900th anniversary of the foundation of Reading Abbey

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900th anniversary of the foundation of Reading Abbey

In late 2020 and during 2021 we mark the 900th anniversary of two events. The first is the anniversary of the White Ship disaster of 25th November 1120, in which William Adelin, the only legitimate son and heir of King Henry I was drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Barfleur in Normandy. Nearly all those on board also perished, many of them heirs to the nobility, with huge consequences for the succession of dynasties in Normandy and England.

The second 900th anniversary is that of the founding by King Henry of the great monastery in our town, Reading Abbey, which took place on 18th June 1121. This was just seven months after the death of his son in the White Ship disaster. As a consequence, the charter for the new Abbey now dedicates it to the salvation of the soul of William Adelin, as well as of the souls of Henry's father, mother, brother and wife. The full text from the charter states that Reading Abbey is founded "for the salvation of my soul and that of King William my father and King William my brother and William my son and Queen Matilda [of Flanders] my mother and Queen Matilda [of Scotland] my wife and all my predecessors and successors".

The Reading Museum website has a blog article about the White Ship disaster at Museum blog. Articles by Friends of Reading Abbey member Iris Hunt can be seen on the Other Websites page, and further information about the disaster can be found by searching on-line.

This website provides information about the history of Reading Abbey at Abbey history. On that page, Professor Brian Kemp's "Introduction to the history of Reading Abbey" gives details about its foundation.

The flagship event of the 900th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Reading Abbey, Covid restrictions permitting, will be the Reading Water Fest, taking place across the weekend of 19th and 20th June. This is being organised by Reading Borough Council, and The Friends of Reading Abbey will be present there. We will publicise further information nearer the time - please follow also the Abbey Quarter website page about the celebrations at 2021 Water Fest. And the website Living Reading has published an article about the 900th anniversary. Please note that the focus on 20th June will turn to marking one year since the stabbing incident which took place in Forbury Gardens.