses, which were designed by local architect, William Henry Woodman (1822-1879) in a simple Domestic Revival style. The new buildings were renamed Vachel Almshouses after their original benefactor. A plaque commemorating Vachel’s endowment was relocated from the original almshouses and affixed to the wall of the western terrace. As constructed, the almshouses comprised 32 dwellings with rear wings, arranged in two terraces running south from Castle Street.
The almshouses were extensively modernised during the 1960s. This included updating the services, but more visibly, the rear wings of each terrace were largely rebuilt to accommodate additional living space. It appears that also at this time, steep, pyramidal roofs over numbers 2 and 18 (the square towers at the northern end of the terraces), were replaced with flat roofs. The almshouses were again refurbished during the late C20 and early C21. The rear extensions to the western terrace appear to have been reconstructed, while the rear extensions of the eastern terrace were provided with pitched roofs, replacing flat roofs from their initial construction in the 1960s. The front boundary wall of the almshouses onto Castle Street was also rebuilt at this time. The external appearance of the almshouses as seen from Castle Street has changed very little since construction, with the removal of the pyramidal roofs over the towers at the northern end of the terrace being a significant alteration. William Henry Woodman was a Reading-based architect who worked in partnership with William Ford Poulton (1822-1900). The pair specialised in Nonconformist churches and also designed the Grade II*-listed Wokingham Town Hall (National Heritage List for England entry 1303481).
Details
Gated close of 32 almshouses (subdivided into apartments in 2023) completed in 1867 to designs by the local architect, William Henry Woodman (1822-1879) and named after the benefactor Sir Thomas Vachel.
MATERIALS AND PLAN: the almshouses are arranged in two terraces down a slope running north-south to the Holybrook, along either side of a gated, private footpath running south from Castle Street. The buildings are of red and blue-grey brick generally laid in English Wall bond with decorative detailing to the gables and the square towers at the north end of the terraces. The properties are finished with Bath Stone dressings, and have timber roof detailing and plain tile roof coverings. They are of two storeys with steeply-pitched roofs, canted over the double-height bays, and have rear wings.
EXTERIOR: the terraces are designed in a simple Domestic Revival style. There is extensive use of fine brick detailing, creating decorative motifs, chequerboard patterns, string courses and tumbling in the gable ends. The pitched roofs have decorative cresting. All windows are sashes, mostly two-over-two panes, with carved stone, shouldered lintels, cills and stone mullions. All of the entrances have moulded stone heads, above which are recessed pointed arches filled with brick laid in a herringbone pattern in the tympanum. Each entrance has a double leaf timber plank door with elaborate iron hinges.
The two terraces mirror each other, both containing 16 almshouses (converted to apartments) split into four ranges. Each terrace has seven, tall moulded brick chimney stacks with cogged brick decoration. The two northernmost bays to each terrace have pitched roofs and first-floor oriel windows with moulded brick corbel courses and cornices at the north elevations facing Castle Street; full-height bay windows face on to the private road. Adjoining to the south are square, tower bases with flat roofs. On the northern face of the western tower is an inset plaque, recovered from the original almshouses at St Mary’s Butts. The plaque reads ‘SR THOMAS VACHEL KT. ERECTED THESE ALMS-HOUSES ANNO. DOM. 1634, AND ENDOWED THEM WITH FORTY POUNDS P. ANNUM FOR EVER FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF SIX POOR MEN’. Above and below are plaques commemorating the restoration of the buildings in the 1960s. The inner faces of each tower have doorways at the ground-floor level and a pair of sash windows above. There is decorative blue banding and moulded brick above with a dentil eaves cornice beneath the slightly projecting parapets, formerly the bases to the pyramidal roofs (removed).
Attached to the south of the towers are gabled two-bay ranges with a two-storey bay window containing sash windows within stone surrounds to the left (north), with decorative stone and brickwork to the gables above, flanked by sash windows to the southern bay. The three terrace ranges attached to the south are each of five bays with a central doorway, with single light above, flanked by two full-height bay windows containing sash windows set within stone surrounds. The outer bays of each range contain sash windows to both floors. There are seven rear wings to the terraces, with those to the rear of the western terrace being more irregularly placed. Some of these wings were part of the 1867 almshouses, but most were added during the 1960s modernisation works.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: there is a pair of lamp posts on the eastern side of the private road which appear to be contemporary with the almshouses. There is a heavily restored brick wall with iron railings and gate fronting Castle Street.
