The
early history of Newbury is unclear. There has been a settlement
for 1100 years because of its position as a river crossing and
a cross roads of north/south and east/west routes.
The name Newbury was first mentioned in 1079 in the "Ecclesiastical
History of England and Normandy". It then had the right to hold
a fair and a market. After that it was owned by a series of
monarchs or their wives.
In the late 15th century cloth manufactured in Newbury was highly
regarded on the continent but by the 17th century this trade
had virtually ceased. The most famous clothier was John Smallwood
or Winchcombe known as "Jack of Newbury". He helped fund the
re-building of the Parish Church -- there was an earlier Norman
church on the site. He was a friend of Henry VIII and Queen
Catherine of Aragon. Thomas Dolman was also a clothier and his
monument is Shaw House. The famous Newbury Coat was made in
1811 in a single day as a result of a bet between Sir John Throckmorton
and John Coxeter. The feat was repeated at the Newbury Show
in 1991.
Newbury was the site of two battles during the English Civil
war (1642-46). The first battle was in 1643 when the Earl of
Essex was returning to London after relieving the siege of Gloucester
and found his way barred by King Charles's army. Essex won after
the King's army ran out of gunpowder. The second battle was
in 1644 near Donnington Castle. Now a partial ruin, it was besieged
for 20 months. It fell to the Parliamentarians but the King's
defenders of the castle were allowed to withdraw because they
had put up a stout defence.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Newbury was important as a coaching
centre being on the Great Bath Road. It developed many inns.
There were theatres and horse racing to entertain the travellers.
Newbury is an agricultural area being in the fertile Kennet
valley. Barley was grown for malting and this was shipped to
London from 1723 using the river Kennet Navigation to Reading.
By 1810 the Kennet and Avon Canal had been built between Reading
and Bristol mainly for transporting corn. By 1847 the railway
had arrived and the canal went into decline. In 1882 there was
a branch to Didcot, in 1885 one to Winchester and finally a
branch to Lambourn in 1898. By 1970 only the line from London
to Penzance survives as road traffic developed.
The 18th century saw new industries. In 1790 William Plenty
founded a firm making ploughs and went on to build a revolutionary
lifeboat and now makes pumps and filters. In the 20th century
Newbury has attracted many high technology companies such as
Vodafone, Merant (formerly Micro Focus) and Quantel.
In 1905 a magnificent new race course was opened. In 1942 the
course became a marshalling yard for the American army, but
reopened after the war. The town was bombed on one occasion.
Part of Greenham Common was occupied by the 101st Airborne Division
and this provided the place from which planes with scores of
gliders took off to participate in the invasion of Europe on
D-Day, 6th June 1944. During the cold war Greenham Common was
an American nuclear bomber base and then a Cruise missile base.
Since the end of the cold war Greenham Common is returning partly
to a common and an industrial estate.
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