Summary
108 London Street, a late-C18 house with later alterations.
Reasons for Designation
108 London Street, Reading, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a late-C19 building 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 when the name seems to have referred to a tribe, called Reada’s people. It is possible that there was a river port here during the Roman occupation, and by 1086 Reading had grown into a town, recorded in the Domesday Book. The early Anglo-Saxon settlement is believed to have been located in the Castle Street and St Mary’s area, which has St Mary’s Minster at its heart.
After Reading Abbey was founded in 1121, the town grew substantially as a place of pilgrimage as well as an important ecclesiastical and trading centre, with cloth production as the principal industry. Reading’s increasing prosperity saw the establishment of the new Market Place (drawing trade away from the old marketplace at St Mary’s Butts), and of what is today known as London Street, an extension to the High Street, which facilitated trade to and from London. By 1525, Reading had become the largest town in Berkshire. Following its dissolution in 1539, Reading Abbey became a royal palace. The cloth and leather trades continued to flourish and by 1611 the town’s population had grown to over 5,000. John Speed’s map shows that by that year, 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, improvements to the navigability of the River Kennet, and the expansion of the local brewing industry. The survival of many fine Georgian and Victorian buildings along London Street testifies to its prosperity during this period.
108 London Street was constructed in the late C18. The building has since undergone a number of alterations. The area to the rear of the building has undergone considerable change: C19 and early-C20 mapping shows a long connecting range to the south-west of the main range; this appears to have been replaced by a smaller extension in the mid-C20. Today this extension, or its replacement, connects with 11a St Giles Close to the west. 108 London Street had been converted to offices by 1960 and was converted to flats in around 2018.
Details
House, constructed in the late C18, with later alterations.
MATERIALS: red brick laid in Flemish bond with stone dressings and a rendered plinth. There is an axial hipped roof to the east with an M-shaped hipped pair behind; the roofs are covered with plain tiles, and there is a brick stack.
PLAN: the original building is rectangular on plan.
EXTERIOR: the principal elevation is three windows wide, with the entrance to the south. The doorcase has reeded pilasters and shaped bracket caps supporting an open pediment. The arched fanlight has unusual curved bars. There is a six-panelled door. The window openings have flat arches of gauged brick, and contain sash frames: six-over-six to the ground and first floors and three-over-six in the square second-floor openings. The second floor contains a further three bays of three-over-six sash windows which are similarly recessed into the façade. A contemporary, late-C18 rainwater pipe with head rises against the frontage. There is a brick parapet, possibly rebuilt, above a flat cornice. The rear, west elevation has irregular fenestration to the first and second floors; the ground floor is obscured by later additions.
