The Normans built a wooden castle in Reading. It was later replaced by a stone castle. The king demolished the castle in 1152, fearing it might fall into the hands of his enemies.
William the Conqueror also gave land west of the town and the rents from 29 houses in Reading to Battle Abbey in Sussex. The land was later given to Reading Abbey but a lane called Battle Lane existed for centuries and the name lives on in Battle hospital.
In the Middle Ages Reading prospered because it was on the main road between London and the West of England. In those days the journey from London to Bristol and other western towns took several days and Reading was a convenient place to stay the night. Reading also benefited from the Abbey, which was built by Henry I in 1121-1125. Many pilgrims came to the abbey and spent money in the town. Sometimes the king came and stayed at the abbey. When he did he brought a large number of servants and bodyguards all of whom were likely to spend money in Reading.
Making cloth was the mainstay of the Readings economy. Wool from Berkshire flocks was brought to Reading by boat. After wool was woven it was fulled. That means it was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in a mixture of water and clay. Wooden hammers powered by pounded the wool watermills. There were many fullers in Reading as well as weavers, dyers, and tailors. There were also many vintners (wine merchants) as the upper class drank wine.
There was also a leather industry in Reading. Leather was tanned then it was used to make shoes, hats, bottles and saddles. Boat building was also an important trade. There were also several goldsmiths in Reading. There were also carpenters, blacksmiths, stonemasons, butchers, bakers and millers.
Before 1125 the king owned the town of Reading. He took rents from houses and fields. He took tolls from the market and kept the fines from the town court as well as taking other dues. When he built the abbey the king gave the town to the abbot who then took over the kings rights. The abbot then became ruler of the town. He appointed men called bailiffs to run it on a day-to-day basis. Naturally this caused some friction with the merchants who wanted to run things themselves.
However the abbot’s hold on Reading weakened as it grew larger and more prosperous. The merchants gained influence at his expense. By the early 14th century Reading probably had a population of around 1,300. The county jail was moved from Wallingford to Reading in the 14th century, a sign of Reading’s growing importance.
In Reading the merchants were organised into a guild, which looked after their interests. The abbot had the right to appoint the leader of the guild who was called the steward. But from 1301 the merchants insisted on calling him the mayor. The abbot refused to call him a mayor and went on calling him the steward long afterwards. But the abbot’s power was waning.
By 1459 the merchants elected 3 of themselves and the Abbot had to choose one of the 3 to be the mayor. There were also officials called constables who were responsible for arresting wrongdoers. Is not known how they were chosen at first but by 1463 they were elected by the merchants.
There were 3 parishes in the town, St Marys, St Giles and St Laurence’s. In the Middle Ages each parish had to have butts where all men practiced archery on Sunday. The name of St Marys Butts lives on today.
As well as the churches in Reading there was a hospital dedicated to St John the Baptist where monks looked after poor and infirm people. There was also a leper hostel for 12 lepers dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. In the 15th century a merchant named William Barnes built an almshouse for old and poor people.
By Tim Lambert http://www.localhistories.org/reading.html