Most of the buildings that made up Reading Abbey, whose 30-acre site dominated the town from 1121 to its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539, now lie in impressive ruins. But St Laurence’s Church, built to serve east Reading parishioners, the Hospitium (or guesthouse) and the inner gatehouse remain, although much altered. Founder Henry I was buried in the Abbey Church in 1136 before its consecration by Archbishop Thomas à Becket in 1164. ‘The most remarkable ancient musical composition in existence’ – Sumer is icumen in – also originated here in around 1240.