 Hello, thanks for joining me. Today I'm in Reading. I'm in a strange area behind a few office blocks. There's a river here This is the Holy Brook. What we're going to do in today's video We're going to go and explore the ruins of Reading Abbey. The reason I start here by the Holy Brook is if we come along here We find our first section of ruins. This is the Abbey Mill Arch Completely surrounded by modern buildings. It feels really sort of out the way like there's bustling streets all around us But you come behind these offices and this is what you find. This section of Archway. We're going to go through this arch into this little area here, and there's no one around But there is the Mill Arch. So down there would have been the Abbey stables We're going to find our way. It almost feels impossible, but somewhere behind the offices There's some more Abbey ruins. We're going to go and find them and we're going to have a look around them So look at that. In all these modern offices You've got this very old. Well, the Abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121 So I'm not saying that the actual masonry dates from 1121, but it's very old. So the Holy Brook flows along here It flows off under some office blocks over there and joins the River Kennet So Abbey founded by Henry I. He never lived to see the Abbey completed. I understand He Henry I is buried in the Abbey. It was officially opened by Henry II Henry III came to visit the Abbey quite regularly three or four times a year Henry III would when he was passing by He would stay at the Abbey Not sure what the history of the Abbey is with Henry IV, V, VI and VII, but as you probably guessed Henry VIII closed it And then in that was in I think 1538, Henry VIII closed the Abbey Then you know a lot of it all disappeared. You've got lots of things to remind you that there was an Abbey, the Abbot's house, Abbey Gardens So there wasn't much of interest to happen to the Abbey after that until around the Victorian times That was when they decided they wanted to open up the Abbey and see the ruins So it's a computer-generated image of what the Abbey would look like So we were somewhere off-screen so you can see there was the Reflectory, the kitchen, Monk's Tormentary And of course the church. Now most of the church has gone, but I understand the end is still there So I think it's sort of this part of the Abbey here, which we're going to go and explore the ruins of So let's go up here So as I said, there's been a few Henry's involved and King Henry's and then not such a glamorous Henry But today on the 27th of May 2023 Henry's Adventures comes to make a video here So this Abbey has a long association with Henry's We're coming up to the Abbey now Oh what we'll do, we'll go just down there Because that's where the Holy Brook joins the River Kennet So we were following the Holy Brook It was quite a good place to build that abbey because it was very accessible With the River Kennet you could use boats to get out towards the Thames Because we're not too far from where the River Kennet joins the Thames In later history of course the Kennet and Avon Canal would have come along Oh yeah look see beneath another office block So you can just see the Holy Brook Let's go and have a look Oh we could have actually walked straight under there Look here's the Holy Brook Always modding off this block over there So I'll show you where the Holy Brook joins the River Kennet And then as I said we're going to go and explore the ruins Which are right there in front of us Or as much of the ruins as we possibly can So we go around here and get one last view Hello, how are you? I'm alright thank you Got one last view of the Holy Brook And it flows right out there into River Kennet As I said, next to the Kennet and Avon Canal You can see there's a barge there And that's all the prison there And that's ruins of the abbey So let's go and find our way into the abbey And we're going to go and explore it We'll just come up from the river Through the maze of modern office buildings But we're going to go and explore the actual ruins of the abbey The reason I've bought you this way round Is I want to show you something here This is the abbey gatehouse It has been restored by Sir Charles Gilbert Scott Who also built London St Pancras railway station So it may not be 100% original But it's probably one of the most prominent parts of the abbey Which survives, I'll show you a quick look at that So it really makes a change amongst all the modern buildings We have around us Well, that one is built to look quite traditional Which is nice So that's the building We're just going to quickly walk through And then we'll have a look We're going to go into the Fortbury Gardens And then we'll walk down to the ruins of the abbey That's the gatehouse So you have a look at the gatehouse from this side That's the abbey's walk Now about here That's where the front of the church will be So imagine a big grand frontage of the abbey church And there's the gatehouse We're going to go into the Fortbury Gardens now Under this very nice wisteria arch It smells nice, I know you can't smell it But it smells nice There's a little cafe here And the Fortbury Gardens are generally a very pleasant place Just come and walk around if you're in Reading They're worth a visit There's lots of boards as you go around So it says, look, you have found the abbey church So it said this We would have been in the abbey church If we'd come here in like the 11th or 1200th And we would be walking Right now I would be walking you up the nave Towards the High Altar But now it's just all rose bushes And various other flowers And wow, look at that A handkerchief tree This is one of my favourite trees The reason it's called a handkerchief tree Is because if you look You may be able to see There's these white leaves that hang off Like handkerchiefs There's one there that's fallen off Look at this So see what I mean It looks very much like a handkerchief And it's only about two months of the year Sort of late May Or two weeks of the year Or rather late May early June That you'll see the handkerchiefs And there we are That is the fantastic sight of a handkerchief tree That's really made my day That I've found a handkerchief And lie it down there So yeah Handkerchief tree That's a nice little surprise Get a nice view over Of the Fourbury Gardens There's a church in the corner there That's the local Catholic church Which is also built on part Of the monastery site So as we walk along here Like I said We are literally walking Right up the nave Of the church There's a few older buildings Which have also been built on the Abbey You can now see the ruins just there We're going under there So imagine all that I'll say there's a church there There's a little bit of ruins just there Which we're not going to really see But we're going to go down under this bridge And this will take us into the actual Abbey itself So it's not a huge amount of ruins to see here But it's exciting to see what there is So we go through this bridge Out of Fourbury Gardens And into the world of the ruined Abbey I suppose that was a way of getting People could get to those houses And actually having to go through the Abbey So get to here Now in 2018 When I last visited Reddick The Abbey was closed They were restoring it You can see how they've restored an arch there Quite nicely And look at this This looks like this is the bottom Of a very tall grand pillar That would have been part of the main church There's a picture here So we can help explain with the picture So that is the church So that's the gatehouse Where we came in The church would have been just there We've walked up the navel We're about here somewhere So the end of the church would have been there What we see here This is the remains of one of the chapels That would have survived Now I mentioned that the Abbey Was founded by Henry I And I said that he was buried in the Abbey Well, let's go over here There's a little plaque to say Near to this spot was buried King Henry I Who founded Reading Abbey So somewhere around here We have a King buried Look at the site today You can see what remains I'll say that was one of the chapels There would have been The hilt would have been around there Somewhere where that wall is over there That's where the Lady Chapel would have been So we're going to have a bit of a walk around See what there is left There's a better picture here For different angles So as I say There was the Lady Chapel Well, you can see that Lady Chapel is down there This is Founders Chapel It shows two windows So if you look There they are So there was no window there Because there was more buildings Against it on that site So that's why there isn't a window there The church would have run down there Of course that building wouldn't have been there We're now in the South Transit So there's been a North Transit So imagine the crossing Imagine looking up to a great big grand window Really must have been amazing It was one of the wealthiest And largest Abbeys in Europe It seems a shame in its ruin state But in a way It's also really quite fascinating To find it in its ruin state Oh look, there's a good picture I've just seen that picture I'll give you an idea That is what it looked like Down there there's something It was once this big So it really was a huge Abbey As a walk I suppose it is ruined Abbeys Well, this was a Pluniac Abbey I understand the Pluniac order Also interestingly They've put down in concrete Where the actual door had been So when I come to these places I like to try And not just walk through walls Just because the walls are low I don't always think You should walk through them Just because they're low I like to walk through Where the doors were That's quite nice That they've marked out that door We're going to go through this arch Here now We'll go around to the chapter house Have a look at that And then we'll work our way down Back down towards the river So this This is the remains Of the chapter house Here you can see grand arches We're going to go into the chapter house The chapter houses Weren't a sort of religious place They were where they would have meetings To discuss finances And things like that And then you've got the prison The building in the middle The prison framing its health In the wall of the chapter house It's all quite tall The masonry that survives here So it's nice to see this all Surviving Okay, there's no roof on it But on such a grand scale Let's have a look out there We can't just get out enough way We'll have to find a way around If we look down there The grass down there Will take us eventually round Back down to the river Kennet So I'm going to find my way Down to river Kennet So we'll effectively finish the video Where we Near where we started I'm not going to go back up the holy brook But we are going to go to that part To the water part of the abbey To get to here So I think these were the monk's dormitories All down here You can see quite a strong wall It survived We're going to walk through another arch here To another part of the ruined abbey Oh yeah Now if you look down there You can see So there's part of a wall there So I think this would have all been Buildings all down here This would have been where the monks Would have probably slept and ate This wall here This... Yeah, so this was the monk's dormitory So we are kind of Down there now So there was the infirmary Which would have been more over there So I've just always been fascinated By ruined abbeys I've always enjoyed exploring them And I like to try and imagine them As they would have been I think ruined abbeys are a fascinating building So Okay, I'd have been inside But imagine if I wasn't inside There would have been a big towering church Above me Just there So It's really a fascinating place this abbey We get to here Now where I was Down there A moment ago Just see the river Kennett And we walked up to see the abbey gatehouse This gate here seems to be locked But there is another way out We're coming back into here Quite a good view If you look up there So there's the abbey Okay, the sun's missing us about now And the prison is there But again, the problem is The sun's very intense It's a very bright sunny day So it does sometimes interfere When you're trying to make a video Which can be a bit annoying But yeah, that's the prison there It's there You can see it a bit better now And that's the rest of the abbey And then if you were to look through this window You can just see there's a modern office block Called abbey wall If it's nice Despite all these modern office blocks existing They've got names that reflect the history That, you know, there was once And there still is This rather large ruined abbey here Of course it wouldn't be ruined once Interesting, there's a doorway up there So I think there'd have been a floor Probably just a bit above my head There'd have been a floor So if you look back across Reading Abbey I hope you enjoyed this video Thank you very much for watching Please do feel free to like Share, comment and subscribe Goodbye