Greyfriars Church, Reading

Greyfriars Church
Greyfriars' Church on Friar Street
Greyfriars Church Location within Reading Town Centre
51°27′24.38″N 0°58′35.52″W / 51.4567722°N 0.9765333°W / 51.4567722; -0.9765333Coordinates: 51°27′24.38″N 0°58′35.52″W / 51.4567722°N 0.9765333°W / 51.4567722; -0.9765333
Location	Reading, Berkshire, England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Greyfriars Church website
History
Former name(s)	Franciscan friary
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I
Years built	1311
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Oxford
Clergy
Minister(s)	Rev. David Walker

Greyfriars Church is an evangelical Anglican church, and former Franciscan friary, in the town centre of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The church forms part of the Church of England's Diocese of Oxford.

It is the oldest Franciscan church still in use as a place of worship in the UK, and is said to be the most complete surviving example of Franciscan architecture in England. As a consequence, it has been listed as a Grade I listed building.

The Franciscan order of friars first arrived in Reading in 1233 with the intention of creating a community to minister to the poor and the oppressed. This arrival was not welcomed by the established Reading Abbey, but the fact that the friars had royal patronage meant that Adam de Lathbury, the then abbot, was obliged to assist.

Initially the friars were granted a site alongside the road to Caversham Bridge, and by 1259 had erected a friary there, complete with church, chapter house, dormitory and refectory. However the site proved prone to flooding, impeding the ability of the friars to undertake their ministry. Eventually John Peckham, who was both the Archbishop of Canterbury and a fellow Franciscan, intervened and by 1285 a new site had been obtained at the west end of what is now Friar Street.

The new friary on the new site, that was eventually to become Greyfriars Church, was ready by 1311. The friars were expelled in 1538 as part of King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.