86 London Street

Summary

Terraced house, now a shop and flats. Built in the early to mid-C18 with later alterations.

Reasons for Designation

86 London Street is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

*     as an early to mid-C18 townhouse which contributes to the character of an architecturally varied historic streetscape.

Historic interest:

*     as part of the urban development of Reading’s ancient core.

Group value:

*    the building is in close proximity to a large number of listed buildings and forms 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.

86 London Street was constructed in about the early to mid-C18, although it may have been altered in the C19. The building functioned as offices in the late C19. An ancillary building to the rear was demolished in the early 1990s and replaced with a new single-storey office extension, which was subsequently demolished. A connecting doorway between 86 and 88 London Street was inserted in the early C21. The building currently (2023) functions as a letting agency on the ground floor with private apartments above. It is also known as Albion House.

Details

Terraced house, now a shop and flats. Built in the early to mid-C18 with later alterations.

MATERIALS: tuck-pointed red brick laid in Flemish bond with timber and stucco dressings and clay tile roof coverings.

PLAN: a former terraced house of three storeys, now containing a shop (letting agents) on the ground floor and apartments above.

EXTERIOR: the main, east elevation faces the street and is three bays wide and three storeys high. The ground floor comprises, from left to right: two six-over-six sash windows with heavily moulded frames and an entrance doorway which has a moulded doorcase with two console brackets and a cornice. It contains a six-panelled door with brass door furniture beneath an elaborate, rococo-style transom light. A timber cornice separates the ground floor from that above. The first floor has four large Doric pilasters supporting a broad stucco entablature with metopes and a dentilled cornice. Between the pilasters are three six-over-six sash windows with moulded frames and keystones; simple geometric keystones to the outer sashes and a larger console keystone to the central sash. The second floor, or attic storey, has squat six-over-six segmental-headed sash windows with exposed sash boxes and a brick parapet with a stone coping. Behind the parapet is a tile-covered M roof. All of the sash windows to this elevation are flush with the brickwork. The basement has been painted white and contains two hopper windows behind iron railings.

The rear, west elevation is three bays wide with the ground and first floor painted white while the second floor is exposed red brick. On the first floor, there is a large 36-pane uPVC window to the northernmost bay and two eight-over-twelve timber sash windows to the other bays. The second floor is similar with a 36-pane uPVC window and two eight-over-eight sash windows.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

39050

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
Coates, C, Map of Reading (1802).
Goad Fire Insurance Maps of Reading, Sheet 10 (1895).
OS Maps (1:2500): 1879, 1900 and 1934.
Rocque, John, Map of Berkshire (1761).
Tyack, G, Bradley, S, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Berkshire (2010)
Reading Borough Council, ‘Huntley & Palmers Audio Trail: Market Place and London Street’. Available at: https://www.reading.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/heritage-and-conservation/readings-high-street-heritage-action-zone/community-engagement/reading-audio-trails/huntley-palmers-audio-trail-market-place-and-london-street/

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