The two emblems in Plate 1, positioned on either side of the entrance to St Laurence’s church, reflect the two centres of power in pre-Dissolution Reading, which sometimes found themselves in opposition to one another. On the left is the coat of arms of the corporation. With the late fifteenth-century architecture predating the merchant guild’s acquisition of corporate status, the arms’ appearance suggests they were also associated with the earlier guild. On the right is the scallop shell symbol of St James, whose hand was the most prized relic of Reading Abbey. Yet the building on which they appear was not the headquarters of either, but of a third powerful institution in town society: the parish church. The emblems depict the distinct identity of each, yet their appearance together exemplifies a recognition that the relationship between these institutions involved collaboration as well as conflict.

Exploring the social relations of a town requires an understanding of its setting and major institutions and social groupings. The first section of this chapter discusses the setting, both in terms of maps and the visual imprint of its architecture. The second outlines the major institutions and their respective roles, along with how they adapted to the Dissolution. The precise nature of Reading Abbey’s authority is explained. Although monasteries as a group were powerful lords, they did not all wield an identical set of powers. The town was also home to craft guilds and a friary, important institutions but ones exerting little influence over the governance of the town.

Traditional histories often talk of conflict between town and abbey in a manner that implies homogeneous groups. While some reference to the ‘town’ and ‘abbey’ is unavoidable in discussing social relations, it is important to be clear about who is meant in each case. To clarify this, the third and final section looks beyond institutions at the inhabitants themselves, exploring trades and hierarchies of social status. It discusses Reading’s very small burgess group alongside the larger, but rarely documented, group of the commonalty. Beyond the commonalty were the more marginalised social groups of immigrants, women, and the poor. The evidence of the chapter draws attention to how town–abbey disputes often centred on an elite group of guild members rather than the whole urban community.