Steering fails as car crashes into gates of listed gardens

THE entrance gate to Grade II listed gardens beside the River Thames is to be replaced after it was damaged when a car crashed through it.

The 3m high oak gate to Caversham Court Gardens in Church Road was taken off its hinges and smashed in the incident, which occurred at about 6.10am on Thursday last week.

It is understood that the steering wheel of the car involved “locked up”, causing the car to continue on into the gardens.

Councillor Isobel Ballsdon, who represents Caversham Heights at Reading Borough Council, said the car then mounted the soil embankment over a Second World War air-raid shelter, before it became lodged against the pillar next to the side gate.

She said the driver was taken to hospital by their family as a precaution.

Following the incident, the entrance was cordoned off by council officers, who removed the damaged wooden and iron gate. It is now been cordoned off with heras fencing.

A spokeswoman for the council said it is in discussions regarding the process of claiming insurance for the incident.

The gardens, which are owned by the council, remained closed for the remainder of the day but re-opened on Friday with access via the side entrance.

The tea kiosk run by Greenshoots Nursery also re-opened on Friday. The damaged entrance was to be inspected by a structural engineer yesterday (Thursday), along with another gate, a section of wall and pillar near the side entrance, which were also damaged.

The oak gates were hinged to a Grade II listed panelled wall of flint and stone which dates back to the 19th century.

When the gardens were restored in 2009 there were no gates on the entrance, and the oak gates damaged in last week’s accident were copies created based on old
photographs. The garden dates back to the 17th century when it was part of a rectory.

The council spokeswoman said it continues to monitor existing structural issues at the site to preserve the historic integrity of the site and ensure public safety.

This includes works to the eastern wall, stable wall and gazebo, which the council plans to schedule for spring 2026.

The Halloween trail, run by Friends of Caversham Court Gardens went ahead last weekend in spite of the incident.

Val Peggrem, secretary of the Friends of Caversham Court Gardens, said: “We are obviously extremely upset about the destruction of the gates and are hoping that our carol evening in December will still be able to go ahead.

“We usually have about
500 people in attendance and the side entrance isn’t viable for that many people in the dark.

“Our Halloween event at the weekend did go ahead and raised more than £600.”