Summary
Bank built 1838-1839, attributed to Henry and Nathaniel Briant, extended in 1893 and converted to a restaurant in the 2010s.
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 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. John Speed’s map shows that by 1611 King Street joined London Street on the east to Broad Street on the West. A small collection of buildings can also be seen flanking the south side of the new market square in front of the Abbey, suggesting that a modest block of buildings has always existed between King Street and the new Market Place. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during C18 and C19. Several developments during the late C18 and C19 spurred 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.
The former Barclays Bank building was constructed in 1838-1839 by local architects Henry Briant (1813-1884) and Nathaniel Briant (1813-1839). The building was opened as a bank for the clients Joseph and Charles Simonds and Company, whose emblem is visible in a monogrammed key over the principal doorway. In 1839 the bank was renamed John Simonds, Charles Simonds & Co Reading Bank and the present building was constructed. A three-bay extension was added onto the west elevation of the building in 1893 by WG Millar and GW Webb (1853-1936). In 1900, 50 and 51 Market Place were rebuilt as an extension to the bank, giving it a northern entrance onto Market Place. In 1913, the bank became a subsidiary of Barclays and was extensively refurbished in 1981. The building was opened as a restaurant and café in 2017 after a short period in disuse.
In the second half of the C20, a large section of the building’s rear was removed to form a courtyard. As a result, various mid- to late C20 extensions have been built to its rear, north elevation, ranging from three to four storeys. A plaque with the John Simonds, Charles Simonds & Company name on the east of its main entrance was removed at some stage between 2012 and 2014.
Details
3-5 King Street was constructed in 1838-1839 as a bank and extended westward in 1893. In the 2010s the building was converted from a bank into a restaurant.
MATERIALS: the principal south elevation is of ashlar Bath Stone and the rear elevation is rendered. The principal, south range is roofed in natural slate.
PLAN: the building is arranged in two principal volumes, comprising the five-bay body to the east and the three-bay extension to the west, both of three storeys. To the rear is a later, two-storey extension.
EXTERIOR: the principal, south-facing façade is of an ornate Italian palazzo style. The building has separate hipped roofs over the original, five-bay element and later, three-bay element to the west, with two large, ornate chimney stacks. The moulded eaves of the roof are evenly interspersed with sculpted lion heads, supported by neoclassical brackets. The brackets on the western extension are more foliate in decoration than those of the building’s eastern body, but the lion heads do not match the rhythm of the brackets as they do on the principal eastern side.
The south (King Street) elevation is arranged across eight bays, five in the main body of the building and three in the western extension. A masonry cornice runs below the first-storey piano nobile fenestration, and a decorative string course runs between these windows and the fenestration of the second storey. Second-storey windows are bounded by eared architraves. To the first storey, the windows are flanked by Corinthian pilasters that frame iron balconies and support a triangular dentilled pediment. All corners at the first and second-storey level are adorned with chamfered quoins. The elevation contains two-pane timber sashes throughout.
The façade at ground-floor level is composed of deeply channelled banded rustication. This is evenly dispersed by plate glass sash windows, excluding the third bay of the western extension which instead houses the main doorway of the building. This portal is richly adorned with neoclassical decoration, including the flanking marble Corinthian columns that support an elaborate entablature, and a scrolled broken pediment that bears the ‘J and CS and Co’ monogram. The timber door is panelled, carved with neoclassical relief, and surmounted by a wrought-iron fanlight. The C20, rear (north) extension was not inspected. It is of three to four storeys with a flat roof.
