The Forbury and Abbey Ruins

The Abbey Ruins

Reading Abbey once covered a 30-acre site in central Reading and was an important pilgrimage site since it held the hand of the Apostle Saint James amongst its many relics.

Henry I (youngest son of William the Conqueror) laid its foundation stone on June 18, 1121 and the Abbey was consecrated by St Thomas Becket in the presence of Henry II in 1164. Parliament met here in 1453 and several royal marriages took place here. For 400 years the Abbey was the political, social and economic power of Reading - its role in shaping the modern town was enormous and traces of it can be found everywhere from street names to the Holy Brook.

Reading is one of only a handful of places where English Kings are buried. Although he died in France, Henry I's body was brought back to the Abbey he founded and buried in front of the high altar in 1136.

A simple plaque commemorates the burial site. There are further carved plaques in the Chapter House area - two of these commemorate the first and last Abbots of Reading, and the third is a transcript of the medieval plain-song "Sumer is icumen in", the first "recorded" secular song - which was written down at Reading Abbey.

The Forbury and Maiwand Lion

The Forbury Gardens have been fully renovated thanks to a Heritage Lottery Grant, and are a delightful example of Victorian formal gardens. They are now laid out exactly as originally planned in 1855, with the later additions - bandstand, fountain and famous Maiwand Lion renovated and retained.

The Lion - often used as the symbol of Reading - was erected in 1884 as a memorial to the men of the Berkshire Regiment killed at the Battle of Maiwand during the Afghan campaign. The Lion was sculpted by George Blackall Simonds, a member of the town's famous brewing and banking family.

The position of the Lion's legs has always been a subject of local legend. The way this animal is standing many people think he will fall over as soon as he takes a step - although the artist researched his creation very carefully and lions are known to stand still in this position. This aside, he is believed to be the largest statue of a standing lion in the world (and is made of 16 tons of cast iron).

The Forbury is probably the most important of all Reading's historic sites. It was once the forecourt of Reading Abbey and possibly the site of the Abbey Castle. Forbury Hill had Civil War fortifications on it and the invading Vikings even made encampments here circa 870AD.

Abbey Gateway

Although largely rebuilt by the Victorians, the gateway was originally part of the Abbey's defences, and some fine carved stones and later statuary can be admired on The Forbury side of the building. Jane Austen attended the Abbey School between 1785-87 in rooms attached to the surviving building.