59 and 61 Castle Street

Summary

Pair of terraced houses, early C19, used as a women’s refuge from the 1880s to 1915 or later, converted to offices in the late 1980s.

Reasons for Designation

59 and 61 Castle Street is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a pair of early-C19 buildings, the fabric of which contributes to Reading’s rich and varied architectural character.

Historic interest:

* as part of the later urban development of Reading’s ancient core.

Group value:

* the pair is in close proximity to a number of listed buildings and contributes to a strong historic streetscape.

History

59 and 61 Castle Street is a pair of terraced houses probably dating to the early C19. Their construction in Gault brick differentiates them from most other brick buildings in Reading, which are traditionally of local red brick.

By 1872, number 59 was in use as a boys’ preparatory school. In 1882, number 61 was advertised for the letting as an ‘excellent Family RESIDENCE, in the best part of Castle-street’. Both properties were subsequently taken over by a local charity, the Reading Refuge and Laundry Home, and used as a women’s refuge from the 1880s until at least 1915.

Following a period of dilapidation in the late C20, they were refurbished and converted to office use.

Both addresses retained their long, narrow rear gardens into the 1980s, after which time they were truncated and the southern parts redeveloped.

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 C9. St Mary’s Church, which lies on the north-east corner of the crossroads, 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.

Castle Street forms part of the ancient route through the town between London and the West Country and historically contained many inns and guesthouses. As Reading expanded beyond its medieval limits during the C18 and C19 earlier buildings were gradually replaced with substantial townhouses and public buildings. Redevelopment was piecemeal and mostly confined to individual plots, leading to the street’s great architectural diversity.

This pattern was broken in the late 1960s and 1970s, with the construction of the expansive civic complex on the north side of Castle Street, and of the Inner Relief Road immediately to the west of the new complex. These major works required the demolition of most of the buildings on the north side of Castle Street and separated the more commercial, eastern end of the street nearer the town centre from the more residential, western end of the street as it becomes Castle Hill.

Details

Pair of terraced houses, early C19, used as a women’s refuge from the 1880s to 1915 or later, converted to offices in the late 1980s.

MATERIALS: Gault brick in Flemish bond with stucco cornice, red brick to the rear; with a roof covering of slate.

PLAN: symmetrical pair of townhouses of three storeys plus basement. Three bays per house with a principal entrance and stair in the outer bays and two chimney stacks in the central party wall. The roof is hipped, behind a low parapet.

EXTERIOR: the principal entrances comprise six-panelled doors with fanlight over, within round-headed openings. Ground and first floor windows are six-over-six sashes, second floor windows are three-over-six sashes; all have flat gauged-brick arches. At the wall head is a stucco parapet cornice. At the pavement edge are barred basement lights.

The rear elevations are of red brick and are largely symmetrical but with some alteration to the window arrangement. Windows are sashes of various configurations. The rear gardens of the two houses are now combined and have been re-landscaped during the late C20 or early C21.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

38806

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
Berkshire Chronicle, 24 August 1872, p4.
Berkshire Chronicle, 6 March 1897, p6.
Reading Evening Post, 31 December 1965, p5.
Reading Evening Post, 3 April 1987, p11.
Reading Evening Post, 11 November 1988, p14.
Reading Evening Post, 6 February 1990, p10.
Reading Evening Post, 14 September 1995, p53.
Reading Mercury, 10 June 1882, p4.
Reading Observer, 25 February 1888, p3.
Reading Observer, 10 July 1915, p8.

End of official list entry

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