Reading is surrounded with places of interest. The picturesque mansion of Mapledurham, where Pope wooed Martha and Teresa Blount, is but a pull up the river Thames; and, although no less than four male descendants have owned Mapledurham in almost as many years just passed, it is still the property of the Blount family, where artists and river tourists love to dwell and view the exquisite scenery which surrounds this far-famed spot. A mile beyond Mapledurham is the site of the old "King Charles" (now removed) where swung a portrait in oil of the king, supposed to be the work of Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, beneath which was written—
Stop, traveller, stop. In yonder peaceful glade
His favourite game the Royal martyr played;
Here reft of children, honour, freedom, rank,
Drank from the bowl, and bowled for what he drank;
Sought in a cheerful glass his carts to drown,
And changed his guinea ere he lost his crown.
Three-Mile Cross, the residence of Miss Mitford, author of "Our Village;" Charville Farm, the original of "Stubble Farm," and the birthplace of the author of "Ernest Struggles; Strathfieldsaye, the seat of the Duke of Wellington; the house at Stoke Row, where "Never Too Late to Mend" was penned; and Sonning, the peaceful home of the late Canon Pearson, are all within an easy drive of Reading. Judge Talfourd and Archbishop Laud belonged to Reading. Laud Place is still extant at Reading in the Broad-street, and a handsomely carved mantel-piece is shown as a Laud relic.
Source: The Illustrated London News, July 8, 1882, p.45