Newbury
Newbury is an
historic market town about 55 miles west of London, in the Royal County of Berkshire,
although for administrative purposes it now comes under West Berkshire. With a population of about
50,000 people, the area has a good range of amenities, including its own FM
radio station, Kick FM, and a local
newspaper the Newbury Weekly News,
which is published every Thursday. There are good rail and road
connections to the rest of the country.
Newbury is a nice place to live - at
least, we think so. Younger people might moan about the lack of a cinema, but
we have the Corn Exchange, which
doubles as a cinema some evenings, and we have the Watermill Theatre in the nearby village
of Bagnor. Both are extremely popular venues putting on a variety of acts and
entertainments. We also have the Northcroft Leisure Centre, and Lakeside
Entertainment Complex where, amongst other things, you can enjoy 10-pin bowling.
There is a wide selection of shops,
and there are plenty of pubs and restaurants in the town and the surrounding
villages. For those interested in Real Ale, look out for the brews of one of
our local breweries, the West Berkshire
brewery. For a slightly 'different' place to eat, try to look out for 'A Taste
of England' on Turnpike Road - first-class, home-cooked food, at what can only
be described as 'Very Reasonable' prices. For the golfer, there are five 18-hole courses and two 9-hole
courses within a 10-mile radius of Newbury. Four of the 18-hole and one of the
9-hole courses are all within 2 miles of the town centre.
One of the better things about Newbury
is that the town is still relatively small, even with recent developments, and
you can be in open countryside within minutes. If you travel north, within just
a few miles you are on the Berkshire Downs with the ancient Ridgeway. In almost
every direction you are soon in some of the nicest countryside in the south of
England. Because of the layout of the town, from most people’s homes the
countryside is just a short walk away, yet Newbury is still only one hour from the
centre of London.
The river Kennet runs through the
middle of Newbury, together with the
Kennet and Avon Canal. The canal has been
fully re-opened after restoration and provides a wonderful amenity for the
local people. Apart from the numerous canal boats and other craft that use it,
the Canal is the scene of an annual Crafty
Craft Race from Hungerford to Newbury, organised by the Newbury Round
Table. We mustn’t forget Newbury
Racecourse, which has superb facilities for Conventions and similar
activities, as well as one of the country’s finest racecourses. In addition,
there are a health club, a golf course and a golf driving range adjacent to the
course.
In historical terms, Newbury was the
scene of two battles during the Civil War, in 1643 and 1644. The
First Battle of Newbury took place on 20 September 1643 to the
south of the town, around Skinner’s Green, Round Hill, and Wash Common. It is said locally that Wash Common was so
named because the blood washed down the hill, but we don’t know if that is
true. We do know that the battle lines were actually set up just about where
our house is built today. The
Second Battle of Newbury was fought just over a year later on 27
October 1644, on the north side of Newbury, around Donnington Castle, now a
ruin. There is a very active local section of the Sealed Knot who re-enact
Civil War battles. For general information on the English Civil War follow this link
As well as the town (or Borough) of
Newbury, we have an area known as ‘The City’. It was apparently so called
because the locals fell out with the main town council and declared their
‘independence’. We have never found out the full details, but the area is still
called ‘The City’ locally, and there is a playing field called ‘The City
Playground’. Looking at census returns in 1851 to 1891 it was called ‘The City’
in every instance.
In more
recent times, in World War II an American Air Force base called Greenham Common was built
to the south of the town. It housed B47 bombers for many years, and then became
one of the sites used by the USAF to house nuclear cruise missiles in the late 1980’s.
It was a great controversy locally and became the site of a long protest by
people known as the Greenham
Peacewomen. Following the agreement between the US and Russia to reduce
strategic arms, the nuclear missiles were removed and the base has since been
closed down. Some of the installations have been retained as a business park,
but the runways and dispersal areas
have been removed
to allow the site to return to its natural state as common land.
Sherriff Family History,
the Parish Registers of Modbury & Yealmpton, Devon and other items of Interest
© 2002-6 Paul and Christine Sherriff – Last Updated 11 Apr 2006 16:33
email:Webmaster@sherriff-family.com
Hosted by
