Editing Reading Abbey (section)

==Abbey ruins==
[[File:Reading Abbey 03.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The interior of the ruined [[chapter house]]]]
The inner rubble cores of the walls of many of the major buildings of the abbey still stand. The only parts of the Abbey Church that still exist are fragments of the piers of the central tower, together with parts of transepts, especially the south transept. In a range to the south of this transept are, in order, the remains of the [[vestry]], the [[chapter house]], the [[wikt:infirmary|infirmary]] passage and the ground floor of the [[dorter]] or monks dormitory and [[reredorter]] or toilet block. The best preserved of these ruins are those of the chapter house, which is [[apsidal]] and has a triple entrance and three great windows above. To the west of this range, the site of the [[cloister]] is laid out as a private garden and to the south is a surviving wall of the [[refectory]]. The ruins are Grade I [[listed building|listed]]<ref name=rbcsoec2>{{cite web | title = State of the Environment Report – Chapter 2 – The built environment and landscape | publisher = Reading Borough Council | url = http://www.reading.gov.uk/Documents/ourenvironment/stateoftheenvironment/Chap002_Built%20Environment.pdf | access-date = 23 April 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060521063733/http://www.reading.gov.uk/Documents/ourenvironment/stateoftheenvironment/Chap002_Built%20Environment.pdf | archive-date = 21 May 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Ford | first = David Nash | work = Royal Berkshire History | publisher = Nash Ford Publishing | url = http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/reading_abbey_ruins.html | title = Ruins of Reading Abbey | access-date = 23 April 2010}}</ref> and a [[Scheduled monument]]<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Reading Abbey: a Cluniac and Benedictine monastery and Civil War earthwork |num=1007932 |access-date=5 December 2018 |ref=Reading Abbey: a Cluniac and Benedictine monastery and Civil War earthwork}}</ref>

===Restoration===
[[File:Reading Abbey restored arch.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Restoration of an arch done in 2004]]
Over the years the ruins have been repaired and maintained in a piecemeal fashion leading to their deterioration.<ref>{{cite news | first = Linda | last = Fort | title = Reading Abbey repair costs 'truly frightening' | work = getreading.co.uk | publisher = Reading Post – S&B media | date = 26 March 2010 | url = http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2068305_reading_abbey_repair_costs_truly_frightening}}</ref> In April 2008, the cloister arch, chapter house and treasury were closed to the public.<ref>{{cite news | title = Paths closed at ruins for repairs | work = getreading.co.uk | publisher = Reading Post – S&B media | date = 23 April 2008 | url = http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2026414_paths_closed_at_ruins_for_repairs}}</ref> Repair work began in March 2009 and was expected to take only a few weeks,<ref>{{cite news | title = Repair work starts on ancient ruins | work = getreading.co.uk | publisher = Reading Post – S&B media | date = 24 March 2009 | url = http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2047670_repair_work_starts_on_ancient_ruins}}</ref> but the entire site was instead closed in May 2009 due to the risk of falling masonry.<ref name="RC20100325">{{cite news | first = Adam | last = Hewitt | title = High cost of Abbey Ruins heritage | work = readingchronicle.co.uk | publisher = Berkshire Media Group | date = 25 March 2010 | url = http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/reading/articles/2010/03/25/45631-high-cost-of-abbey-ruins-heritage/}}</ref>

In late 2010, Reading Borough Council was reported as estimating that the ruins could cost £3m to repair, but it was also stated that the extent of the damage was yet to be determined. A survey was carried out in October 2010, using three-dimensional scans to build up a detailed view of each elevation, thus helping to identify the extent of the conservation required.<ref name=bbc20101021>{{cite news | title = Reading Abbey Ruins to be photographed by surveyors | first = Emma | last = Midgley | date = 21 October 2010 | access-date = 25 October 2010 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/berkshire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9113000/9113418.stm | work=BBC News}}</ref> In April 2011 plans for an £8m revamp were unveiled, with the aim to create an Abbey Quarter cultural area in Reading.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reading Abbey ruins £8m revamp plans unveiled|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-12955199|work=BBC News|access-date=7 June 2011|date=4 April 2011}}</ref> In June 2014 the Council secured initial funding from the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]] (HLF); more detailed plans for the project, Reading Abbey Revealed, were then developed and submitted to the HLF in September 2015.

In October 2014, a temporary scaffold roof, not visible from ground level, was installed on the Gateway to allow the building to dry out until funding for more permanent repairs was secured. The HLF confirmed that the second round application had been successful in December 2015.<ref name=vision>{{cite web|title=Reading Abbey Quarter - The Vision|publisher=Reading Museum|access-date=15 September 2016|url=http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/get-involved/reading-abbey-quarter/}}</ref> The HLF supported the project with a grant of £1.77 million, with Reading Borough Council match funding of £1.38 million. Historic England provided additional grant funding for initial work to the Abbey gateway and the conservation of the refectory wall.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reading Abbey Re-Opened to the Public |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/in-your-area/south-east/reading-abbey-re-opened/ |website=Historic England |date=4 July 2018 |access-date=5 December 2018 |ref=Reading Abbey Re-Opened to the Public}}</ref> Work began in September 2016 and the ruins reopened to the public on 16 June 2018.<ref name=hlf>{{cite web|title=The HLF Project|publisher=Reading Museum|access-date=15 September 2016|url=http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/get-involved/reading-abbey-quarter/reading-abbey-revealed/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What have we done? Reading Abbey Revealed project |url=https://www.readingabbeyquarter.org.uk/about/reading-abbey-revealed-project/what-have-we-done |website=Abbey Quarter |date=22 May 2018 |publisher=Reading Borough Council |access-date=5 December 2018 |ref=What have we done? Reading Abbey Revealed project}}</ref>

===Hidden Abbey Project===
In spring 2014, historian-screenwriter [[Philippa Langley]], MBE, best known for her contribution to the exhumation of [[Richard III]] in 2012, together with local historians John and Lindsay Mullaney, put together a complementary effort called the Hidden Abbey Project (HAP). The goal of the HAP was to perform a modern comprehensive study, including a non-invasive analysis of the grounds using [[ground-penetrating radar]] (GPR).<ref name=Langley>{{cite web|last=Langley|first=Philippa|title=The Hidden Abbey Project|publisher=Reading's Hidden Abbey|access-date=15 September 2016|url=http://readingshiddenabbey.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-hidden-abbey-project-by-philippa.html}}</ref> The first phase of the GPR survey, focusing on the Abbey Church, St James’ Church, the Forbury Gardens, and the Reading Gaol car park, began in June 2016. Initial results indicate some potential grave sites behind the high altar in an apse at the east end of the Abbey. There are also some findings probably related to the Abbey's construction, as well as some other potential archaeological targets.<ref name=RBC>{{cite web|title=A Significant Next Step Towards Revealing King Henry I's Hidden Abbey|publisher=Reading Borough Council|date=12 September 2016|access-date=15 September 2016|url=http://www.reading.gov.uk/PRhiddenabbey|archive-date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919212312/http://www.reading.gov.uk/PRhiddenabbey|url-status=dead}}</ref> News reports seized on the fact that the grave sites were found underneath the Ministry of Justice car park at Reading Gaol. Said the Telegraph:

<blockquote>Britain’s kings appear to be making a habit of this. First it was Richard III, whose bones were found under a car park in Leicester. Now it appears that Henry I may have met a similarly undignified fate.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news|last=Sawyer|first=Patrick|title=Another car park, another King: 'Henry I's remains' found beneath tarmac at Reading Gaol|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=13 September 2016|access-date=15 September 2016|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/13/another-car-park-another-king-henry-is-remains-found-beneath-tar/}}</ref><br />
</blockquote>

However, the borough council's press release stated, "The graves are located behind the High Altar in an apse at the east end of the Abbey. They are located east of the area where King Henry I's grave is believed to be. No direct connection between these features and King Henry can be made using these results alone."<ref name=RBC />