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10

B E A D IN G D IR E C TO R Y— 1 9 1 0 .

English style, consisting o f chancel, nave of five bays, aisles, vestry
organ chamber, south porch and a tower at the north-west angle, con­
taining one b e l l : in 1882-3 the transepts were removed and aisles and
a new chancel and other additions made, at a cost of £4,338: the east
window is stained ; the west w indow is a memorial to the Rev. George
Porcher and his two daughters; and there is another memorial window
to M rs. Frances St. A u b y n : the church affords 500 sittings, of which
350 are unappropriated: a lych gate was erected in 1902 as a memorial
to Charles Stephens J .P . at a cost of £250. The register dates from
the year 1844. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £260, in­
cluding 2 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the vicar of
Sonning, and held since 1904 by the Rev. W illia m W eekes F o w ler M .A .,
D.Sc. o f Jesus College, Oxford, prebendary of Lincoln, and surrogate.
The Catholic church, dedicated to St. James and situated near the
Forbury gardens, in Forburv"road, was built in 1840 at the expense of
the late J. W h eble esq. ofBulm ershe Court, from the designs of M r. A .W .
W elb y Pugin, architect, and is an edifice in the Norm an style, consisting
of apsidal chancel, nave and a western gable bell-cote with one b e ll: the
font is formed from a square block of oolitic limestone, found within the
limits of the Forbury, in 1835, the upper part of which forms a square of
27 inches, and has a deeply-cut chain-like pattern.of steins and foliage
running continuously along its four sid es; below this, and at each
corner, are remains of carved capitals, exquisitely wrought with wreaths
and intertwining k nots; in the presbytery are preserved a seal belonging
to one of the abbots, and a massive iron lcey, found in the abbey
grounds: in 1883 the sanctuary was decorated in colour, under the direc­
tion of M r. P h ilip W estlake, of L o n d o n : the church has about 250
sittings.
The Catholic church of St. W illiam of Y ork, in U pp er Redlands road,
is a small edifice of brick, opened in 1906, and w ill seat 200 persons.
There are five Congregational, seven Baptist, six W esleyan (including
the mission at Elm P a rk hall), two Presbyterian, one Unitarian and
five Prim itive Methodist chapels, two Friends’ meeting houses, two
rooms where Brethren meet, and Salvation A rm y barracks.
Caversham Road Presbyterian church, built in 1902 at a cost of
£5,500, is of red brick with stone dressings in the Perpendicular style,
and consists of a nave and aisles, divided by an arcading on stone
columns, and a tower with spire 80 feet in height at the south-.east
a n g le : there are sittings for 520 persons.
Trinity Congregational chapel, an edifice in the Lancet style, was built in
1848 by seceders from Broad Street church, which is the oldest in the
town, dating from 1662 ; there is also a Congregational chapel in Castle
street.
The General Baptist chapel is in K in g’s road, and claims, as a meetingplace for Nonconformists, some antiquity, the congregation having been
obscurely traced to the reign of H enry V U i . ; it was first founded in
Ourzon street in 1640, removed to Hozier street in 1752 and to its present
site in
installed w ith electric lig h t ; the principal W esleyan chapel is in Queen’s
roau. G.-ovelands Baptist chapel, at the junction of W ilson road and
0:.-‘urd road, is a building of brick and terra cotta,, capable of seating 450
prrsc!.s
1 i.e. Prim itive Methodist chapel, in London street, was built
J .w .5 ,
m o
w i’ j
seat 900 persons.
I n March, 1906 a Wesleyan

1834, and was enlarged in 1858 and 1890; in 1901 the chapel WAS