39 Castle Street

Summary

Late-C18 house, extended to the rear during the C19, with the ground floor rebuilt in the C20 after use as a shop.

Reasons for Designation

39 Castle Street, a late-C18 house, extended to the rear during the C19, with the ground floor rebuilt in the C20 after use as a shop, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

*     as a late-C18 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 crossroads formed by the north-south route of St Mary’s Butts/Bridge Street and the east-west route of Gun Street/Castle Street is believed to be the centre of the original Saxon settlement at Reading, established sometime before the ninth century, with the lowest crossing point of the River Kennet lying a short distance away to the south.

Reading was well-established by the time of the Norman Conquest, and the Domesday Book (1086) records six mills and a large estate in the town. St Mary’s Church, which lies on the north-east corner of the crossroads and was mostly rebuilt in 1551-1555, was the town’s primary church until the establishment of Reading Abbey in the C12 and became so again following the dissolution in the late 1530s.

Running west from the crossroads, Castle Street forms part of the ancient route through the town between London and the West Country, and the street historically contained many inns and guesthouses. As Reading expanded beyond its medieval limits during the C18 and C19, development spread further along Castle Street. Earlier buildings were gradually replaced with substantial townhouses and public buildings in brick or Bath Stone, although some timber-framed buildings of the C16 and C17 survive.

39 Castle Street was built in the later C18, probably on the site of an earlier building. It is understood to have been the home of Charles R Havell (1828-1892), an early-C19 watercolourist. The easternmost bay of the building (37a) appears to be a later addition which was in place by 1879. By 1898, there was further extension to the rear, and another building had been built in the garden. This was accessed via the front elevation which contains a doorway to number 37a. The canted bay window rising through the basement and raised ground floor on the rear elevation first appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1957. The ground floor was converted to a shop during the early C20, and a shopfront was added (since removed). The ground floor has been rebuilt to match the historic façade.
 
The building to the rear of number 39 was demolished sometime after 1999 and a low-rise apartment block was constructed in its place.

Details

Late-C18 house, extended to the rear and probably the left side during the C19, with the ground floor rebuilt in the C20 after use as a shop.

MATERIALS: brick built under a clay tile roof to the front and slate to the rear.

PLAN: main entrance to the right side of the principal elevation with a subsidiary entrance to the left side for access to the rear.

EXTERIOR: the building is three storeys with an attic, over a basement to the rear. The front elevation has four principal bays to the right side and a single, narrower bay to the left. The walls are constructed of silver-grey brick laid in header bond with red brick quoins and dressings.

The main entrance has a C18, six-panel door with applied mouldings in an arched recess. It has a radiating and wreathed fanlight in a rounded arch of gauged brick. The doorcase has fluted Doric pilasters, supporting a cornice. To the left of the doorway there are three, C20 sash windows with two-over-two panes, under flat-arched heads in gauged brickwork. The narrow bay has a late-C20 door and architrave.

The first and second floors of the four principal bays each contain a flat-arched window opening with red-brick surround, with those on the first floor being taller. The replacement sashes have two-over-two panes to the first floor and three-over-three to the second floor. There are four pattress plates which are evenly spaced across the elevation at the height of the first-floor window arches. The first- and second-floor openings to the narrow bay are of similar design, but are lower set and have uPVC, two pane sashes. A brick-block cornice and parapet run across the elevation, partially concealing the roof which has crested tiles to the front ridge.

The rear elevation is of mixed-bond red brickwork and has an irregular fenestration pattern. There is a centrally-placed doorway containing a C20 door within a bolection-moulded, plaster surround. To the left, there is a mid-C20 canted bay which rises through the basement and raised-ground floor. It has three six-over-six pane sashes under flat-arched heads, to each floor. To the right side of the doorway, there is a flat-arched window opening containing a six-over-six pane timber sash. On the first floor, placed off-centre above the central doorway, is a round-arched sash window set flush with the brickwork, along with two timber sashes.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 20 March 2024 to add additional historic information

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

38799

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Bradley, S, Tyack, G, The Buildings of England: Berkshire, (2010), 438-440

Websites
Reading Borough Council - History of Reading, accessed 21 August 2023 from https://web.archive.org/web/20120425235452/http:/www.reading.gov.uk/residents/history-of-reading/
Victoria County History - A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3 pp 336-342, accessed 21 August 2023 from https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol3
St Mary’s Butts and Castle Street Audio Trail, accessed 12 November 2023 from https://www.reading.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/heritage-and-conservation/readings-high-street-heritage-action-zone/community-engagement/reading-audio-trails/st-marys-butts-and-castle-street/

End of official list entry

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