1 St Mary’s Gate

Summary

C18 service wing of a demolished vicarage, converted to parochial offices in the early C21.

Reasons for Designation

1 St Mary’s Gate is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a C18 building which contributes to Reading’s rich and varied architectural character.

Historic interest:

* as the surviving part of the vicarage to the Church of St Mary, Reading’s primary church, and as part of the urban development of Reading’s ancient core.

Group value:

* the building is in close proximity to a number of listed buildings including the Grade I-listed Church of St Mary.

History

1 St Mary’s Gate formed part of the vicarage belonging to the Church of St Mary. It now stands as the only surviving part of the vicarage, which was a fine early-C18 townhouse that was almost fully demolished in the early 1960s. To the immediate east of 1 St Mary’s Gate is Church House (Grade II-listed), another C18 townhouse.

Late C19 mapping shows the vicarage as having a complex footprint with various wings and ranges to the south, east and north. 1 St Mary’s Gate extended southwards from the south-east corner of the vicarage, facing west into a courtyard (now part of a carpark). It appears to be principally of C18 date and presumably was a service wing to the main house. A small, off-set, range to its north under a separate roof may be later and have either belonged to the vicarage or the adjacent property to the east.

The site of the vicarage is now a car park serving 1 St Mary’s Gate, which is understood currently (2023) to be in use as offices and accommodation for members of the clergy of St Mary’s Church.

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.

The Church of St Mary lies on the north-east corner of the crossroads and was the town’s primary church until the establishment of Reading Abbey in the C12. It became so again following the dissolution in the late 1530s and was largely rebuilt 1551-1555. The church and churchyard were extensively restored during the late C19, with a row of buildings along the western side of the churchyard demolished to create the open relationship between the churchyard and St Mary’s Butts seen today.

Details

C18 service wing of a now-demolished vicarage converted to parochial offices in the early C21.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in Flemish bond with occasional silver-grey headers. The northern range is rendered. The roof covering is clay tile, and the southern gable is hung with clay tiles.

PLAN: the building is two storeys high and three bays wide. It has a rectangular footprint under a pitched roof. It faces west, with the short gable-end elevation to the south facing onto the adjacent churchyard. To the north is a small off-set range under a separate pitched roof. The building’s east elevation was built up against when the neighbouring Church House was extended in the early C20.

EXTERIOR: the ground level to the west of the building appears to have been raised, meaning the building’s central doorway is slightly below ground level and is reached via a ramped approach. The door is a modern, six-panelled door with a bracketed, timber canopy over it. To either side is a four-light timber casement window with leaded lights under a wide segmental arch.

The first floor has a flat-roofed oriel with a pair of sliding sash windows to the left, a six-over-six sliding sash window with exposed boxes to the right and a blind window to the centre.

The south elevation is a gable end, the gable is tile-hung above a projecting timber eaves cornice. There is a fixed window with glazing bars and segmental arch on the ground floor and a six-over-six sliding sash window with exposed boxes and thick glazing bars on the first floor.

To the north is a small two-storey range. There is a single ground-floor window to the west and a door to the north.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

39160

Legacy System:

LBS

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