Reading Castle Hill (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Reading.
In the historic county of Berkshire.
Modern Authority of Reading.
1974 county of Berkshire.
Medieval County of Berkshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU713732
Latitude 51.45383° Longitude -0.97485°

Reading Castle Hill has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The site of Reading Castle, said to have been demolished circa 1153 appears to be lost, but may have stood on the high ground called Castle Hill. (PastScape)

There was a castellle in the Saxons tyme in this towne: and the name of Castlelle-Streat yet remaynithe, lying from est to west to passe to Newbyri: but I could not percieve or clerely lerne wher it stoode. But by al lykelihod at the west-ende of the Castelle-Streat: and, as sum think, about the place of execution. (Leland)

Daniel and Samuel Lysons in their Magna Britannia published in 1806 state: “There can be little doubt, but that the old county gaol, in Castle Street, occupied the site of the castle; and the lancet windows and round arches, discovered upon pulling down the building in 1798 were part of the original structure.” (From readinglibraries.org.uk)

Comments

Slade suggests the castle demolished in 1152 was that at Forbury Hill in the Abbey built de novo by Stephen in 1150. He suggest Castle Hill might have been the site of an immediate post-Conquest castle of short-term use.
The masonry remains are unlikely to have been from a C11/C12 castle but the location near the church and the tendency to maintain function at a specific site (the gaol), as well as the Castle Street name (of medieval origin), are evidence for this being the site of a castle.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 244923.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 02113.04.001.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Britannia America's Gateway to the British Isles since 1996
  David Nash Ford's Historic Buildings of Berkshire
Books
- Slade, C.F., 1969, 'Reading' in Lobel, M.D. (ed), Historic Towns: Maps and Plans of Towns and Cities in the British Isles, with Historical Commentaries, from Earliest Times to 1800 Vol. 1 (London: Lovell Johns-Cook, Hammond and Kell Organization) online copy
  Page, Wm and Ditchfield, P.H. (eds), 1923, VCH Berkshire Vol. 3 p. 343 online transcription
  Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p. 27-8
  Man, J., 1816, History and Antiquities of Reading p. 176
  Lysons, 1813, Magna Britannia Vol. 1 Part 2 p. 329, 339
  Coates, 1802, Map of Reading (Scale 18" to 1 mile)
Periodical Articles
- Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 46 p. 197-217 esp. 200 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 28
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1907, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 1 p. 109-10 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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