ON MONDAY, one of Reading Museum’s most imposing exhibits saw a refresh through a High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) project.
The Oracle Gates have been given a new lease of life as charities worked together to provide new exhibits to feature within the gates themselves, following investment from Historic England and the HSHAZ Cultural Consortium.
The Mayor of Reading, Cllr Tony Page, was among those welcomed to the museum for the unveiling of the new displays, with members of Sadaka and Alana House’s staff and communities working to create the pieces which went on display.
The exhibit consists of two large oak gates which were used in The Oracle, originally a workhouse for the poor which finished construction in 1628.
The building on Minster Street was commissioned by John Kendrick, a wealthy clothing trader, left £7,500 in his will to the Corporation of Reading to fund a workhouse.
Over the proceeding two centuries, the building was used as a barracks, rope manufacturer, and in the pin and silk trades before it was left in ruin, and finally demolished in 1850.
The gates survived, however, and after spending some time at an uncertain location on the Tilehurst Road, they were salvaged, restored, and rehomed in the museum.
Cllr Page said at the unveiling: “Having been on the council for so many years, you encounter things which you were involved with 20 or 30 years ago.
“The current redevelopment of the Oracle site is something a number of us were involved with, and the gates were one of the few elements of the old historical building to be saved.
“Quite why the gates would end up on the Tilehurst Road is unclear, but it is probably an accurate reflection to say that they were flogged off before being salvaged and are now back in their rightful place, here in the museum.”
Anna Jones, project development manager at the Museum of English Rural Life, said: “There has been so many people involved, and this is very much a partnership.
“So [Reading Museum’s] Brendan Carr and I worked together to re-animate and re-envisage the gates, as well as the objects which are on display.
“We wanted to work with and engage communities to think about Reading today, and what the gates were originally for and how it relates.”
She explained: “We partnered with Sadaka who have a community pantry for the ‘Grow’ display, and with Alana House who created the waterfall of fortune tellers.
“It’s a pleasure to have representatives from both charities here tonight, so I have to thank them as well as Brendan.
“As we started this project, the cost of living crisis was setting in, which is relevant to the themes of charity and community which are tied up in the gates, and it only becomes more relevant.”
The refreshed Oracle Gates exhibit is now on show at Reading Museum in the Welcome Gallery.
More information about Reading Museum is available via: readingmuseum.org.uk
Details about the charities Alana House and Sadaka are available via: pactcharity.org/alana-house/ and sadakagives.org.uk/ respectively.
More information about the High Street heritage Action Zone is available via: reading.gov.uk
