Oracle Gates

Some may recall this post regards the Reading workhouse known as the Oracle. After its destruction, the gates were relocated to Tilehurst Road in Reading, until finally residing at the town museum. I recently came across this post, elsewhere on the interweb, which is of interest. At least to me LOL. 

I wrote a short paper about British Social Housing, from its beginnings through to modern times. This included the Workhouse system, looking in particular the ones in Reading and Newbury. This was a couple of years back for a separate project but if I can find the original version, I may look to reproduce some of it here in the near future.

Oracle

Some will know that Reading's Oracle shopping centre is built on the site of the former workhouse of the same name. You can read more about the Oracle workhouse here. Famously pioneer of photography William Henry Fox Talbot (who had a shop in Baker Street, Reading) captured an image of the Gunn Street-Minster Street gateway in around 1845.

I found the below version recently online, showing the workhouse imposed (by Mark Porridge) on the modern street scene and new Oracle. The white building to the right is I believe one of the few surviving remenants of the original Oracle.

I also found a lovely picture of the gates themselves, when they were reused at 48 Tilehurst Road. This picture appeared on a postcard by Walton Adams in around 1910. Those gates have since been relocated to the town museum where they remain on display.

Victorian Workhouse

Thought I might post some images of the former Workhouse in nearby Wokingham. There are family connections in so far as one of Dad's relatives was born here, later did well for himself and became Alderman (or Mayor) of the town.

The building is now used as a National Health Service hospital and is thoroughly modern inside I might add.

The below plan of the Workhouse is from this interesting site. The photographs are my own.