Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
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Henry I founded Reading Abbey in 1121 and was buried in it; nobody has yet worked out exactly where. What stands today is flint rubble stripped of its facing stone — the south transept, the dormitory range, a refectory wall, and the chapter house, the one part that still reads as a room. The gateway onto Forbury Gardens is largely George Gilbert Scott’s rebuild after it collapsed in 1861. The Norman-looking Catholic church next door is Pugin’s, from 1840, partly built of abbey stone. Free to walk through since the ruins reopened in 2018, and Reading station is five minutes away.
More at the National Heritage List entry
