Old English Souvenir Door Knocker 'READING ABBEY' - 1919

A super old Souvenir Door Knocker from READING ABBEY. Made in solid brass this measures 4 1/2" x 2" and it has a Registration Number dating it to 1919 on the back. Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors and successors".The abbey was largely destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. The last abbot, Hugh Cook Faringdon, was subsequently tried and convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn and quartered in front of the Abbey Church. After this, the buildings of the abbey were extensively robbed, with lead, glass and facing stones removed for reuse elsewhere. Reading Abbey is currently the focus of a major £3 million project called 'Reading Abbey Revealed'. This project is conserving the ruins and Abbey Gateway so that they can be re-opened to the public. Alongside the conservation, new interpretation of the Reading Abbey Quarter will be installed, including a new gallery at Reading Museum, and an extensive activity programme will be organised