16 Forbury Gardens

15 Reading Abbey

For over four hundred years the greatest influence on the town of Reading was its Abbey. It is hard to realise from the remains that still exist today how large the abbey was. It was only just shorter than Westminster Abbey in London. It once stretched from the Prison to Forbury Gardens. Besides the abbey church itself, there were many other buildings which were all part of the complex. As well as the buildings in which the monks of the abbey lived and worked, there were also buildings for the visitors to the abbey. For the abbey attracted many thousands of pilgrims.

In Mediaeval times people used to try and go on a pilgrimages at least once in their lives. They left home and their family, and set off for one of the holy places. One of the most popular of these holy places was Reading Abbey. The pilgrims would need food and supplies, and so the town of Reading grew as more and more people became employed looking after all of the visitors. The Pilgrims left offerings of goods or money at the abbey, which helped it become rich and powerful.

After the abbey was dissolved, it gradually fell into ruins. Much of the best stone was taken for other buildings, such as the churches in the town. The walls were a bit like a sandwich, nice smooth stone on the outside and rough flints on the inside. Now it is only the filling, the flints, that are left.

The loss of the abbey meant that Reading no longer had so many visitors and the town lost the money which they brought. The Gild no longer had to put up with the abbot trying to interfere with how they ran the town however.