Social Care in Reading: the Middle Ages to 1900

Update 22 January 2026

Unfortunately, our speaker is no longer available and so we have had to reschedule this talk until later in the year. There will, therefore, not be a Centre Zoom talk in February, and we resume in March with a talk on Victorian Medicine. Our apologies to everyone who has booked this talk, we will be contacting you all and arranging a refund of your ticket monies. We hope that you are able to join us for the rescheduled date. 

Hospitium to Workhouse via the Oracle

Our ancestors often fell on hard times. Although modern concepts of “welfare” might have been alien, from the Abbey to the creation of Battle Hospital, Reading did provide for housing, “relief” and care for its people.  This talk discusses what was done, including the work of the Abbey, almshouses and the Corporation.

This is the second of three talks in the Winter Potpourri Talks Series. The other talks take place on 22nd January and 26th March. You may book tickets for individual events or for all three talks in the series for a reduced price.  

Date

Thu 26 Feb 2026

Time

14:00 - 15:15

Tickets

£5.00

Location

Webinar
Webinar
Zoom Video Conference
Website
https://berksfhs.org

Category

Organiser

The Centre - Berkshire FHS
Email
booking@berksfhs.org.uk
Website
https://berksfhs.org/branches/

Speaker

  • Mike Cooper
    Mike Cooper

    Mike has had a lifelong interest in history, especially military and local history. Following a history degree at the University of Reading he worked as a librarian, with both the University and Reading Library. In addition to work on librarianship, he has had three books on the history of Reading published. Mike works for Reading Borough Council, and lives in Tilehurst with his wife and Moggy the Cat.