You've Found the Refectory

You've Found the Refectory. Abbey Quarter. The refectory was where monks had all their meals. It was a large, grand space and was also used to host important royal meetings., The refectory was built at the top of a slope and to be sure that this huge wall stayed upright, there were strong buttresses along the wall. Between the buttresses there were tall arched windows, set high up to bring in as much light as possible., Buttress-sloping stonework built against a wall to support it., The necessarium , Reading Abbey had two large toilet blocks. The monks called the toilet the 'necessarium' - a Latin word meaning the essential or unavoidable. The monks' necessarium was to your right and the guests or servants was about where you are standing now. The toilets were arranged in long rows and positioned over a side channel of the River Kennet, which washed away the sewage., The lavatorium , Monks went to the toilet in a necessarium but before meals they washed their hands in a lavatorium. This was a large basin where the monks gathered to wash their hands before meals. It was in the cloister, near the refactory entrance. It is thought that fresh water was piped 1km from a spring in Whitley, down the hill and under the Kennet. Spring Gardens estate is named after this spring., 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 grants a new town charter , 1643 - Abbey church is severely damaged in Civil War , 1833 - People of Reading fundraise to buy Abbey Ruins , 1840 - St James Church opens in former abbey grounds , 1861 - Abbey Gateway is restored by George Gilbert Scott , 1920 - Reading Pageant in Abbey Ruins , 2018 - Abbey Ruins re-open after major conservation works