50 and 51 Market Place

Summary

Former bank, built in 1900.

History

Modest rural settlements likely existed in the area of Reading as far back as the first 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 and spurred by cloth production led to the establishment of the new Market Place and what would today be known as London Street as 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.

50 and 51 Market Place were constructed as a single building in 1900 on the site of an existing structure, shown in the Goad Fire Insurance Plan of 1895 to have been a two-storey drugstore. The new building of 50 and 51 Market Place was opened as an extension to Simonds Bank at 3-5 King Street, giving it a northern entrance onto Market Place.

In the late C20, the rear, south elevation of 50 and 51 Market Place, and that of its neighbouring buildings to the east and west, was demolished and rebuilt as a unified brick façade. This is likely due to the plan form of 3-5 King Street having been altered during the second half of the C20 to include a more expansive rear courtyard, meaning it was no longer connected to the south elevation of numbers 50 and 51 Market Place. The building was converted to a restaurant and café following the closure of the bank on King Street in the early C21. At a similar time, the upper floors appear to have been merged with those of 53 Market Place. The building currently (2024) serves as a continuation of the restaurant in 3-5 King Street at ground-floor level, and as office spaces in the upper floors.

Details

Former bank, built 1900, converted to serve as a restaurant and café.

MATERIALS: the ground-floor of the street-facing (north) elevation is faced with granite, with red-brick and ashlar stone upper floors. The roof covering is plain tile. The rear elevation is of red brick.

PLAN: 50 and 51 Market Place is a single, three-storey volume with attic; it is understood to be internally connected to neighbouring buildings.

EXTERIOR: 50 and 51 Market Place is a Flemish-style building. The north elevation at ground-floor level is faced with granite and contains three central bays of fixed, swept head fenestration. These are flanked on the east and west sides by two doorways. The western doorway is set into a rusticated doorcase with flanking brackets supporting a dentilled semi-circular pediment that breaks into the first floor, and contains a tympanum reading 'BANK' in gilt, Art Nouveau-style lettering. The eastern doorway maintains the style of the swept head fixed shop windows. Both doorways contain their elaborately-carved, original timber doors.

The first floor contains three bays of plate-glass sash windows in a 2:4:2 arrangement, with external ashlar stonework to create the impression of mullion and transom windows. An ashlar lintel tops the first-floor windows and divides them from the second floor, with plate-glass sash windows in a 1:4:1 configuration. These windows are separated by narrow pilaster strips that extend into a second masonry lintel with contrasting bands of gauged brick and ashlar stone. A modillion cornice terminates the second floor, followed by a false parapet that is coped by a moulded eaves cornice.

The north elevation is topped by a Flemish gable that extends into the steeply pitched roof with slopes oriented north-south. It contains a central bay of four windows surmounted by an arch of contrasting ashlar stone and gauged brick. Within the gable is set an ashlar stone cartouche with carved insignia. The building’s roof is framed on either side by large chimney stacks. There is a flat portion of roof over the building’s rear, south section as a continuation of the flat roof over the neighbouring buildings. The rear of the building was not inspected; however, it appears to be a later C20 reconstruction that matches the rear elevations of its neighbouring buildings.

INTERIOR: it is understood that 50 and 51 Market Place is connected to 3-5 King Street and shares its current (2024) function as a bar and restaurant establishment. It is understood to be connected to 53 Market Place on its upper floors as a shared office space.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

39080

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Bradley, S, Tyack, G, The Buildings of England: Berkshire, (2010), p466.

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