Description: Scallop Shell Press - historical books for the Reading are
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Over 30 years ago I was asked by Canon Edward Conway to do some research and write a short history about St James’ Parish. In 2011, with the 175 th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone approaching, the current Parish Priest, Canon John O’Shea, inaugurated an archive group in the Parish and once again I was asked to write about the events leading up to this important historical event.
I was soon joined in these researches by my wife, Lindsay. She is a fluent French speaker and much of the documentation is in French. We also travelled to France in the course of our work. As readers of our book Reformation, Revolution and Rebirth will discover much of the early material is in French and of course, AW Pugin was of French descent and spent much of his childhood in Normandy.
The Church is built in the grounds of the ancient Benedictine Abbey of Reading. Almost from its onset the Abbey was dedicated to St. James and developed connections with the pilgrimage route to St James of Compostela in Spain.