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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reading Abbey is a ruined medieval abbey in the town of Reading, Berkshire. It is a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument in England. The ruined abbey buildings form a valuable example of Norman architecture, surviving at near their original height. Several valuable relics have been stored at the Abbey, including an very early depiction of the Coronation of the Virgin, the Hand of St James and the lost tomb of Henry I. As of 2018, the Abbey is open freely for visitors.[5]
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Ruined chapter house of the Abbey Abbey arms | |
Monastery information | |
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Order | Cluniac (1121–1223) Benedictine (1223–1539)[1] |
Established | 18 June 1121 |
Disestablished | c. 1539 |
Dedicated to | The Virgin Mary, St John the Evangelist |
Diocese | Oxford[2] |
Controlled churches | St Laurence's Church, St Giles' Church, St Mary's Church[3] |
People | |
Founder(s) | Henry I of England |
Important associated figures | Abbots: Hugh of Amiens, Richard of Chichester, Hugh Cook of Faringdon Other: Henry of Essex, W. de Wycombe |
Site | |
Location | Reading, Berkshire, England |
Coordinates | 51°27′22.85″N 0°57′54.31″W |
Visible remains | Inner rubble cores of the walls of the major buildings; Gateway and Hospitium, alongside other affiliated buildings, intact |
Public access | Open from dawn until dusk, free to visit[4] |
The Abbey was a royal favorite for much of its existence.[lower-alpha 1] Its founder, King of England Henry I, was buried at the Abbey and he and his family generously endowed the abbey the Abbey with lands and relics. As of the 12th-century, it contained no fewer than 242 relics.[6] It ranked among the 10 wealthiest Benedictine abbeys in the 14th-century.[7]
In the 1530s, Henry VIII instituted the Dissolution of the Monasteries as part of the English Reformation and Hugh Cook of Faringdon, the last abbot of Reading, was executed. The abbey was slowly dismantled and sold off, its stones forming the basis of several buildings throughout Reading and as far as Shiplake. The abbey endured further damage during the Siege of Reading in the course of the English Civil War. The former abbey complex was ruined. Academic interest in the Abbey enjoyed a renewal in the 20th-century, with several excavations and discoveries during this period - including the discovery stone of the Coronation of the Virgin and various evidence of Anglo-Saxon occupation of the Abbey. The Abbey, closed in 2009 for its dangerous and poor condition, underwent restoration in 2018 in a £3.15 million conservation project, partly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.