Christ Church

Christ Church is a Church of England building located on Christchurch Road, constructed between 1861 and 1862 by architect Henry Woodyer, with an enlargement in 1874. It is a prominent example of High Victorian architecture in the Early English style and is considered one of Reading's landmarks. The church features a north-west tower porch topped by a steeple and is built from coursed Pennant sandstone rubble, accented with ashlar quoins and dressings. The roofs are tiled.

The church has a six-bay aisled nave and a lower three-bay chancel, which includes a later vestry. The north transept has an arcaded string, a pointed doorway, and a plate tracery oculus. The 1874 south chapel is also part of the structure. The nave clerestory is adorned with small foiled lancets set within a bold ashlar blind traceried arcade, while the aisle windows are cusped and separated by buttresses. The chancel features a geometric tracery window and a five-light decorated-style east window.

The tower and steeple, completed in 1875, are significant elements of the church, featuring a three-stage tower with angle buttresses, a stepped plinth, and various set-offs, culminating in diagonal pinnacles that support the steeple. The total height to the top of the steeple is 164 feet. The tower includes gargoyles and unfinished decoration on the parapet, and the south porch has uncarved crockets.

Inside, a notable feature is the chancel arch, which is filled with reticulated tracery that is said to represent the Veil of the Temple. The arcade has Purbeck shafts and gablets on the capitals, which are decorated with large naturalistic flowers. The clerestory has cusped rere-arches, and the roofs include a queen post roof with wind braces and a collar purlin roof with scissor braces in the chancel. The pulpit, likely designed by Woodyer, is in two stages. There is also a low flint wall about four feet high with chamfered capping along the street. Originally, the church was intended as a 'chapel of ease' for St Giles' to accommodate an expanding parish, and Woodyer's school in Basingstoke Road was used until Christ Church was completed.