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HEADING D tR Ë C T O È Ï— 1 9 i 4 .

S

for the maintenance o f the fabric of this church. T he livin g is a rectory
and vicarage, n et incom e £ 2 6 0, in the g ift o f the B ish op o f O xford, and
held since 1911 b y the B ev. F itzw illia m J oh n Carter G illm or M .A . of
O xford U niversity.
S t . A g n e s ’ C h u r c h , in Silver street,
sm all edifice o f brick, and w ill seat 200.

attached to St.

G iles’ s, is - a

S t . M i c h a e l a n d A l l A n g e l s ’ (T e m p o r a r y ) C h u r c h , in E lgar road,
is also attached to St. G iles’ s ; it was erected in 1899 at a co st o f £ 1 ,75 0 .
W h en the church is built on th e rem aining pa rt o f the site, th e present
building w ill be used as the Sunday School.

T h e C h u r c h o f S t . L a u r e n c e , on the north-east side o f the m arket
place, is a building o f flint and stone, in the E a rly E nglish and P erp en ­
dicular s ty le s : it was pa rtially rebu ilt in 1434, and consists o f chancel,
nave of five bays, north aisle, w ith ch an try chapel, south porch and a
fine w estern tow er of flint and stone 89 ft. high and con tain in g 10
bells, the largest w eigh in g 4,109 lb. ; the tenor bell was re-cast on Jan.
10, 1882, and th e w eigh t was then increased from 23 to 24 cw ts. : the
tow er is Perpendicular, and hais octagonal turrets a t th e angles, rising
into spirelets a b ove th e parapet, w hich is battlem ented : the n orth aisle,
called also St. J o h n ’ s chapel from its h aving been used b y th e sisters
o f the hospital of th a t name, retains its original ro o f : this aisle and the
chancel were restored in 1848, and m ost o f the w in dow s filled w ith
stained glass : the rem ainder o f the church was restored in 1867-8, w hen
the church w alk or piazza, built b y J. B lagrave on th e south side in
1619, was rem oved, th e in terior re-seated, and tw o stain ed w in dow s
inserted, at a total cost o f £ 4 ,00 0 , and further in 1882, at a co st of
£4 ,5 8 0 : on the south side o f the nave lies buried J oh n B la gra ve, author
of ' I h e M athem atical J e w e ll,” w ho died 9 A u g . 1611, and on th e w all
above is a curious pain ted m onum ent, w ith his dem i-effigy in cloak
and ruff, h oldin g a skull in one hand and a quadrant i n ‘ the oth er,
w ith the inscription :
“ Johannes Blagravius,
Totus mathematicus,
Cum matre sepultus : ”
A figure in ruff and hat, kneeling at a desk, com m em orates M artha, w ife
of Charles H am ley, oh. 1636; there are a few m em orials to the H ungerfords of W ilts , a mural m onum ent to R ich a rd F y n n em ore, oh 1664
and brasses to E dw ard B u tler, gent, five tim es m ayor o f R e a d in g '
ob 1584, and A lice his w ife, 1583 ; John K en t, burgess, and Joan his
wife w ith half-effigies, c. 1415 : and W a lter B a rton , gen t. 1538, ch u rch ­
warden in 1509 ; the last is a palim psest brass, h aving on thé reverse
the effigy of Sir Joh n P opham knt. a distinguished soldier o f the reign
f
5 and th ere are several dep osited s to n e s ; on the south side
. ,
are m em orial w indow s to Charles L a m b , the essayist and
poet, d. 27 D ec. 1834 ; and to H enry and R a ch el, th e children o f th e H on
Justice T a lfou rd , dated 1848 ; the w est w in d ow under the tow er is a
mem orial to A rch bish op Laud, a native o f th e parish and grea t b enefactor
L " “ . . 0™ . containing also figures o f H en ry I. foun der o f th e a b b ey ;
of
7 1 > n te r Af the G em m a i- School ; Sir Thom as W h ite , founder
,
J o h n s , O xford ; and Charles I. th e g iver of th e p rin cip a l charter
the tow n ; on th e south side of the tow er arch , p la ced in a niche,