• 1. St Mark and St Luke, Avington, Berkshire, England
    Architectural details
    Parish church
    Despite later additions, the 12thc. church survives in its entirety, consisting of an aisleless nave with a chancel of the same width but slightly lower. The main areas of interest are the richly-carved S doorway, the chancel arch, the remains of the chancel rib vault, and the font.
  • 2. Barn Acre Cottage, Borough Marsh, Berkshire, England
    1948 excavation, Wilfred Bowman and George Zarnecki seen together in centre foreground.
    Private house
    These gateposts with beakhead voussoirs built into them were crucial to the rediscovery of carved stones from the cloister of Reading Abbey. Just before the outbreak of World War II, Dr Wilfred Bowman bought Barn Acre Cottage in Borough Marsh near Wargrave. He intended to use it as a summer cottage, but he and his family took more-or-less permanent residence there after the air raids on London began. While gardening Dr Bowman unearthed the two beakhead voussoirs recorded here, and had them incorporated into the gateposts of a new set of gates for the cottage. In 1948 the stones were noticed by René Ledésert, a specialist in French literature based in London, who brought them to the attention of his friend George Zarnecki at the Courtauld Institute of Art, who at once recognised them as stones from Reading Abbey, and began a correspondence with Dr Bowman that resulted, later the same year, in the Courtauld Institute excavation of Dr Bowman's garden, and the discovery of some sixty carved stones that are now in Reading Museum. For an account of how the stones may have come to Borough Marsh, and more details of the excavation, see Baxter and Harrison (2002) and Zarnecki (1949 and 1950). An account of the excavation has been compiled by Tessa Smith, Dr Bowman's daughter, which includes photographs and copies of correspondence.
  • 3. St Margaret, Catmore, Berkshire, England
    S doorway, general view
    Parish church
    Single nave and chancel. Nave has a 19thc. bellcote on the W gable and opposed N and S doorways, both 12thc. The S doorway, described below, is protected by a porch with a neo-Norman external doorway. The N doorway, not described, is completely plain and headed by a segmental chamfered arch. There is a 12thc. font decorated with beakhead.
  • 4. St Mark, Englefield, Berkshire, England
    Nave, S doorway, general view.
    Parish church
    An estate church built by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1857, re-using a good deal of the medieval church that was already there. It consists of a nave with S aisle, chancel with a N chapel (the Englefield Chapel), a tower (added in 1868) at the NW of the nave and a S doorway with a porch. Three bays of the S arcade date from c.1200, while the jambs of the doorway, a pillar piscina and the font are all 12thc.
  • 5. St Lawrence, North Hinksey, Berkshire, England
    S doorway, interior, rere-arch, general view
    Parish church
    Single nave with E part roofed lower than W, and square-ended chancel roofed still lower. W tower with pyramidal roof. The nave has opposed N and S doorways; the blocked N doorway has no remaining sculpture, while the elaborate S doorway, protected by a porch of 1786, is described below. Two Norman windows survive in the nave N wall, and another is low down in the chancel S wall. The Norman-looking chancel arch is 19thc. work by John MacDuff Derick.
  • 6. Reading Museum and Art Gallery, Reading, Berkshire, England
    Capitals on display in Reading Museum, general view
    Museum
    Reading abbey stones
  • 7. St Faith, Shellingford, Berkshire, England
    Details
    Parish church
    A complete late 12thc. church of aisleless nave, chancel and W tower, the last with round-headed lower windows but lancets in its upper storeys. There was an internal restoration in 1850, when the chancel floor was raised to the level of the nave floor. More recently, a vestry has been built on the N side of the nave, enclosing the N nave doorway which now gives access to the vestry from inside the church, and which is therefore no longer visible from the exterior. Nevertheless it has here been treated as an external doorway (III 1.(iii)).
  • 8. Wantage Register Office, Berkshire, England
    Exterior, doorway, oblique view from L
    chapel originally, now Register Office
    The 12thc. doorway of the former Latin School was re-used as the entrance to the chapel of King Alfred's Grammar School (by J. B. Clacy 1849-50). This chapel now functions as Wantage Register Office.
  • 9. St Mary, Wargrave, Berkshire, England
    Interior general view to NW
    Parish church
    The church was burnt down in 1914 and rebuilt by W. Fellowes Prynne, incorporating some of the original fabric. The 17thc. brick W tower remains. Nave with S aisle and remains of a blocked 12thc. arcade in the N wall. N transept, square chancel. A 12thc. doorway has been reset towards the W end of the N nave wall, and there is a disused plain font, probably 12thc., in the churchyard.