92 London Street

Summary

Former townhouse, now offices. Built in the early C19, possibly incorporating an earlier C18 core, with late-C20 alterations to the rear, west elevation.

Reasons for Designation

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

Architectural interest:

*     as an early C19 townhouse, possibly incorporating an earlier C18 core, 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 Chronicles) 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.

The façade of 92 London Street presents as an early C19 townhouse. However, Coates’s 1802 map of Reading shows the site already occupied, suggesting the building replaced or incorporated the core of an existing C18 structure on the site. A series of ancillary structures and extensions were added to the rear (west) elevation during the C19 and early C20, including a long extension to the northern half of its rear elevation by the 1930s. These extensions were all cleared away by the mid-C20 when the building was further extended westwards to enlarge its rectangular plan, and the building was spanned by two hipped roofs oriented east-west. The rear, west elevation was altered in the 1990s. The dividing wall of the rear garden was removed and opened out onto the former garden space of number 90 London Street, forming a private parking courtyard accessed via Church Street to the north. 92 London Street currently (2023) functions as offices.

Details

Former townhouse, now offices. Built in the early C19, possibly incorporating an earlier C18 core, with late-C20 alterations to the rear, west elevation.

MATERIALS: the front, east elevation of 92 London Street is red brick laid in Flemish bond with a cement-rendered parapet. The shopfront is timber. The rear, west elevation is darker brown brick laid in stretcher bond with red brick detailing around the windows. The roof is clay plain tile.

PLAN: a three-storey townhouse with basement.

EXTERIOR: the principal, east elevation of 92 London Street is arranged across three bays. The ground floor has a late-C19 timber shopfront with fascia pilasters, capitals and brackets surrounding two glazed, canted shop windows and a central doorway accessed from street level via a flight of stone steps. At the northern end of the shopfront is a separate, C20 panelled door to the floors above, similarly accessed via a flight of stone steps. The first and second storeys contain three identical bays of six-over-six sash windows. These windows have gauged red brick lintels, red brick jambs and painted cills. There is a broad parapet which has been cement-rendered. It is covered by two hipped roofs, one of which has a skylight.

The rear, west elevation was altered in the 1990s and has three bays to each storey. The northernmost bay at the ground-floor level contains a rear access doorway. It is topped by a fanlight with radiating glazing bars. The two windows at the ground-floor level are six-over-six sashes. There are similar windows to the three bays at the first and second floor levels. Each window has red brick jambs and a gauged brick lintel. At the parapet level there is a simple brick dentil cornice supporting the roof eave.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

39053

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).
Speed, John, Map of Redding (1611).
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/

End of official list entry

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