Church of St Laurence
Church of St Laurence, Market Place, Reading
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed building
- List Entry Number:
- 1113532
- Date first listed:
- 22-Mar-1957
- Statutory Address:
- Church of St Laurence, Market Place, Reading
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-04-18
- Reference:
- IOE01/03999/10
- Rights:
- © Ms Pamela Jackson. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed building
- List Entry Number:
- 1113532
- Date first listed:
- 22-Mar-1957
- Statutory Address 1:
- Church of St Laurence, Market Place, Reading
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Church of St Laurence, Market Place, Reading
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Reading (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- SU 71708 73548
Details
SU 7173 NE
1/202
READING
Market Place
Church of St Laurence
22.3.57.
GV
I
Church of England. Structure Norman to C15 with excessive restorations of 1867. Flint with Bath stone ashlar quoins and dressings. Taynton stone elements. Principal feature the tile C15 three stage tower closing vista to north of Market Place - crenellated parapet, octagonal chequered clasping buttresses with strings, capped by crenellation (spirelets removed); sundial to south dated 1727, main entrance to west. Tower built 1458. Tiled roofs with centre valley (nave and north aisle).
1+4 bay nave, two very wide chancel bays. Nave south wall has small Norman window at west end and a late C12 round headed doorway with waterleaf capitals; other openings restored Decorated style. Chancel east end has three lancets with blind lancets between. North aisle and chancel aisle probably 1521 (when present arcade built) see flat topped two light cusped windows and three light east window.
Interior: Norman fragments in north aisle door, king-post roof of C15. 1522. Font. Good C18 pulpit. Fine bench ends with tracery panels and poppyheads in chancel. Organ case (very fine) 1741 by Byfield. Pulpit also 1741 - panelled single storey affair on mid C19 stand. A number of brasses and memorials. The best is the memorial to John Blagrave (died 1611, author of "The Mathematical Jewell"). The principal interest of this church is that it was built at the Abbey gate. The circa 1200 work may possibly be in connection with foundation of St John's Hospice (qv Blagrave St Municipal Buildings).
Listing NGR: SU7170473547
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 39066
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Websites
British Geological Survey, Strategic Stone Study, accessed 4 February 2020 from https://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/buildingStones/StrategicStoneStudy/EH_atlases.html
Legal
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 20:38:43.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.