Watch our heritage walk on video

Every year since 2019 we have organised a heritage walk round the area as part of the annual national Heritage Open Days event in September.

If you’ve missed our walks the good news is that we’ve also made our walk virtual. You can watch our 20 minute documentary that follows the walk and explores some fascinating local history, scenes from the past and the area’s wealth of Victorian architectural features. We hope you enjoy it!

We hope this inspires you to dig out your old photos and tell us your stories of life in the area in the past – we’d love to see more pictures of scenes from the past and maybe even make another documentary next year. Please contact us at info@bell-tower.org.uk if you can help.

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Do you have a long memory? We’d love to hear from you!

After the popular local history documentary we made last year for Heritage Open Days we are starting to make another one. This time we are hoping to make a history of the area as told by you! We are looking for residents that have lived in the area for a long time and would like to participate in a short interview, to record their memories for posterity.

Do you remember what the streets were like many years ago? Perhaps you have memories of attending EP Collier School or St Paul’s church, or going to some of the shops that are no longer there. Or did you or someone you know work for a local business such as Drews or Cox & Wyman? And if you have any old photos that you can share with us we would be particularly pleased to see them!

We hope to interview residents on camera in their gardens (with appropriate social distancing as necessary) during the summer months when the weather is warm enough to sit outside in comfort. If you prefer not to be filmed we could make an audio recording instead.

Can you help us? If you are interested please contact David at david@bell-tower.org.uk or on 07890 118167.

Our first local history documentary is still available to watch at www.bell-tower.org.uk/caversham-road-documentary.

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Drews appeal dismissed

Good news for our area’s heritage, with the announcement that the planning appeal for the Drews site has been dismissed.

The government planning inspector’s report was published today (14 May), stating that “[the] benefits do not outweigh the significant harm the proposal would have on the character and appearance of the area and the significance of a non-designated heritage asset”. At the appeal meeting on 24 March, Mary Neale on behalf of Bell Tower pointed out that the proposed development would be out of keeping with the existing buildings on the western side of Caversham Road and stressed the former malthouse’s long and varied history and contibution to the area’s character. Bell Tower’s representation was also strongly supported by our local councillors at the meeting.

Developer S2 Caversham was proposing to demolish the main building and build a seven-storey block of flats. The council’s planning committee initially refused the application in October 2020 after receiving a petition with more than 1200 signatures in favour of keeping the former malthouse, which the Bell Tower Community Association had succeeded in getting locally listed earlier in the year.

The developer will now almost certainly have to look at how the building might be adapted and produce a new design that is more harmonious with the former malthouse and the character of the local area.

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Drews application goes to appeal

The owner of the Drews building, S2 Caversham, has decided to appeal Reading Borough Council’s decision to reject its application to demolish the Drews building and replace it with a seven-storey block of flats.

Bell Tower has made a submission to and asked to take part in the appeal hearing with a planning inspector. We have argued that the building is a rare surviving malthouse both in the town and nationally and that the developer has shown no evidence it looked into the viability of retaining it. A national expert on maltings, Amber Patrick, says the complex marks the transition of the malting process in the 19th century from a traditional to a pneumatic one. This, we have said, re-enforces the heritage argument. Our statement also outlines how the proposed tower block would clash with the Victorian and Edwardian character of the area, particularly in terms of height, whereas the existing structure is in harmony with the way buildings in the area were used for residential, commercial and industrial purposes.

The council, the Conservation Area Advisory Committee and Caversham and District Residents Association, have all written to the planning inspector in favour of retaining the building. The appeal will be heard at an online meeting on Wednesday 24 March.

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Some colour for December

There will be a little more colour around our area in December as three local organisations have pooled their resources to turn the area into an Advent Calendar. New Hope Community Church, EP Collier Primary School and the Bell Tower Community Association have combined to exhibit art created by pupils at the school on the themes “Light in the Darkness and Hope in Times of Trouble”.

From 1 to 25 December the art will be displayed in windows around the community. The map to hunt down the daily pictures can be downloaded here. Hidden on the frames is the title of a well-known Christmas carol. The first to find all the letters and unscramble the words will win a prize.

If you are feeling creative and would like to join in the fun you can also take part. An exhibition of the school entries as well as other children’s and adults’ pictures is being planned at the beginning of January. Please send your entries to abi.ord@greyfriars .org.uk.

You can download the map here. Happy hunting!

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Planning committee refuses application to demolish Drews

Some good news about the Drews buildings – for now at least. On 7 October Reading Borough Council’s planning committee unanimously voted to refuse developer S2 Caversham’s application to demolish the main building and replace it with a seven-storey block of flats. This went against the planning officer’s recommendation, so is a significant win for us.

Speaking online at the committee, David Neale of Bell Tower said “You can’t replace heritage; once it’s gone, it’s gone”. Many of the committee agreed, and even those that were less concerned about heritage had reservations about the height of the proposed block and its implications for the area.

The buildings at 71-73 Caversham Road, Reading, home to Drews ironmongers for nearly 40 years, have a long and varied history. They were built in 1871, making them the oldest surviving buildings in the area between the railway and the River Thames. These were originally Henry Dowson’s malthouse complex, serving Simonds, Reading’s largest brewery and one of Reading’s most famous industries.

In 2020 the Bell Tower Community Association successfully applied to have the buildings locally listed. Although the buildings have been used for many purposes since the 19th century they retain plenty of their original features and have been deemed worthy of preservation by Reading Borough Council.

Although the planning committee has decided to refuse the application that doesn’t mean the buildings are safe as the developer will almost certainly appeal or try another application. Please sign our petition today to show how important these buildings are to the community. You can sign at www.change.org/p/reading-borough-council-save-the-historic-drews-building-from-demolition

Are you interested in the history of this site? Watch our documentary (the history of these buildings starts at 5:07).

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