Reading Abbey

The Monks at Prayer: Heaven on Earth

On occasions pilgrims and others were allowed through the Rood Screen to marvel at the tomb of the king and visit the shrines and chapels set along the walkway or 'ambulatory' around the choir. And the monks on special days of the year carried the Holy Relics in their elaborate casings through the Rood Screen and around the main body of the Church.

Built in Norman times the Church was dominated by massive round pillars, eight down each side of the nave, to support the roof, with round arches of the Norman or Romanesque style of architecture. A visit to a large Norman church such as Durham, Gloucester or Tewkesbury will give an idea of what Reading Abbey was like. Aisles stretched the length of either side of the nave and all was floored with flagstones, cold to the feet of the worshippers in winter as there was no heating. Also there were no chairs; all stood during the services. Those in the nave were mainly visitors and pilgrims as the people of Reading usually attended their own parish churches. Round the walls were many altars, richly decorated and with burning candles. Stained glass filled the windows, the smell of incense filled the air and the walls were covered with paintings of saints and scenes from the Bible. We do not know how much renovating and rebuilding went on during the life of the Church apart from the addition of a Lady Chapel to the east end in 1314.

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