Summary
Pair of early C19 houses, converted to a shop on the ground floor during the mid- to late C19 and combined as offices then apartments in the later C20 and early C21.
Reasons for Designation
3 and 5 Castle Street, a pair of early-C19 houses, converted to a shop on the ground floor during the mid- to late C19 and combined as offices then apartments in the later C20 and early C21, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as an early-C19 building which contributes to the character of an architecturally varied historic streetscape.
Historic interest:
* as part of the urban development of Reading’s ancient core.
Group Value:
* the building is in close proximity to a large number of listed buildings and forms part of a strong historic grouping.
History
The crossroads formed by the north-south route of St Mary’s Butts/Bridge Street and the east-west route of Gun Street/Castle Street is believed to be the centre of the original Saxon settlement at Reading, established sometime before the ninth century, with the lowest crossing point of the River Kennet lying a short distance away to the south.
Reading was well-established by the time of the Norman Conquest, and the Domesday Book (1086) records six mills and a large estate in the town. St Mary’s Church, which lies on the north-east corner of the crossroads and was mostly rebuilt in 1551-1555, was the town’s primary church until the establishment of Reading Abbey in the C12 and became so again following the dissolution in the late 1530s.
Running west from the crossroads, Castle Street forms part of the ancient route through the town between London and the West Country, and the street historically contained many inns and guesthouses. As Reading expanded beyond its medieval limits during the C18 and C19, development spread further along Castle Street. Earlier buildings were gradually replaced with substantial townhouses and public buildings in brick or Bath Stone, although some timber-framed buildings of the C16 and C17 survive.
3 and 5 Castle Street were constructed during the early C19 as a pair of townhouses, probably on the site of an earlier building. Historically, each was two bays wide. The ground floor of each property was converted to commercial use during the mid- to late C19 and shopfronts were added to each. Sometime after 1977, the shopfronts were removed and the ground floor was rebuilt in brick to match the upper floors, with the main entrance to number 5 being removed and the two properties combined. During the late C20, a two-storey extension was added to the east side of the rear elevation. In around 2004 the buildings were converted from offices to residential use and subdivided into apartments.
Details
Pair of early-C19 houses, converted to a shop on the ground floor during the mid- to late C19 and combined as offices then apartments in the later C20 and early C21.
MATERIALS: red-brown brick under a slate roof.
PLAN: entered from the former entrance to number 3, the entrance to number 5 having been removed.
EXTERIOR: the building is of three visible storeys and the brick elevations are laid in a combination of Flemish and header bond. The principal elevation faces north onto Castle Street and it is of three bays, with the entrance door to the left side, a three-storey bow towards the centre and a shallower, three-storey bow to the right side. The brick ground floor was inserted in the later C20, replacing shopfronts.
The entrance is accessed from the street level by three stone steps with modern steel railings. The four-panel door stands in a round-headed door frame with radiating fan light above and is surmounted by a round-headed, gauged-brick arch. The three-storey bows have a timber, tripartite sash window to each floor, under a wide flat arch in gauged brickwork. A sinuous, stucco cornice and parapet runs across the full length of the elevation.
The rear, south elevation is constructed of red brick with a regular fenestration pattern of timber sash windows on each floor. To the east side, there is a C20, two-storey extension with a mono-pitch roof.
