Editing Reading Abbey (section)

==Other remains==
Besides the ruins of the abbey itself, there are several other remains of the larger abbey complex still extant.

===Abbey Gateway===
[[File:Reading Abbey Gateway restored 2018-04-15 16.38.31.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|The [[Abbey Gateway, Reading|Abbey Gateway]] as restored in 2018]]
{{Main|Abbey Gateway, Reading}}
The Abbey's Inner Gateway, also known as the Abbey Gateway, adjoins [[Reading Crown Court]] and [[Forbury Gardens]]. It is one of only two abbey buildings that have survived intact, and is a [[grade I listed building]]. The Inner Gateway marked the division between the area open to the public and the section accessible only to monks. [[Hugh Faringdon]], the last abbot of Reading was hanged, drawn, and quartered outside the Abbey Gateway in 1539. The gateway survived because it was used as the entrance to the abbots' lodging, which was turned into a royal palace after the Dissolution. In the late 18th century, the gateway was used as part of the [[Reading Ladies' Boarding School]], attended amongst others by the novelist [[Jane Austen]].<ref name=innergateway>{{cite web |title=The Inner Gateway |url=http://readingabbey.org.uk/fora/lesabbey/innergateway.htm |publisher=The Friends of Reading Abbey |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825175435/http://readingabbey.org.uk/fora/lesabbey/innergateway.htm |archive-date=25 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=listed>{{cite web |title=Abbey Gate, Reading |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-38933-abbey-gate-reading |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118194121/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-38933-abbey-gate-reading}}</ref><ref name=abbeygateway>{{cite web |last=Ford |first=David Nash |work=Royal Berkshire History |publisher=Nash Ford Publishing |url=http://www.berkshirehistory.com/maps/reading_abbey/rdgab13.html |title=The Abbey Gateway |access-date=2 May 2009 |archive-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207182216/http://www.berkshirehistory.com/maps/reading_abbey/rdgab13.html}}</ref><ref name=aqgate>{{cite web |url=https://www.readingabbeyquarter.org.uk/gate |title=Abbey Gateway |work=readingabbeyquarter.org.uk |date=15 February 2018 |publisher=Reading Borough Council |access-date=31 January 2020 |archive-date=31 January 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131102720/https://www.readingabbeyquarter.org.uk/gate}}</ref>

The gateway was [[Victorian restoration|heavily restored]] by Sir [[George Gilbert Scott]], after a partial collapse during a storm in 1861. It was extensively restored again after some decorative stonework came loose and fell into the street in 2010, reopening in 2018. The room above the gateway is now used by [[Reading Museum]] as part of its learning programme for local schools, whilst the arch below is available for use by pedestrian and cycle traffic.<ref name=aqgate/>

===Hospitium===
[[File:Hospitium of St John the Baptist.jpg|thumb|The former [[hospitium]]]]
{{Main|Hospitium of St John the Baptist}}
The abbey's [[hospitium]], or dormitory for pilgrims, also survives. Known as the ''Hospitium of St. John'' and founded in 1189, the surviving building is the main building of a larger range of buildings that could accommodate 400 people. Much of the remainder of this range of buildings was located where [[Reading Town Hall]] now stands. Today the surviving building occupies a rather isolated site, with no direct street access. It abuts the main concert hall of [[Reading Town Hall]] to the west, and the south of the building opens directly onto the churchyard of [[St Laurence's Church, Reading|St Laurence's Church]]. The building is surrounded to the north and east by a modern office development, with a small intermediate courtyard.<ref name=nfphpt>{{cite web | last = Ford | first = David Nash | work = Royal Berkshire History | publisher = Nash Ford Publishing | url = http://www.berkshirehistory.com/maps/reading_abbey/rdgab02.html | title = The Hospitium | access-date = 2 May 2009}}</ref>

===Abbey Mill and Holy Brook===
[[File:Abbey Mill Arch.jpg|thumb|right|Abbey Mill across the Holy Brook]]
{{Main|Holy Brook}}
Some remains of the former '''Abbey Mill''' are visible alongside the Holy Brook at the south of the abbey site; they consist of a ruined former [[watermill]] on the [[Holy Brook]], a channel of the [[River Kennet]]. The ruins are [[grade II listed]].<ref name=he>{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1113390 |title=Abbey Mill Ruins, Reading |publisher=[[Historic England]] |accessdate=24 January 2020  |archivedate=3 February 2020 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203112314/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1113390}}</ref> It is situated just to the south of the ruins of the Abbey itself.<ref name=tale/> The [[water mill]] originally belonged to Reading Abbey, whose monks are believed to have created the Holy Brook as a water supply to this and other mills owned by them and to the abbey's [[fish pond]]s.<ref>{{cite web | last = Ford | first = David Nash | work = Royal Berkshire History | publisher = Nash Ford Publishing | url = http://www.berkshirehistory.com/maps/reading_abbey/rdgab14.html | title = The Abbey Mill Arch | access-date = 2 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=  "  tale">{{cite book | title = The Holy Brook or The Granators Tale | first1 = Adam | last1 = Sowan | last2 = Castle |first2 = Sally |last3 = Hay |first3 = Peter | publisher = Two Rivers Press | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-1-901677-34-8}}</ref>

The mill was built straddling the Holy Brook which marked the southern boundary of the monastic enclosure. It continued to grind corn into the 1950s. Today, all that remains is a section of wall, pierced by three arches. The wall is built of [[flint]] with [[caen stone]] [[ashlar]] dressings and brick filling. The two side arches are round headed, whilst the centre arch over the Holy Brook is larger and pointed.<ref name=he/><ref name=corpus>{{cite web|title=READING ABBEY MILLS, BERKSHIRE |url=http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/be/ramil/index.htm |publisher=The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain and Ireland |accessdate=2007-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050414001348/http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/be/ramil/index.htm |archive-date=April 14, 2005 }}</ref>

The Holy Brook is a {{convert|6|mi}} long, largely artificial, watercourse which flows out of the [[River Kennet]] near the village of [[Theale]], passes just to the south of the Abbey, and returns to its parent river just downstream of the Abbey Mill.<ref name=  "  tale" />