ABSTRACT
‘Religion is prior to the church, both analytically and chronologically: religion at certain times and places creates churches’. In a society where the aspirations just described were central, it is difficult to anticipate that religion in the form of churches and chapels could have an important place. Religious organisations were not only the most local and widely disseminated amongst voluntary organisations. The context of aspiration and organisation in Reading by c. 1890, while vital for understanding, does not fully explain religious organisation in late nineteenth-century Reading. For explanation, the actions and choices of religious organisations, and the peculiarities of religious compared to other organisations are relevant. Ministers and religious buildings also had more concrete relations with the aspirations and organisations of Reading society. Religious plant, in the shape of halls and meeting rooms, played an essential role in such a society.
