Summary
Monument by Sir John Soane, commissioned by Edward Simeon and installed in Market Place in 1804. The monument was restored in the C21.
Reasons for Designation
The Simeon Monument by Sir John Soane, commissioned by Edward Simeon and installed in Market Place, Reading, in 1804, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a finely detailed Georgian public monument, which serves as a centrepiece to Market Square, Reading.
Historic interest:
* as an early example of a privately-funded monument providing light to a public space and commemorating its benefactor, Edward Simeon, a Reading-born, City banker and Director of the Bank of England;
* designed by architect Sir John Soane, who was a schoolboy in Reading and is recognised as one of the most influential English architects of mid-C18 to early C19. His works include many listed buildings including the Grade-I listed Bank of England in London, Pitzhanger Manor and Moggerhanger Park. He was also a collector of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, architectural models and paintings, which are displayed at his former London home, 12-14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, also listed at Grade I.
History
Modest rural settlements likely existed in the area of Reading as far back as the 1st century. 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, spurred by 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. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during C18 and C19. Several developments during the late C18 and C19 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.
The Simeon Monument in Market Place was named after its benefactor, Edward Simeon (about 1758-1812). He was a Reading-born merchant who became a wealthy City trader in London and worked as a Director at the Bank of England from 1792 to 1811.
Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was commissioned as the architect, known to Simeon through the Bank after Soane was appointed Surveyor there in 1788. Soane was also local to Reading and attended a private school there from the age of eight. He returned several times to the county he knew as a child to undertake commissions and most of these works are now demolished or significantly altered. The monument at Market Place is one of the few still extant today (Reading Evening Post, 11 August 1984, p5). He is recognised as one of the greatest English architects and his works include the Bank of England and country houses such Moggerhanger Park and his own family home at Pitzhanger Park, all of which are listed at Grade I, in addition to other highly graded buildings. Soane also redesigned his London home (12-14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Grade I-listed) as a classical house and museum which still displays his vast collection of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, architectural models and paintings.
Simeon commissioned the monument in response to concerns around traffic flow and congestion in Market Place. The Paving Commissioners had previously required lighting be provided by hanging lamps on the front of houses, but this did not adequately light large areas of the public realm, such as Market Place. The arrival of Reading Gas Lighting in 1819 vastly improved street lighting in the town, however, the Simeon Monument remains an early example of a privately funded solution to poor lighting in public areas before the introduction of gas lighting.
According to the Evening Post, the Simeon Monument was first lit with oil lanterns, shortly followed by gas lamps that were later run by electricity. The duration of this illumination was said to be unbroken for 136 years, only interrupted by the wartime blackout in 1940 (Reading Evening Post, 22 August 1972, p8).
The monument was restored by Reading Borough Council in 2007 and three new brass lanterns were installed to light the Market Place once again. Further restoration work was carried out in 2023 as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone project.
Originally the railings were simple and functional (as seen in the 1807 watercolour by Robert Dighton, held at Reading Museum). The current railings date from 1876 when the stonework was also repaired by Messrs Wheeler and the Reading Ironworks Company. Since the 2023 works, the makers mark of Reading Iron Works Limited can be seen at the base of the railings.
Details
Monument by Sir John Soane, commissioned by Edward Simeon and installed in Market Place in 1804. The monument was restored in the C21.
MATERIALS: Portland stone.
DESCRIPTION: a fluted obelisk with chamfered sides, with palmette tympana cut into the capping. The striated cylinder is over capped by a pineapple. The monument sits on a rusticated triangular base with lobed corners, each with fasces in relief with bracketed cast, wrought iron lamp overthrows and a lamp. There are moulded panels on each face, with a bronze tablet to the south that bears the following inscription: ERECTED / AND LIGHTED FOR EVER / AT THE EXPENSE OF / EDWARD SIMEON ESQ. / AS A MARK OF AFFECTION / TO HIS NATIVE TOWN / A.D. 1804. / LANCELOT AUSTWICK ESQ. / MAYOR
Around the monument are cast-iron railings with Fleur de Lys heads and heavy standards, all dating from around 1876. The makers mark READING IRON WORKS is visible at the base.
