Kellys_1914_0016.jpg

9

HEADING DIHF,( TORY— 1914.

Yards, resp ectively , A b b e y , Battle, Castle, C hurch, East, K atesgrove.
M inster, Redlands, V ictoria , W est, T ilehu rst, Caversham E ast and
Caversham W est, and the C orporation consists o f a high stew ard, a
m ayor, thirteen alderm en and th irty-n in e tow n councillors. T he C orp o­
ration of R eadin g was originally a guild, said to have been chartered by
Edw ard the Confessor : the members of this guild were styled burgesses
as early as 1254 in a charter granted by H en ry III. and confirmed by
R ich ard II. and H enry I V ., V I . and V I I I ., and in 1351 the m aster was
called m a y o r: H en ry V II. in 1487 enlarged their authority, and H enry
V III. in 1543 grante'd a new charter, making the m ayor and burgesses a
body corporate, and this was confirm ed by E dw ard V I ., Queen Elizabeth
and Jam es I. : further charters were granted b y Charles I. which were
confirm ed in 1649, and also b y Charles II. T he C orporation was further
reform ed under th e “ M unicipal C orporations A ct, 1835.” T he borough
has a com m ission of the peace and separate Court of Quarter Sessions.
T he P u b lic H ealth A cts have been adopted b y the C orporation. Reading
is a borou gh by prescription, having sent members to Parliam ent from
the time o f the earliest records : b y the “ R edistribution of Seats A ct,
1885 ” (48 and 49 V iet. c. 23), the boundary of the parliam entary borough
was extended on the east to the South Eastern railw ay, and on the
south to Christchurch and Junction roads, and b y th e same A ct the
representation was reduced from tw o m em bers to one. U nder the
provisions o f the “ L ocal G overnm ent A ct, 1888,” th e borough became
a C ounty b orou gh ” for certain purposes.
R eadin g is called in D om esday “ R adynges, ’ and according to the
description therein con tain ed at that date (1086) 28 houses, all belonging
to thè K in g , 29 others in ruins, one held by H enry Ferrars, a church, tw o
mills, and fisheries, n ot h aving then recovered from recent disasters.
Stephen visited the tow n in 1140, and in 1141 came th e Em press Maud,
w ho Was received w ith much honour : in 1153 th e castle was surrendered,
to H enrv, D uke o f N orm andy, afterw ards H en ry II . w h o frequently visited
R ea din g betw een the years Ì163-85 : R ich ard I. held a parliam ent here in
Ì 191 : K in g J oh n , in 1213, and H enry III. in 1241 : he also v is ite d jt in
su b seq u en t-yeirs ; E dw ard II. was here in 1314, and R ichard I I . in 1384 :
parliam ents w ere again held here in 1440 and 1451, and in 1432 the parlia­
m ent w as adjourned from W estm in ster to R ea din g on account o f a. plague.
R eadin g A b b ey was founded in A .D . 1121 b y K in g H èn ry I. : it tias
dedicated to the H olv T rin ity, SS. Diary. John the E van gelist and James
and was intended for 200 m onks of the Benedictine order, w ith an abbot
(m itred) prior and sub prior : this com m unity was endow ed with ample
revenues and invested w ith alm ost regal p o w e r ; their possessions were
v ery extensive and their privileges scarcely le s s ; th ey w ere also th e
guardians of a precious relic—the hand of St. James the A postle—-which
brought to them a continuous stream of w ealth ; the A bbot ranked next
to those of G lastonbury and St. A lbans, and retained his seat in Parliam ent
till th e D isso lu tio n : the buildings of the abbey w ere com pleted m 1124
hut th e-grea t church was not finished until 1164, when it was. consecrated
hv B erket-in the presence o f H enrv II. and m any of the n obility : here,
n 175T John of G aunt, fourth son of K in g Edward III. was married to
Blanche, eventual heiress of H enry P lan tagen ct of G resm ont, D uke of
Lancaster ; H en ry I. its founder, was buried here in D ec. 1135, w ith his
second queen. Adeliza, daughter of G odfrey o f I.ouvaine, Duke of Brabant,
as w ell as the Em press M aud, w ife of H enry V . of G erm an y, and after­
wards w ife of G eoffrey Plantagenet. Count o f A n jou , w ho died 10th Sept.
1167: :and here also w ere interred W illia m , eldest son o f H en ry II. q.