Reading Abbey Today: 20th Century Research
In 1901 the
first book on the Abbey was published, written by Dr Jamieson
Hurry. His interest inspired the commissioning of paintings
of important events in the history of the monastery and the
erection of a memorial to Henry I in the Forbury Gardens.
Work was periodically carried out on the Abbey Ruins to
restore their stability and to prevent further deterioration
and they were given the legal protection of being scheduled
as an ancient monument in 1914. Around the time of the 8OOth
anniversary of the Abbey there was much local interest with a
pageant on the story of Reading and the issuing of many
commemorative medallions with the design based on the Abbey
seal.
Dr Hurry's
work has been carried further by staff at Reading University
starting in the 1960s. Dr Slade excavated in the Cloister
area, the east end of the Church, the Mill and the Stables,
and Dr Kemp worked on manuscripts from the Abbey. The Trust
for Wessex Archaeology continued excavations, revealing more
of the Cloister and Stables, the wooden structures of the
Abbey Wharf and the layout of the perimeter wall. Funding for
excavation work has come most generously from grants from
central government, Reading Borough Council, Berkshire County
Council and developers and private industry. In contrast to
the Victorian digging these excavations have been carried out
with meticulous recording, drawing and photography of the
successive layers uncovered and removed as investigation
progressed, each peeled away as if reading the pages of a
book. And all the objects found were plotted, marked and
bagged to be kept for future study: pottery fragments, oyster
shells, animal bones, coins, window glass.
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Photograph showing a tiled area of the cloister uncovered
by by C.F.Slade during his excavations from 1964-67.
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