Summary
Terraced shops and flats, constructed in the mid-C18 and extended in the C20.
Reasons for Designation
44 and 46 London Street are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as mid-C18 buildings that contribute to the character of an architecturally varied historic streetscape.
Group value:
* the buildings are in close proximity to a large number of listed buildings and form part of a strong historic grouping.
History
The first written record of Reading dates from the ninth century. Asser’s Life of Alfred (part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) records a battle at Reading in January 871 between the Danes and the forces of King Ethelred and his brother Alfred, who would go on to become Alfred the Great. Reading is described in this account as ‘Readingum’, likely derived from ‘Readingas’, an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means ‘Reada’s people’ in Old English. 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, spurring 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, both sides of London Street had been developed with continuous frontages for a considerable distance southward, beyond the modern junction with Crown Street-London Road. Several buildings which predate Speed’s map survive on London Street, some concealed behind later, brick façades. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during the C18 and C19. Several developments during this period spurred further growth and prosperity, including the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1840, improvements to the navigability of the River Kennet, and the growth of the local brewing industry. London Street became a fashionable part of town, especially after High Bridge was constructed over the River Kennet in 1788. The survival of many fine Georgian and Victorian buildings along London Street testifies to its prosperity during this period.
44 and 46 London Street were constructed in the mid-C18 as dwellings and commercial buildings. By 1895, both buildings contained ground-floor retail units. A carriage entrance to the northernmost bay of 44 London Street led to Bath Court to the rear, and this passed under the first floor of a southern range to 42 London Street. However, all the buildings between this carriageway and the River Kennet were demolished in the C20, including 42 London Street, meaning the first floor over the carriageway became an extension to the north elevation of 44 London Street. The rear of 46 London Street was extended with the construction of a three-storey addition in the late C20, providing additional office space to the building. Until recently, 44 London Street functioned as a café on the ground floor with private residences on the first floor and attic. However, this café has since closed and the space is currently (2023) not in use. 46 London Street has an estate agency on the ground floor and private residences on the first floor and attic.
Details
Terraced shops and flats, constructed in the mid-C18 and extended in the C20.
MATERIALS: the street-facing, east elevation of 44 and 46 is painted Flemish and English-bond brickwork. The rear range is rendered. The roof is covered in plain clay tiles.
PLAN: 44 and 46 London Street are two terraced buildings of two storeys with an attic. 44 London Street has a carriage entrance at street level leading westward to Crossland Road. Extending westward from the rear elevation of both buildings is a long, two-storey gabled extension.
EXTERIOR: 44 and 46 London Street each have a similar east, street-facing façade, consisting of a ten-pane glazed door, a large glazed shopfront, two casement windows on the first floor, and a gabled four-pane dormer window to the steeply-pitched, clay tile gambrel roof. The northernmost ground-floor bay of 44 London Street forms a carriageway with a timber lintel that leads to the rear. There is a door and a window (both C20 or C21 replacements) to the north elevation of 44 London Street, facing the carriageway. All windows and doors on the east front, excluding the dormer of 46 London Street, appear to be late-C20 or C21 replacements, including the first-floor casement windows which are all uPVC. The roof covering of 44 London Street appears to have been replaced in the C20.
