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The loss of the Oracle
The money left by John Kendrick was badly used. His own relatives used
the money to put their rivals out of business, making more unemployment
rather than less. In 1639 Archbishop Laud found out about this, and
made the corporation use the money that was left to buy land between
Redlands Road and Silver Street, on which Kendrick Road was built in
Victorian times. The money from the rents was to be used for charity.
Despite the Oracle, the clothing trade continued to become worse. The
English Civil War finally
destroyed any hope of the wool trade becoming a success once more.
In 1720, the mayor John Watts tried to improve the Oracle. He improved
the places where the poor people lived and pin making and silk weaving
were started. Sail Cloth was also made in the Oracle, being used on
the ships of the Royal Navy and East India Company.
The Oracle was used for many different uses in the next 200 years. In
1849 Christ’s Hospital in London proved that the Council was not
using the money properly, and claimed what was left of the money. In
1850 the building was pulled down. Only a small part of the money was
left to Reading, and this was used to found the Kendrick Schools. In
1852 the site of the Oracle was bought back by the council. Some of
it was then sold to Simonds Brewery.
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