52 Market Place, 10 High Street

Summary

Commercial premises with accommodation above, built in around 1800.

History

Modest rural settlements likely existed in the area as far back as the first century. By the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066, Reading had become a town of notable size. After Reading Abbey was founded in 1121, the town grew substantially, spurred on by cloth production, the establishment of the new Market Place, and what would today be known as London Street, an extension to the High Street that facilitated trade to and from London. By 1525, the town’s thriving cloth industry led Reading to become the largest town in Berkshire. In 1542, Henry VIII’s royal charter made Reading a borough. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during C18 and C19. Several developments during the late C18 and C19 encouraged further growth and prosperity, including the arrival of the Great Western Railway, improvements to the navigability of the River Kennet, and the growth of the local brewing industry.

52 Market Place and 10 High Street was constructed in around 1800. By the end of the C19, it was in use as a rubber shop and offices. At this time, the building had a neoclassical balustrade running at parapet level. However, this was replaced in the C20 with the present blocked parapet. The historic roof form of 52 Market Place was replaced with a flat roof, as part of the building's incorporation into the adjoining 1-5 King Street, a later-C20 building to its south, designed by Sir Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners. In the C21, the first, second and third floor levels of 52 Market Place and 10 High Street were merged with 50 Market Place to the east, and 1-5 King Street to the south to form open-plan office spaces. The building’s ground floor is currently (2024) connected to the ground floor of 1-5 King Street directly to its south and both spaces function as a single restaurant.

Details

Commercial premises with accommodation above, built in around 1800 and altered in the later C20 and C21.

MATERIALS: brick and painted stucco.

PLAN: four storeys on a rectangular plan with frontages onto Market Place to the north and High Street to the east.

EXTERIOR: the street-facing east and north elevations of 52 Market Place and 10 High Street are designed in a consistent neoclassical style. The north elevation onto Market Place is three bays wide, while the east elevation onto High Street is four bays wide. The ground floor is painted dark green. Its window bays are separated by simple pilasters, while the southernmost bay of the east façade contains a blind doorway set into a channel rusticated portal. The ground floor windows are probably C20 replacements, featuring fixed two-pane glazing. The entrance to the restaurant is located on the third bay of the north elevation, with a modern timber door with frosted overlight. At first- and second-floor level, the bays of the building’s north and east elevations are separated by giant order Ionic pilasters, rising to a stucco entablature, the cornice of which forms the cill of the third-floor windows. Fenestration on the first and second floors is six-over-six timber sash windows, whereas the windows on the third floor are shorter, six-pane sash windows. Fluted Doric colonettes have been fitted into the window jambs at first-floor level. The windows at second-floor level on the east elevation are enclosed by architraves. The third-floor attic has geometric incised dividing piers and an incised frieze. The ground floor bays are similarly divided by panelled piers. The main entrance to the building is located within a rusticated archway that faces onto High Street with a patterned semi-circular fanlight.

INTERIOR: the ground floor does not appear to contain any original architectural fabric. It connects to the ground floor of 1-5 King Street to form one continuous restaurant space.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

38975

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Bradley, S, Tyack, G, The Buildings of England: Berkshire, (2010), p466.

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