2, 3 and 3a Broad Street

Summary

Pair of houses with C18 frontages concealing earlier, timber-framed cores. Storeys were added to both properties in the late C19 or early C20. Numbers 3 and 3a (to the west) contain a shop while number 2 (to the east) contains a public house.

Reasons for Designation

2, 3 and 3a Broad Street is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

*     as C18 townhouses with an earlier core that contribute 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 there was a thriving urban community, 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.

Reading Abbey was founded in 1121 on a site to the north-east of the core of the Saxon town and this transformed Reading into a place of pilgrimage as well as an important trading and ecclesiastical centre with one of the biggest and richest monasteries in England.

A new bridge over the River Kennet had been built by 1186 and London Street was laid out with plots of land as part of the Abbot of Reading Abbey’s urban planning vision. The aim was to divert trade and traffic to the new marketplace at the gates of the Abbey. The transition from the old marketplace at St Mary's Butts was at first resisted by the merchants of Reading but the move was complete by the C14. The dissolution of the Abbey led to the monastic complex becoming a royal palace and by 1611 the town’s population had grown to over 5,000 as a result of its cloth trade. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during the C18 and C19. Several developments during the late C18 and C19 spurred further growth and prosperity, including the arrival of the Great Western Railway, improvements to the navigability of the River Kennet, and the growth of the local brewing industry. A row of buildings historically divided Broad Street into two narrower streets: Fisher Row to the north and Butcher Row to the south. However, these were demolished in 1862, widening Broad Street substantially.

Behind the C18 facades of 2, 3 and 3a Broad Street survives an earlier, timber-framed core. The C18 facades were most likely constructed of brick before being rendered over. These street-facing (southern and eastern) elevations have been much renewed and altered since construction. The rear (northern) extension to 3 Broad Street may also have early origins.

In the late C19 or early C20, number 2 was raised by one storey and numbers 3 and 3a (the three-bay range to the west) were raised by a full storey with an attic space in a steep pitched roof. Numbers 3 and 3a contained a shop since 1895 or earlier, while the public house currently (2023) at number 2 may have earlier origins. The shell hood which tops the entrance to the public house in number 2 appears to be a later, C20 addition. In the mid- to late C20, the street-facing, ground-floor elevation of the public house was refaced in red brick.

Details

Pair of houses with C18 frontages concealing earlier, timber-framed cores. Storeys were added to both properties in the late C19 or early C20. Numbers 3 and 3a (to the west) contain a shop while number 2 (to the east) contains a public house.

MATERIALS: numbers 2, 3 and 3a are understood to have timber-framed cores. Their exterior elevations are rendered, with exposed red brick on the ground floor of number 2. Both properties have tile-covered roofs.

PLAN: the pair comprises two street-facing ranges of rectangular plan, both of three storeys plus basements, with an attic at numbers 3 and 3a. There is a two-storey wing extending north to the rear of numbers 3 and 3a (the western property), which is understood to be connected internally to number 2 (the eastern property) rather than numbers 3 and 3a.

EXTERIOR: the principal frontage of numbers 3 and 3a faces southward onto Broad Street. The ground floor contains a retail unit with a modern classical-style shopfront. The first and second floors are arranged in three bays of two-over-two sash windows with horns, set flush to the wall. These are likely modern replacements. The attic storey has two gabled dormer windows with timber casements in the street-facing, south slope of the roof, with another in the north slope.

The pub frontage on the ground floor of number 2 is of three bays, extending into the range at numbers 3 and 3a. It is of exposed header bond brickwork with a classical doorcase with a shell hood (probably a modern replica) in the westernmost bay giving access to the public house and upper floors. This westernmost bay is slightly recessed in relation to the rest of the elevation. The two eastern bays have six-over-six sash windows with brick flat arches and rendered sills. Beneath is a rendered plinth. A plat band spans the elevation between the ground and first floors. The first and second floors each have single two-over-two sash windows set flush to the elevation. The cast-iron bracket and hanging pub sign are modern.

The building’s blank, east gable wall is exposed at the first and second floors and is rendered to its full height. The first and second-storey levels of numbers 2 and 3 are white rendered.

There is a tall brick chimney stack rising through the northern roof slope of number 2.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

38774

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Bradley, S, Tyack, G, The Buildings of England: Berkshire, (2010), pp438-440.

Other
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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