JHA wrote the Activity Plan for Reading Borough Council’s Reading Abbey Revealed project
In Medieval times Reading Abbey was one of Western Europe’s most prestigious religious and political centres. By the 14th century it was one of the ten wealthiest monastic houses in England. Dissolved in 1539, the stone was quarried by local people over the centuries, leaving a few fragments behind. The purpose of this project is to conserve and restore the fragile walls, create new and engaging interpretation and an imaginative activity and events programme. The resulting Activity Plan is based upon consultation with local people, community groups and schools through an online survey, focus groups and interviews which revealed what interpretation and activities they would like to see and how they would like to be involved.
The Activity Plan also included a Volunteering Plan, Training Plan and Evaluation Framework.
Reading received their Round 2 pass in 2015 with a grant of £1.7m.