from the introduction:

Erected
and lighted forever,
at the expence of
Edward Simeon esqr.
as a mark of affection
to his native town.
ad. 1804.
Lancelot Austwick esqr.
mayor.

So runs the inscription on this prominent vertical feature in
Reading’s Market Place. It was for many years a forlorn sight,
inasmuch as it could be seen at all. Weathered, crumbling and
unlit (many younger Readingensians must have been unaware
of its original purpose), it was hemmed in by the superstructure
of a set of subterranean public lavatories — which were
themselves disused for many years before their recent abolition
— and prominent road signs. Traf€c passed close by on all
three sides, and attempts at landscaping in the late 20th century
failed to create an enjoyable setting. Ptolemy Dean, visiting in
1996, referred to ‘a jostling sea of clutter: reproduction iron bollards,
brick paviors of alien colour…’. Now that it has been fully
restored and the surroundings visually improved by restricting
traf€c to the east side of the Market Place, it is perhaps time
to review its origin, design, erection, reception and subsequent
fate. As we shall see, it caused controversy from the outset and
has by no means been universally admired over the last two
hundred years.

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