Summary
Shop. Built in the early C19 and altered in the C20 and early C21.
Reasons for Designation
7 High Street is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as an early C19 shop 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 first written record of Reading dates from a reference to a battle recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 871. 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, spurring 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 the C18 and C19 and several developments spurred its growth, including the arrival of the Great Western Railway, improvements to the navigability of the River Kennet, and the growth of the local brewing industry.
7 High Street was built in the early C19. By 1895, the building contained a hardware store and had a substantial, single-storey extension to its rear, east elevation that connected to a further two-storey annex with basement. Alterations to the rear extensions of the building took place throughout the C20, involving their demolition and replacement, and culminating with the two secondary structures that are present today (2023). In 2000, the ground floor and basement of 7 High Street was converted from a shop to a restaurant. In 2010, the first, second, and third floors were converted from a letting agency to residential apartments. The building was previously spanned by a gull-wing roof that appears to have been added during the interwar years. However, this was replaced with a flat roof in 2015.
Details
Shop. Built in the early C19 and altered in the C20 and early C21.
MATERIALS: the principal elevation is stucco-rendered, while the rear elevation is exposed red brick. The roof covering is felt.
PLAN: a three-storey terraced building with an additional attic storey. There is a shopfront to the ground floor and flats above. Adjoining to the rear are two later extensions.
EXTERIOR: the main (west) elevation fronts onto the High Street and is a single bay wide and three storeys high with an additional fourth, attic storey. The central portion of the elevation is recessed, framed by fielded piers on each side. At ground floor level there is a late-C20 shopfront with a glazed doorway and large display windows immediately adjacent to a further half-glazed doorway providing access to the flats above. A plain frieze and balustrade separate the ground and first floors. The first floor has a tripartite sash window, formed of a central six-over-six sash and two-over-two side lights, set in an architrave and surmounted by an entablature. Above it is a six-over-six sash window. Two huge Ionic pilasters rise through the first and second floor to support a heavy entablature, above which is an attic level with a squat tripartite window, cornice and parapet. The building has a flat roof with two skylights. The rear elevation has one bay of fenestration from the first floor upwards. There are two later rear extensions of one and two storeys.
