Reading Abbey Quarter

Introduction 

The Reading Abbey Revealed project and the creation of the Abbey Quarter is Reading’s most ambitious heritage project for a decade. The Reading Abbey Quarter was created to bring together the unique, cultural heritage that exists within the former grounds of Reading Abbey through interpretation, wayfinding, conservation, and community engagement.  

The creation of the Abbey Quarter has transformed this area into a unique historical and cultural destination and been a catalyst for positive change beyond the Abbey Quarter, across Reading’s wider community. It has provided a sense of place, ongoing community engagement, cohesion and pride for its diverse and expanding population. 

The challenge

In 2009 the abbey ruins closed after condition surveys highlighted they were no longer safe to be open to the public. The Abbey Ruins and Gateway are both Grade I listed buildings and Scheduled Ancient Monuments. 

The aims of the project were to conserve this scheduled site, reopen them to the public and to create a new historic quarter drawing together and interpreting the former grounds of Reading Abbey while ensuring the wider community engagement and active participation through cultural activities.  

The key challenge was to create a single unified heritage site bringing together the cultural heritage within the former grounds of Reading Abbey, including, Reading Museum, the Town Hall, Reading Gaol, St. James' Church, St Laurence's Church, the Forbury Gardens, and the remains of Reading Abbey.  

The key challenges were to:  

• improve the signage, interpretation and conservation of Reading Abbey Ruins, the Abbey Gateway and the wider Abbey Quarter 

• provide new life-long learning opportunities that will maximise the potential of the Ruins as an atmospheric outdoor learning space, and ensure the Gate and Ruins are evocative and enjoyable spaces within the heart of town 

• revive Reading’s Abbey Quarter, the historic heart of the town, giving people a powerful symbol of civic pride and identity 

• reach wider audiences and involve local communities, ensuring that previously under-represented groups have the opportunity to be involved through a programme of new activities.  

The solution

In December 2015 Reading Borough Council match-funded with £1.37 million, a £1.77 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for the Reading Abbey Revealed project.  

Conservation work of the Ruins and Gateway and the development of a new interpretation scheme started in February 2017 and the Abbey reopened in June 2018 after almost ten years of closure.   

The delivery of the project comprised:  

• implementation of conservation works to restore the Abbey Ruins and the Abbey Gateway (both part of a Scheduled Monument and Grade I listed)

• comprehensive interpretation and signage across the whole Abbey Quarter, including Reading Museum, and associated branding

• a linked five year programme of community engagement, educational events and activities across the heritage site. 

The Ruins are open to the public and home to an exciting programme of open air events including theatre, cinema, music and community festivals including the Council’s flagship event WaterFest and Children’s Festival. All are advertised and promoted via the Council’s What’sOnReading.com listings guide.  

With the pioneering use of innovative conservation techniques such as sedum planting to cap the walls and hot-mixed lime mortar to stabilise the walls, the project has rescued the Abbey Ruins for the people of Reading.  

The Abbey Quarter is supported by a new suite of interpretation telling the history of the site, including information boards, directional signs around the town centre, a series of trails, a new exhibition in Reading Museum and a dedicated website with a history of the Abbey, interactive map, and visitor information.  

A new collaboration with Reading UK CIC, through the Reading Tourism Group is now promoting the Abbey Quarter as a key part of their destination offer. The Abbey Quarter is an Ambassador of the ‘Great West Way’ initiative, 125-mile touring route between London and Bristol. These has both raised the profile of Abbey Quarter further and encouraged even more partnership working between regional venues. 

The impact

Reading now has a new historic quarter, the Abbey Quarter, which draws together and interprets the former grounds of Reading Abbey - the Ruins, Abbey Gateway, Reading Museum and Town Hall, Forbury Gardens and surrounding streets - as a single unified heritage site with a comprehensive interpretation scheme for the first time.  

At the Abbey 900 WaterFest event in 2021, 74 per cent of people surveyed agreed that the project had helped to increase their pride in Reading. 

• a total of 350,429 people have been engaged in Reading Abbey Revealed since July 2016

• 45,320 people have attended events in the Abbey Quarter

• 20,698 people have participated in Abbey/Museum on Wheels

• 131 individual volunteers have been trained to support Reading Abbey Revealed

• 4,327 school and university students, teachers, young people and adult learners have attended school sessions, inset training, take-over days, Arts Awards, Youth Panel and workshops

• two hundred and nineteen Victorian Schoolroom sessions have been held for 6,137 children and 803 adults  

• fifty-eight new ‘Royals in Reading’ virtual workshops ran during the 2020-21 academic year, with 1,766 pupils

• four new resources for schools have been created (history, music, creative writing & dance)

• six paid interns were employed and trained and went onto paid positions in other organisations

The significance of the Abbey Quarter has been recognised through prestigious national awards including: 

• Royal Town Planning Institute 2018 South East Award for Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture  

• Shortlisted for the Royal Institute of Chartered surveyors Awards South East 2019 in the ‘Building Conservation’ category  

• Highly Commended at the 2020 Civic Trust AABC Conservation Awards  

• Winner of the Planning Awards 2020 for the ‘Best use of Heritage in Placemaking’.  

• Green Flag Awards for the Forbury Gardens and Abbey Ruins October 2021. Both received special heritage awards.

How is the new approach being sustained?

The Abbey Quarter is now central to Reading’s heritage tourist offer and is an Ambassador for the ‘Great West Way’ initiative.  

In 2019 businesses voted to create a new Abbey Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) 2019 - 2024.  

The NLHF grant has acted as a catalyst for further funding and a further £1.7 million of additional grants has been secured from organisations such as the NLHF, Historic England and Arts Council England through Reading Place of Culture, the Cultural Recovery Fund and Emergency Heritage at Risk funds.  

The project delivers against a number of strategic plans including: 

• The ambitions of the Reading 2050 Vision: a description of what Reading can be: a city of culture and diversity where Reading’s rich heritage and strong cultural base becomes a fundamental part of the city’s make-up.  

• Reading’s Culture and Heritage Strategy (2015-2030): By 2030, Reading will be recognised as a centre of creativity with a reputation for cultural and heritage excellence at a regional, national and international level with increased engagement across the town.  

• The Abbey Quarter is explicit in Reading’s Local Plan (2019-2036) supporting the aspirations for Reading as a dynamic, inclusive community of the 21st Century including heritage.  

In June 2022, the Council agreed the next steps to secure the legacy of the project including: 

• Disseminating key learnings and recommendations to the wider heritage and placemaking sector.  

• Ensure the Scheduled site is protected and preserved for the future.  

• Sustainably optimise potential income generation and increased promotion and awareness of the Abbey Quarter heritage site.  

• Work with partners to develop the public activities programme, promote the site, and investigate tourism opportunities  

• Investigate future funding opportunities to work towards the financial and environmental sustainability of this heritage site  

• Ensure the Abbey Quarter continues to integrate with current projects such as the High Street Heritage Action Zone and the large scale developments in the town centre area.  

• Ensure that the Abbey Quarter and its sustainability is part of the wider emerging Cultural and Council strategies and plans.

Lessons learned

Independent and formal evaluation was carried out in December 2021 and identified following learning points: 

• The Abbey Ruins and Abbey Gateway have been successfully conserved using innovative conservation techniques.  

• New integrated interpretation and branding across the historic site has led to an increased sense of place and put heritage firmly on the map in Reading.  

• There is growing footfall and a range of cultural activity taking place in the Quarter, and the creation of the Abbey Quarter Business Improvement District.  

• Open Days, hard hat conservation tours, accessible talks, extensive interpretation testing and positive publicity created an early groundswell of local support for the conservation and re-opening of the Abbey Ruins.  

• The re-opening of the Abbey Ruins in June 2018 attracted 18,000 people, raising the profile of the site and the Abbey Quarter.  

• The Abbey on Wheels has been both a highlight and a model for outreach for the museum. Now Museum on Wheels, it is continuing to reach new audiences and to get people excited about Reading’s history. It has also introduced the Museum to new organisations who they can partner with to reach more under represented audiences.  

• The schools programme has developed a new workshop ‘Royals in Reading’ which draws directly on the rich local and national history associated with the Abbey Ruins to provide a sense of place and time.  

• In response to the pandemic, the learning team have embraced blended learning approaches and have further developed their workshop sessions to make virtual workshops available to schools, consequently increasing their potential reach both nationally and internationally.  

• The volunteer team target of 35 has been well exceeded, with 131 volunteers now having contributed to the project. The volunteer team have remained engaged during the lockdown period and are keen to continue being involved.  

Contact

Donna Pentelow, email: [email protected]