Editing Reading Minster

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox church
| name             = Reading Minster
| image            = Reading Minster, early March 2015 - geograph.org.uk - 4374506.jpg
| imagesize        = 
| imagealt         = 
| caption          = The church tower, chequered with flint and stone
| pushpin map      = United Kingdom Reading Central
| pushpin label position = 
| pushpin map alt  = 
| pushpin mapsize  = 250
| map caption      = Location within Reading Town Centre
| coordinates      = {{coord|51|27|16.2|N|0|58|25.0|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location         = [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]]
| country          = England
| denomination     = [[Church of England]]
| previous denomination = [[Roman Catholic]]
| churchmanship    = 
| membership       = 
| attendance       = 
| website          = [http://www.readingminster.org.uk/ readingminster.org.uk]
| founded date     = 7th century
| founder          = 
| dedication       = [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|St Mary]]
| dedicated date   = 
| consecrated date = 
| status           = 
| functional status = Active
| heritage designation = [[Listed building|Grade I]]
| designated date  = 
| architect        = 
| architectural type = 
| style            = [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]
| groundbreaking   = 
| completed date   = 
| construction cost = 
| closed date      = 
| demolished date  = 
| capacity         = 
| materials        = 
| parish           = 
| deanery          = 
| archdeaconry     = [[Archdeaconry of Berkshire|Berkshire]]
| diocese          = [[Diocese of Oxford|Oxford]]
}}
'''Reading Minster''', or the '''Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin''', is the oldest ecclesiastical foundation in the town of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], [[Berkshire]], England. Although eclipsed in importance by the later [[Reading Abbey]], Reading Minster regained its status after the destruction of the Abbey and is now an [[Anglican]] [[parish church]].

The minster gives its name to the street of [[St Mary's Butts]], on which it stands.<ref name=rhtsg>{{cite web | url = http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/themes/religion/stmarys.html | title = St Mary’s Church | publisher = Reading History Trail | accessdate = 2009-04-30 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090412032639/http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/themes/religion/stmarys.html | archivedate = 2009-04-12 }}</ref> The Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin should not be mistaken for the similarly named [[St Mary's Church, Castle Street, Reading|St Mary's Church, Castle Street]], which is only a few yards away.

== History ==
[[File:Chancel Reading Minster.jpg|thumb|140px|left|The Chancel looking East towards the Sanctuary]]
[[File:Lady Chapel Reading Minster.jpg|thumb|140px|left|The Lady Chapel]]
[[File:Kendricke monument Reading Minster.jpg|thumb|140px|left|The Kendricke Monument dates to 1653]]
[[File:Font Reading Minster.jpg|thumb|left|140px|The [[baptismal font]] dates to 1616]]
According to unverified tradition, [[Saint Birinus]] founded a small chapel on the site of Reading Minster in the 7th century. Silver coins of the 9th century have been found in the churchyard, dating back to the period when Kings [[Ethelred of Wessex|Ethelred]] and [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]] of [[Wessex]] were fighting the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]] at Reading, and also the era in which Reading supplanted [[Calleva Atrebatum]] ([[Silchester]]) as the local centre of importance.<ref name=chbt>Leaflet ''History of Reading Minster'', no stated publisher or publication date, available from the church</ref>

In 979, Queen [[Ælfthryth, Queen of England|Ælfthryth]], wife of King [[Edgar of England|Edgar]] of England, founded a [[Reading Nunnery|royal nunnery]] on the site as an act of repentance for the murder of her stepson, King [[Edward the Martyr]]. All that remains of this nunnery is a rounded Saxon door in the church, most likely used by the nuns to attend church services.<ref name=chbt/> In the 11th century, the Danes sacked Reading and the nunnery was destroyed. By the time of the [[Domesday Book]], the church had been granted to [[Battle Abbey]] by [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]].<ref name=chbt/>

In 1121, King [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] founded [[Reading Abbey]] which grew to become one of the most important religious and political centres of England. For the following 400 years the Abbey was the centre of ecclesiastical power in the town, and the Abbot also held the post of Rector of St Mary's.<ref name=chbt/> In 1371 a [[chantry]] was established by [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] which the [[List of mayors of Reading|Mayor of Reading]] administered for the chapel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol3/pp367-378 |title=The borough of Reading: Churches {{!}} A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. Eds. P. H. Ditchfield, and William Page. London: Victoria County History, 1923. 367-378|website= British History Online|accessdate= 11 October 2020}}</ref>

The main body of the church dates from the late 11th Century, however in 1539, the Abbey was dissolved on the orders of King [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. In the [[English Reformation|Reformation]] that followed, St Mary's church was stripped of its altar, statues and stained glass, and by 1550 was in need of extensive repair. Between the years of 1551 and 1555 the church was extensively restored, using quantities of masonry and timber from the ruins of the Abbey. Contemporary accounts include payments for the dismantling and carriage of the Abbey's choir and nave roof, and is believed that the pillars which now separate the Minster's south aisle from the nave came from the Abbey.<ref name=rhtsg/><ref name=chbt/> The [[baptismal font]] stands on the plinth of an earlier font and dates to 1616. A gift from the Vachell family, it is octagonal in shape and is carved with the arms of the Vachell, Knollys and Reades families who intermarried. Some of the carved shields represent Tudor roses and originally would have been painted in their heraldic colours. On the north wall of the chancel is an impressive black-and-gold monument to William Kendricke and his wife dated 1635. William Kendricke was churchwarden at the Minster from 1607 to 1610 and was a considerable benefactor of the church.

In 1918 a war memorial chapel, known as St Edwards Chapel, was added with entry through the old Saxon doorway of the nunnery. The church had undergone further [[Victorian restoration|restoration]] in 1863 when a new choir aisle was added, and in 1872; with further work in 1935 and 1997–2003.<ref name=chbt/>

==Bells==
Most of the bells now hung in the Minster's tower date from the 17th and 18th centuries. The present peal consists of three dated 1640, two dated 1740 and two dated 1743. In 1611 the first clock was installed in the tower.<ref name=chbt/>

==Organ==
[[File:Organ Reading Minster 2019.jpg|thumb|140px|The Minster's organ dates to 1862]]
The Minster's organ dates was built by [[Father Willis]] for the [[1862 International Exhibition]]. It was rebuilt by the same company in 1936.<ref>{{cite web|title=The organ in Reading Minster of St Mary The Virgin |url=http://www.readingminster.org.uk/history.pdf |publisher=Reading Minster of St Mary The Virgin |accessdate=2009-04-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807161343/http://www.readingminster.org.uk/history.pdf |archivedate=August 7, 2008 }}</ref> In the early 21st century, the church began a project to restore the organ. The organ was largely neglected throughout the 20th century, leaving [[organ pipe|pipes]] corroded, the bellows damaged and the [[sound board (music)|soundboards]] warped.<ref name="Reading Minster 2011 1">{{citation|author=Reading Minster|title=1862 Henry Willis Organ Restoration Fund [leaflet]|year=2011|place=Reading, Berkshire}}</ref> The restoration requires a fund of approximately £500,000 and aims to replace the wind system, electronics and manuals.<ref name="Reading Minster 2011 1" />

==Churchyard==
The churchyard extends to the south and east of the church, and is bounded by the streets of St Mary's Butts, Gun Street, Chain Street and by an unnamed footpath connecting St Mary's Butts and Chain Street along the rear building line of the buildings fronting Broad Street. It is crossed by several other paths which carry heavy pedestrian traffic between various town centre areas. The churchyard contains a number of significant trees, including a 150-year old Indian Bean Tree (''[[Catalpa bignonioides]]'') that was thought, in 2007, to be unlikely to survive, but has since sprouted new growth.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/trippy-tree-reading-minster-graveyard-9725145 | title=Trippy Tree in Reading Minster graveyard is refusing to die | first=Linda |last=Fort | work=getreading.co.uk |publisher=Trinity Mirror Southern |date=27 July 2015 |accessdate=2 November 2016}}</ref>

Also to be found in the churchyard is the ''Jubilee Cross'', built in 1887 to celebrate the [[Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria]]. The monument is constructed in a 15th-century style in [[Portland stone]], and has a tapering octagonal shaft capped by a cross. It is listed as a Grade II [[listed building]]. It has been suggested that it was constructed in reaction to the [[secular]] design of the nearby ''Jubilee Drinking Fountain'' that also celebrates the same anniversary and is located only a few feet away in the centre of St Mary's Butts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-39159-jubilee-cross- | title=Jubilee Cross - Reading - England | work=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |date=14 December 1978 |accessdate=2 November 2016}}</ref>
{{clearleft}}
== List of notable clergy ==
* [[Henry Hart Milman]] (1791–1868): 1818–35<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18778 | first = H. C. G. | last = Matthew | title =  Milman, Henry Hart (1791–1868) | work = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher = Oxford University Press | date = September 2004 | accessdate = 2009-04-30}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|File:St Mary's Church, Reading, 1800-1809.jpg|Reading Minster from the south-east, 1800-1809
|File:St. Mary's Church, Reading, from the south-east, c. 1887.jpg|Reading Minster from the south-east, c.1887
|File:St Mary's Reading, in the spring - geograph.org.uk - 3399.jpg|Reading Minster from the south-east, 2005
|File:Reading Minster, interior.jpg|Interior of Reading Minster
|File:Jubilee Cross-Reading-Geograph-2815616-by-Bill-Nicholls.jpg|The Jubilee Cross
|File:Indian Bean Tree 2015-08-05 19.49.34.jpg|The Indian Bean Tree
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscatinline}}
*{{Official website}}

{{Listed buildings in Reading}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Churches in Reading, Berkshire|Minster]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Diocese of Oxford]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Reading|Minster]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in Berkshire]]