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4

H EAD IN G m U K C T O IiV — l i ) l 7 .

In 1212 the P o p e ’ s l e g a t e held a co u n cil here, and in the fo llo w in g y ear
K in g J o h n m et th e leg ate and b a ron s a t R e a d in g and h eld a p arliam en t.
H enry I I I . after several visits, also held parliam ents here in 1241 and 1263 ;
E dw ard I I . w as a t R ea d in g in 1314, and E d w a rd I I I . passed C hristm as
in the to w n and h e ld a grand tournam ent in 1 3 4 6 ; h ith er also, in
1380, cam e R ich a rd I L t o punish such o f the to w n sfo lk as had lent
help to th e rebel, W a t T y l e r ; in 1415 H e n ry V . and in 1440 H e n ry V I.
w ho th en m et h is p a r lia m e n t ; th e m arriage o f E d w a rd TV. w ith E liz a ­
beth W o o d v ille was first o p en ly ack n ow led g ed a t R ea d in g in 1464, w hen
she m ade her p u b lic appearance at the a b b e y , b ein g con d u cted thither
b y the D u ke o f G loucester and the E arl o f W a r w ick . P arliam en ts w ere
h eld here in 1466-67 in the g reat hall o f the ab bey. H e n ry V I I . w as
at R e a d in g in 1 4 8 7 ; H e n ry V I H . on several occa sion s, an d in 1552
E d w ard V I . v isite d it and w as received w ith m uch cerem on y b y the
a u th orities, as afterw ards in 1554 w ere P h ilip and M a ry . Queen E liz a ­
beth v isite d R e a d in g in 1568, 1572, 1575, 1592, 1602 and in 1603 shortly
before her d e a t h : the law courts w ere h eld here in M ich aelm as term
1625, on account o f the p lague r a g in g in L o n d o n ; the ju d ges sittin g in
the g reat h all o f the a b b e y , the to w n hall and coun cil cham ber. In
1643 the to w n su stained a v e r y severe sieg e o f ten days from th e P a r lia ­
m entary forces, u n d er the com m an d o f the E arl o f E s s e x : th e tow n
itself w as stro n g ly fortified , and E ssex havin g su m m oned th e tow n to
surrender, received an answer from S ir A rth u r A s to n that “ he w ou ld starve
i r die in i t : ” operation s w ere then com m enced, and E ssex h a vin g taken
a fo rtifica tio n at M apledu rh am and an oth er a t C aversham H ill, w h ich gave
him the com m an d o f the to w n , it w as m u ch ba ttered b y th e s h o t ; it
h o w e v e r held ou t, bu t th e g o v e rn o r h a vin g su sta in ed severe in ju r y by
the fa llin g o f a b r ic k , the com m an d w as transferred to C olonel F ield in g,
and th e garrison h a v in g at len gth exhausted their am m u nition, held out
a flag o f tru ce, at w h ich ju n ctu re P rin ce R u p ert and the K in g , w h o had
m arched from O x ford to their re lie f, engaged the besiegers on Caversham
B r id g e , hu t after a severe stru g g le w ere d efeated ; th e K in g then retired
to C aversham H ou se, and th e to w n surrendered u p on the term s o f the
garrison bein g p erm itted to m arch ou t w ith th eir colou rs, arm s and
ba gga ge to jo in the K in g ’s troop s a t O xford . T h e tow n con tin u ed after­
wards to b e garrisoned at in terva ls b y b o th th e con ten d in g parties.
In 1663, w hen Charles I I . passed through R ea d in g , th e C orporation
presented the K in g , Queen and th eir servants w ith sum s of m o n e y :
in 1688 a skirm ish to o k p la ce in th e streets betw een the S c o ts and Irish
o f Jam es II. and the troop s o f the P rin ce of O ran ge, k n ow n as the
“ R ead in g fig h t,” in w h ich the form er w ere beaten , and le ft the tow n
m the hands Qf the D u tch t r o o p s : th is affair is still celebrated an nu ally
bv the rin g in g o f bells on D e c . 21st. Queen A nn e v isited th e to w n in
1702 and re ceiv ed from the m u n icip a lity 40 pieces o f g old.
T h e C h u r c h o r S r. G ii.e s , bu ilt o r ig in a lly in th e 11th cen tu ry ,
standing o n the east side o f S ou th a m p ton street, is a b u ild in g o f flint
and ston e, in m ix e d sty les, consisting o f chan cel, nave o f fo u r bays,
aisles, south p o rch an d a ba ttlem en ted w estern tow er su rm oun ted by
a slender stone sp ire, an d con tain in g a clo ck an d 8 b e ll s : there are
11 stained w in d o w s, and a brass to J o h n B o w y e r , tann er, 1521, and
J oa n his w i f e : t h e ch u rch suffered m uch from the a rtille ry o f the
besiegers d u rin g the C iv il W a r , and u n til a few years since w a s som e­
w h at in co n v e n ie n t an d u n sig h tly , b p i w as com p letely, restored and
enlarged in 1873 at a total co st o f £ 1 0 .6 6 0 . an d n o w affords 1,200
sittin gs. T h e chu rch w a rd en s’ accoun ts date from the y ea r 1518, and