Over the next four centuries, the Old Rectory, which became known as Caversham Court, was occupied by some of the most influential families in the Reading area, who both improved and enhanced the site.

It had a 1638 staircase, with bullet holes from a Civil War attack, and an elaborate decorated plaster ceiling.

In the 1840s, the rectory and garden walls were rebuilt to a design by A W Pugin who gave the house a castellated facade with fretwork balustrading.

The lower two consist of lawn dotted with mature trees; the upper terrace is the site of the old rectory and the original kitchen gardens which were converted to allotments during World War II as part of the "Dig for Victory" campaign.

Caversham Court contains a number of fine tree specimens in particular, a large Wellingtonia, a Bhutan Pine (Pinus wallichiana),[6] a cedar of Lebanon, an Atlas cedar and a black mulberry near the main entrance.

There are also massive yew hedges surrounding the allotment gardens in the north west of the park and an old layered yew, a feature popular in the seventeenth century, whereby a 'family' was created by layering to create a complete ring of 'offspring'.

The work has seen the establishment of a tea kiosk run by local charities and the proposal of a passenger ferry across the River Thames during events.

The closure of these ruins for safety reasons meant that the festival did not run in 2009 or 2010, but it was relocated to Caversham Court in 2011, where it has remained.