101 London Street

Summary

Former shophouse built in the early C19. Late-C19 rear extensions partly demolished and replaced by C20 single-storey extension.

Reasons for Designation

101 London Street is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

*     as an early-C19 building that 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 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 John Speed’s map shows that by 1611, both sides of London Street had been developed with continuous frontages for a considerable distance southward, beyond the modern junction with Crown Street-London Road, with long gardens, outhouses and fields beyond. Several buildings which predate Speed’s map survive on London Street, some concealed behind later, brick façades. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during the C18 and C19, and the survival of many fine Georgian and Victorian buildings which characterise London Street testifies to the prosperity of the street during this period.

101 London Street was constructed in the early C19. In the second half of the C19, a three-storey eastward extension was added to the building’s rear elevation. By 1875, there were numerous, probably single-storey, independent buildings located within the garden plot. By 1912 it appears all these structures were unified into a single building complex.

In the second half of the C20, a large portion of the building’s rear extension was demolished and replaced with a single-storey annex. A heritage shopfront was added in the late C20.

Details

Former shophouse built in the early C19. Late-C19 rear extensions partly demolished and replaced by C20 single-storey extension.

MATERIALS: principal elevation of grey brick headers with red brick dressings. The rear, C20 extension is cement-rendered. The roof over the principal range is slate-covered.

PLAN: 101 London Street comprises four ranges, including the original, three-storey plus basement and attic street-facing range, followed by two later three-storey extensions running as cross-wings from its rear, east elevation, and terminated by a long, later-C20, single-storey range to the east.

EXTERIOR: the principal (west) elevation has a modern shopfront with a bow window and glazed door, with a deep timber fascia above. The first and second floors each contain a single two-over-two, margin glazed, sash window, topped by a gauged brick arch. Both windows and quoins are dressed in red brick.

The roof over the principal range is steeply pitched with its slopes oriented east-west. The later-C19 extension to the rear is spanned by a pitched roof with slopes oriented north-south. The easternmost, C20 extension is covered by a flat roof.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

39038

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

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

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/

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