Tag Archives: History of Reading

Lesser Known Ballads (and Other Art Work) of Reading Gaol

Built in 1844, HM Prison Reading (also known as Reading Gaol and famous through Oscar Wilde‘s poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol) was decommissioned in 2013. Since September 2016 the prison has opened its doors to the public for the … Continue reading

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Of Arms … Errr: Biscuits I Sing!

Regular readers of my blog will know of my interest in the local history of Berkshire’s county town of Reading. I could not have been more thrilled, therefore, when I went through my University’s archive catalogue and found a record … Continue reading

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Sneaking a Peek at Reading Abbey

Recently, I have not found as much time to write pieces for this blog as I used to. Summer term – exam period  at Reading – is upon us, and in addition to that, I have been very busy working … Continue reading

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Restoring a Ghost Inscription from Reading

I have deep respect for the immense learning, skills, and achievements of many of my academic teachers as well as other scholars with whom I was fortunate enough to cross paths at various stages of my professional life. An example … Continue reading

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Reading’s Latin Inscriptions

May I be forgiven some shameless self-advertising? My latest book has just been published by Reading’s wonderful Two Rivers Press! The book contains an anthology of 48 Latin inscriptions that are on display in Berkshire’s county town of Reading (as … Continue reading

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False Worship and Filthy Lucre

Thomas Bonney of Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1728, performed a Latin poem at Reading School. The poem, like several others from similar occasions, is reported in the addenda et corrigenda of Charles Coates’s marvellous 1802 The History and Antiquities of … Continue reading

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Rest and Peace: Terence on a Reading Cemetery

Towards the South-Eastern corner of Reading’s Old Cemetery at Cemetery Junction, there is an obelisk. It is the funerary monument of John Cecil Grainger, once vicar of the parish of Saint Giles. The obelisk rests on a pedestal, which is … Continue reading

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Sea Shells, Or: How the Deluge Reached Reading

Charles Coates’s monumental 1802 work ‘The History and Antiquities of Reading’ is a treasure house for discoveries surrounding the history of the county town of Royal Berkshire. In its discussion of the specifics of the area of Katesgrove,  the book … Continue reading

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A Readingite’s Prayer for Peace

Charles Coates, in the appendices to his monumental 1802 work ‘The History and Antiquities of Reading’, records numerous Latin and English pieces that were performed or recited at Reading School. Among these, there is a Latin ode of eighty lines, … Continue reading

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‘Experiencing’ university: A Polemic

Originally published on the University of Reading’s Engage in Teaching and Learning blog: Avant-Propos The University of Reading, like any other Higher Education Institution, is a diverse place, with many stakeholders, but – at least in theory – one mutual … Continue reading

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