Abbey Quarter

Abbey Quarter. Abbey Ruins. , You're standing in what used to be the practical, service end of Reading Abbey. In the yard surrounding you was a dormitory where abbey servants or guests slept, the refectory (dining hall) where monks ate their meals, and the abbey kitchen. The walls of the refectory and monks' dormitory can be seen straight ahead., Not everybody who lived at the monastery was a monk. There were also abbey servants - boys and men who did the difficult and dirty work around the monastery while the monks were busy singing and praying. Abbey servants worked hard but at least they got a warm place to sleep and regular meals., Timeline , 1121 Henry I founds Reading Abbey , 1164 Henry II attends official opening of Reading Abbey , 1254 Reading receives royal charter from Henry III , 1453 Parliament meets at Reading Abbey , 1539 Henry VIII closes Reading Abbey, Abbot Hugh is executed , 1560 Elizabeth I grants a new town charter , 1643 Abbey church is severely damaged in Civil War , 1785 Jane Austen goes to school at the Abbey Gateway , 1833 People of Reading fundraise to buy Abbey Ruins , 1861 Abbey Gateway is restored by George Gilbert Scott , 1920 Reading Pageant in the Abbey Ruins , 2018 Abbey Ruins re-open after major conservation works