History of Reading Town

History of Reading

• The Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens commemorates the fallen men of the 66th Berkshire Regiment at the Battle of Maiwand in 1880.
• The Domesday Book records Reading as a small town until the founding of the Abbey in 1121, which brought prosperity through the Wool Trade.
• The Abbey was founded by Henry I, who is buried within the Abbey grounds, but was largely destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.

14th-17th Centuries

• The Black Death swept through England in the 14th century, decimating the population.
• By 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and by 1611, the population had increased to over 5,000 people, driven by the cloth trade.

The Oracle and Reading Prison

• The Oracle was one of the earliest workhouses built in the country (1628) and produced cloth.
• The current Reading Prison was built in 1844, designed by George Gilbert Scott, and was a site for executions until 1913.
• There was an earlier gaol in Castle Street, in use from the Stuart period, where prisoners were chained in underground dungeons.

Notable Inmates and Landmarks

• Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in Reading Prison in 1895 and released in May 1897.
• The George on Kings Street dates back to 1423 and is one of the oldest buildings in Reading town centre.
• The Sun Inn in Castle Street dates back to the 13th century and features a Norman arch leading to a former underground hall that could accommodate up to fifty horses.