forbury gardens

8/14/2019 Forbury Gardens

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Pond

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Forbury Gardens

Abbey Ruins

Benedictine AbbeyFounded 1121

Abbots House

SchoolInfant

St James's

Courts

Bandstand

ChurchSt James's

A B B O T ' S W A L K

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EarthworkForbury Hill

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HouseMinerva

Forbury Square

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Forbury Gardens has a long andinteresting history. Evidence of its past is both visible around youand buried under ground.

Digging trenches for cables and pipes,laying new paths and building can allcause damage. So archaeologistsfrom Wessex Archaeology were askedto watch the work in progress and

keep an eye out for finds and featuresuncovered during the restoration.

Anything significant was cleanedand recorded, then either protectedby reburial or removed to safety.

Archaeology and the Restoration Project

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Trenches Abbey ruinsMillstoneHuman boneMedieval wall Angel's wing stone carvingCloister arch (laser surveyed)Demolition rubbleWall made of reused Abbey stoneBottlesClay pipesPottery Air raid shelter steps

12th-15th century12th-15th century



16th century16th-19th century

18th century

18th century18th-20th century

20th century WWII

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Earlier Investigations

We already know quite a lot about the Abbey,its waterfront and Forbury Gardens becauseof the archaeological excavations that havebeen done since the 1960s.

This information has given us a picture of how the Abbey and its waterfront developedduring the medieval period.

The excavation of the waterfront uncovered

a sequence of preserved timber wharvesdating from about 1200 to the present day.Interesting objects were found where they hadbeen lost in the river: metalwork and pottery,but also leather shoes, belts and other itemspreserved in the waterlogged conditions.

The archaeological recordshows graphically how the buildingswere damaged and the building materialsre-used after the dissolution of the monasteries.


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1,000 years of history in the Gardens

Forbury Gardens was the outerprecinct of the Abbey and thesite of several annual fairs.It probably contained buildingsassociated with the Abbey anda cemetery to the north of theAbbey Church.

Forbury Hill may be the site of a Viking fortification built when

the Danes seized Reading fromthe Saxons. The earthwork wasprobably re-used briefly whenKing Stephen built a castle therein 1150 during his battle forpower against Queen Matilda.

During the English Civil Warthe Abbey precinct wall was

fortified and the hill was usedas a gun emplacement.A ditch and a rampartwere dug across theremains of the Abbey.


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