Abbey Gate is a Grade I listed building in the Reading local planning authority area, England. First listed on 22 March 1957. A C12 to C14 Gate. 1 related planning application.
Abbey Gate
- WRENN ID
- wild-cinder-khaki
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Reading
- Constituency
- Reading Central MP: Matt Rodda (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 22 March 1957
- Type
- Gate
- Period
- C12 to C14
- Address
- Abbey Gate, the Forbury
- OS grid reference
- SU 718 735
- Coordinates
- 51.45643, -0.9668
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Abbey Gate is a Grade I listed building dating from the 12th to the 14th century, which was entirely remodeled by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1861. It features a combination of flint and Bath stone ashlar, with quoins on the ground floor. The building has two storeys, topped with a shaped modillion cornice and a parapet that has weathered coping.
The central pointed archway is adorned with a roll mould and a gabled drip above, flanked by buttresses. There are four lancet windows on the first floor with foiled heads, and two on the ground floor that have impost and cill strings. The structure includes octagonal end turrets that also feature a cornice, parapet, and cope. The turrets and buttresses are chamfered below the squinches of the first floor, which have headstops.
Inside the archway, there is a large round-headed arch with a double flat roll. The entrance passage is intended to be vaulted and includes two pointed doorways and stairs to the left. The rear of the building is similar to the front, except for a round-headed entrance.
Local climate
Abbey Gate sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 80% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 73% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 53% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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Nearby listed buildings
- Assize Courts
- Shire Hall
- Anglian Cross
- Maiwand Memorial
- 10, Abbot's Walk
- 11 and 12, Abbot's Walk
- Archway Connecting Forbury Gardens to Abbey Ruins. Including Retaining Walls Flanking Path to Abbey Ruins
- Wall between Forbury Road and Abbott's Walk to west of St James's Church
- Wall and gate piers of the Church of St Laurence’s graveyard
- Abbey Mill Ruins