| Description | The first charter to be granted to the borough was that of Henry III in 1253. This no longer survives, but the text is cited in the earliest extant charter, granted by Edward III in 1344. A further fourteen charters were granted between 1379 (Richard II) and 1836 (William IV). The full texts of all the charters (in translation) were published in C Fleetwood- Pritchard (ed.), Reading Charters, Acts and Orders, 1253-1911 (Reading, 1913) (copy in Berkshire Record Office searchroom).
A useful introduction is to be found in the booklet published by Reading Corporation to accompany the commemorative exhibition mounted to celebrate the seven hundredth anniversary of the first charter, Charters of the Borough of Reading, 1253-1953 (Reading, 1953). |