Summary
Former terrace of shops and flats, now offices. Built in around the mid-C18 and altered in about the mid-C20.
Reasons for Designation
48 and 49 Market Place is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a mid-C18 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 first written record of Reading dates from a reference to a battle recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 871. By the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066, Reading had become a town of notable size. After Reading Abbey was founded in 1121, the town grew substantially, spurring cloth production, the establishment of the new Market Place, and what would today be known as London Street, an extension to the High Street that facilitated trade to and from London. By 1525, the town’s thriving cloth industry led Reading to become the largest town in Berkshire. In 1542, Henry VIII’s royal charter made Reading a borough. Following significant upheaval during the Civil War, the town flourished during the C18 and C19 and several developments spurred its growth, including the arrival of the Great Western Railway, improvements to the navigability of the River Kennet, and the growth of the local brewing industry.
48 and 49 Market Place are shown as two properties on the Reading Board of Health Map of 1853 and the Goad Fire Insurance Plan of 1895, where number 48 (to the west) is shown to contain a stationer’s, and number 49 (to the east) a railway parcel office. The ground floor appears to have been altered in about the mid-C20 with former shopfronts replaced by the current rusticated treatment, probably at the same time that numbers 48 and 49 were united as offices internally.
Details
Former terrace of shops and flats, now offices. Built in around the mid-C18 and altered in about the mid-C20.
MATERIALS: the principal, north elevation is faced in stucco and the rear elevation is built of brick. It has a slate-covered roof.
PLAN: a four-storey terraced property now used as offices.
EXTERIOR: the main stucco-faced front elevation is four bays wide and four storeys high. It has banded rustication to the ground floor, which comprises, from left to right: three round-headed six-over-six sash windows, and the main entrance which contains six-panelled double doors under a fanlight that has a moulded surround with moulded impost blocks and a keystone. The moulding to the impost blocks is carried across the elevation, between the windows. The first and second floors each have six-over-six sash windows, whilst the third floor has three-over-six sashes. A leaded string course separates the ground floor and first floor, and there is a stucco band course between the first and second floors. The façade is crowned by a heavily moulded cornice and parapet. Behind the parapet is a mansard roof containing four dormer windows to the attic storey. The rear, south elevation is built of brick.
