Popular Hangout Place In Reading: Friar Street

 

 

Friar Street is a famous road within the English town of Reading. It runs parallel to Broad Street, connected by Victoria Street, Union Street and Cross Street. At the western end is that the Greyfriars Church and at the eastern end are the government building and St Laurence's Church. Spend a day mingling with the locals and looking at the timeless connection between the old buildings and the modern retail. Explore the city in a better way by hiring a private taxi and roaming around the city by using a taxi in reading.

History

 

In 997 the excavations administered on Friar Street at the situation of a proposed extension Marks and Spencer store by the Oxford Archaeological Unit revealed successive layers of old buildings, a number of which go back to the 13th century. The Frank Matcham planned and designed the Royal County Theatre, inbuilt 1895, was located on the side of Friar Street. It burned down in 1937. The opening of a Sainsbury's supermarket in 1963 was the reason for closing of the many smaller shops. Friars Walk shopping centre which located at the western end of Friar Street, opened in 1973-4. From around 2009 to 2019 it had been abandoned. Friars Walk was referred to as "The Mall" up until 2018 for 6 years and used as a venue for airsoft and immersive zombie survival games. Zed Events have since moved the Zombie Mall experience to a replacement site to permit for demolition of Friars Walk as a part of the Reading Station Hill development. On 1 August 2019, a scaffolding collapse happened at the demolition site.

Reading Theatre

 

The first theatre to be inbuilt Reading was completed in Friar Street in 1788 by the actor manager Henry Thornton. This was demolished and a replacement theatre inbuilt at the same site in 1895, the rebuilt theatre having been designed by Frank Matcham who was known as the number one theatre architect. The building was destroyed by fire in 1937. In 1907 a second Theatre known as the Palace was opened in Cheapside. This was designed by WGR Sprague but was destroyed in 1961.

Town Hall

 

Reading town hall is the government building in the town of Reading, within the English county of Berkshire. In between 1786 and 1897 taking up several phases, the government building was built although the principal facade was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1875. Situated on the brink of the location of Reading Abbey, it's adjoined to the north by the Hospitium of St John and to the south by St Laurence's Church. No longer has the house of the town’s administration, the government building now housed the Reading Museum, a big concert hall, several smaller halls and conference rooms, and a public cafe. It’s a listed building, with the block designed by Alfred Waterhouse being listed grade II*, whilst other parts of the building are listed grade II. In 1976, the civic offices removed to the newly built Reading Civic Centre. In 1985 the library moved to a replacement central library building on King's Road, leaving only the museum and hall in use. After some debate, plans to demolish the government building and replace it with a replacement cultural centre were dropped, and in 1986 refurbishment of the building started with the closure of the hall. In 2000 the refurbishment was completed getting the hall back to use and providing several new galleries for the museum and gallery for art.

Queen Victoria Street

 

Queen Victoria Street is a pedestrian pathway within the English town of Reading, Berkshire. It connects Broad Street with Station Street and Friar Road. Within the history of Reading, Queen Victoria Street is comparatively new street being constructed within the early years of the 20th century to supply an immediate route from Broad Street to Station Road and hence Reading's railroad station , which had opened in 1840. The road was the work of Councillor J.C. Fidler, an area businessman who was also liable for the rebuilding of West Street, the development of the Market Arcade, and therefore the acquisition of Prospect Park for the town. Councilor Fidler died when Victoria Street was nearing completion in 1903. The building of the road involved the demolition of several properties on both Friar Street and Broad Street. These included Laud Place, a block of tenements inbuilt 1813 on the location where William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury executed for treason during the war, was born in 1573.