Harrinson Testimonial Cross is a Grade II listed building in the Reading local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 December 1978. Commemorative cross. 2 related planning applications.
Harrinson Testimonial Cross
- WRENN ID
- kindled-footing-nettle
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Reading
- Constituency
- Reading Central MP: Matt Rodda (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 December 1978
- Type
- Commemorative cross
- Address
- Harrinson Testimonial Cross, St Mary's Churchyard, St Mary's Butts, RG1 2LG
- OS grid reference
- SU 714 732
- Coordinates
- 51.45415, -0.97377
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Harrinson Testimonial Cross is a commemorative cross designed by Spencer Slingsby-Stallwood and erected in 1887. It was restored in 2023. The monument is made of Portland stone, with a lower base constructed of red brick.
The cross is designed in a Gothic Revival style and features a tapering octagonal shaft topped with a crocketed and canopied pinnacle that is capped by a cross. Below the cross is a stepped octagonal base, which has floral carvings on the uppermost part and bears the inscription: ‘By Thy Cross and Passion Good Lord Deliver Us’. The lower body of the cross is decorated with Gothic blind tracery that includes shields displaying the arms of Harrinson, the Borough of Reading, the Diocese of Salisbury, and the Diocese of Oxford. The lower part of the base consists of four plain octagonal steps.
The restored western face of the top step has the inscription: ‘Erected / by public subscription to record the munificence of / ISAAC HARRINSON Esq. / by which the improvements in St. Mary’s Butts / were brought to a successful completion / A. D. 1887 / The year of the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.’ Below this, on the step beneath, is the faint outline of metal lettering, now lost, which originally read: ‘Architect - Mr S Slingsby Stallwood / Builders – Messers. Wheeler.’ Beneath the lowermost stone step, there are two courses of brickwork laid in header bond.
Local climate
Harrinson Testimonial Cross 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
- Sale history — 2 transactions since 1996
- Related listed building consents — 2 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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