Nos 154 to 160 (Even) and Railings to Street is a Grade II* listed building in the Reading local planning authority area, England. First listed on 22 March 1957. A Georgian Inn. 21 related planning applications.
Nos 154 to 160 (Even) and Railings to Street
- WRENN ID
- sacred-hearth-sage
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Reading
- Constituency
- Reading Central MP: Matt Rodda (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 22 March 1957
- Type
- Inn
- Period
- Georgian
- Address
- Nos 154 to 160 (Even) and Railings to Street, Castle Street, RG1 7RP
- OS grid reference
- SU 708 730
- Coordinates
- 51.45169, -0.98162
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Nos 154 to 160, Castle Street, represents a group of buildings dating back to the 18th century, forming three sides of a courtyard. The central block is two stories high, rendered in stucco with a moulded cornice, a parapet, and a mansard roof covered in slate, featuring brick chimneys and two fluted conical lead rainwater heads. It has eleven windows on the first floor and six on the ground floor, most of which are glazing bar sash windows. The building originally housed the King's Arms Inn. There are two doorways with small Doric porches, although the columns of the porch at No 156 have been replaced with plain uprights. The doors themselves are six-panel doors; No 156 is partially glazed, and the upper two panels of No 158 are also glazed. A side door with a trellis porch is located to the left.
The left-hand wing (No 160) is two stories high with an attic, constructed of stucco with an old tile roof, partially mansard. The street-facing end features a two-story bow with three cross-glazed sash windows and a balcony supporting an attic window. An arched doorway is flanked by a reeded pilaster surround and a fanlight. The right-hand wing (No 154) is of a later date and is constructed of colour-washed brick with a stone balustrade at the second-floor level, topped with a tarred tile hipped mansard roof and plate glass sash windows. Entry is from the left through a tented, triangular-headed porch.
The front of the building is defined by spearhead iron railings with urns on standards, and the gates have braced upper rails, dog rails, and box-panel standards.
Internally, No 154 houses a late 18th-century staircase. The first-floor bow window room, circa 1790s, features a marble fireplace surround, decorative cornices, and fine doorcases with Adam-style friezes. No 158 contains a particularly interesting interior, including a coved ceiling and a panelled room on the first floor, as well as an 18th-century staircase with turned balusters and a straight string. Originally constructed as an ‘L’ block in 1734, the complex expanded by 1796, when it was occupied by approximately 200 exiled French priests. The building then incorporated covered colonnades to the north and west sides of the courtyard, with a corridor above the colonnade on the west side.
Local climate
Nos 154 to 160 (Even) and Railings to Street 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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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 5 transactions since 2006
- Related listed building consents — 21 applications
- 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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