# Oracle (workhouse)

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = Oracle
| native_name         = 
| native_name_lang    = 
| former_names        = 
| alternate_names     = 
| image               = The Oracle gateway, c. 1845.jpg
| image_alt           = 
| caption             = The Oracle in Minster Street, {{circa|1845}} by [William Fox Talbot](/source/William_Fox_Talbot)
| pushpin_map         = United Kingdom Reading Central
| pushpin_map_alt     = 
| map_caption         = Location within Reading Town Centre
| building_type       = [Workhouse](/source/Workhouse)
| architectural_style = 
| structural_system   = 
| cost                = 
| ren_cost            = 
| client              = 
| owner               = 
| current_tenants     = 
| landlord            = 
| location            = [Reading](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire), [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire), [England](/source/England)
| coordinates         = {{coord|51.454417|-0.972203|display=inline,title}}
| groundbreaking_date = 
| construction_start_date = 
| completion_date     = 1628
| inauguration_date   = 
| renovation_date     = 
| demolished_date     = 1850
| destruction_date    = 
| height              = 
| diameter            = 
| roof                = 
| top_floor           = 
| other_dimensions    = 
| floor_count         = 
| floor_area          = 
| main_contractor     = 
| architect           = 
| architecture_firm   = 
| structural_engineer = 
| services_engineer   = 
| civil_engineer      = 
| other_designers     = 
| quantity_surveyor   = 
| url                 = 
| references          = 
}}
The '''Oracle''' was a [workhouse](/source/workhouse) that produced [cloth](/source/Textile) in the [English](/source/England) town of [Reading](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire), [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire). [The Oracle shopping centre](/source/The_Oracle%2C_Reading), which now occupies a small part of the site, takes its name from the Oracle workhouse.

== History ==
In the 17th century, [clothiers](/source/Cloth_merchant) in Reading were facing competition from the [north of England](/source/Northern_England), where taxes were lower.<ref name="founding">{{cite web|title=The founding of the Oracle|url=http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/themes/manufacture/oracle1.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909022002/http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/themes/manufacture/oracle1.html|archivedate=9 September 2011|publisher=Reading History Trail|accessdate=19 January 2015}}</ref> On 30 December 1624, [John Kendrick](/source/John_Kendrick_(cloth_merchant)) a clothier died leaving [£](/source/Pound_Sterling)7,500 to Reading and £4,000 to [Newbury](/source/Newbury%2C_Berkshire) to help their cloth industries.<ref name="founding" /> John Kendrick's father and brother had a textile factory in Minster Street. The factory was sold to the Council for £2,000, and alterations were carried out to make it suitable for use as a workhouse. The new facility opened in 1628.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Oracle Workhouse Site|url=http://www.theoracle.com/website/StandardPage.aspx?ParentSectionId=fb35efe8-fb02-4c6a-bf08-06ae2bca81f3&ContentInstanceId=10f61106-79a4-4abe-9d93-fdb9ab7445af|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724080047/http://www.theoracle.com/website/StandardPage.aspx?ParentSectionId=fb35efe8-fb02-4c6a-bf08-06ae2bca81f3&ContentInstanceId=10f61106-79a4-4abe-9d93-fdb9ab7445af|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 July 2011|publisher=Oracle|accessdate=21 April 2011}}</ref> It stretched from the top of Minster Street {{convert|30|m}} down along the [Holy Brook](/source/Holy_Brook). William Kendrick chose the name "Oracle" to honour his brother John, whose idea launched the facility.<ref>{{cite web | title = John Kendrick (1573-1624) | url = http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/jkendrick.html | work = Royal Berkshire History | publisher = Nash Ford Publishing | accessdate = 2011-04-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110514065730/http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/jkendrick.html | archive-date = 14 May 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The Oracle remained in use until the 19th century, and the building was demolished in 1850.<ref>{{cite book|first=Daphne|last=Phillips|title=The Story of Reading|publisher=Countryside Books|year=1980|isbn=0-905392-07-8|pages=51–54}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Oracle Workhouse}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Reading, Berkshire
Category:History of Reading, Berkshire
Category:1628 establishments in England

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Oracle (workhouse)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_(workhouse)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_(workhouse)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.