NEWBURY, Description and History from 1868 Gazetteer

NEWBURY, a parish, market town, and municipal borough, in the hundred of Faircross, county Berks, 56 miles from London by road, or 53 by the Great Western railway, and 16 from Reading. It is situated on the river Kennet, and the Kennet and Avon canal runs through the town. Newbury was founded on the ruins of the Roman city of Spinae, and was afterwards called Newbyrig, or Newtown, and, according to Camden, "Newburn must acknowledge Speen as its mother." The name of Speen is still preserved in the parish next to Newbury. William the Conqueror gave the town to Ernulph de Hesdin, from whom it descended to the Marshalls of Hampstead Marshall, the Bigods, &c., and so to the Craven family, who are still the owners. It returned members to the parliament of 30 Edward I., and sent three deputies to Edward III.'s councils of state.

Newbury is famous as the scene of two bloody battles between the king's and the parliamentary forces in 1643 and 1644, in the first of which Lord Falkland was killed, but both were favourable to the cause of Charles I. In 1645 it was permanently occupied by the parliamentary forces. The first charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth, but additional privileges were given by James I. and Charles II. The town is governed by a mayor, four aldermen, and 12 councillors, with the style of "mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Newbury." It is a sessions and polling town for the county elections. The streets are well paved and lighted with gas. The population in 1851 was 6,574, with 1,362 inhabited houses, which in 1861 had decreased to 6,161, with 1,342 inhabited houses. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the corn and malt trade, which has quite superseded the trade in woollen cloth, which used to be extensively carried on. Some are employed in the manufacture of silk, narrow ribbon, and paper, for which there are several mills.

It is the head of a deanery in the archdeaconry of Berks, and diocese of Oxford. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Oxford, value £455, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, which is dedicated to St. Nicholas, was built in the reign of Henry VII., and, among other interesting relics, has the brass of the celebrated clothier, John Winchcombe, or, as he is more popularly known, Jack of Newbury, who, it will be remembered, was visited by Henry VIII., and who sent one hundred of his own weavers, fully equipped at his own cost, to Flodden Field. It was he who chiefly founded the church, and requested the king to disfranchise the borough. The house in which he lived still remains, with the sign of "Jack of Newbury" on it. There is also the district church of St. John's, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £150. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Presbyterians, Primitive Methodists, and Quakers. The free grammar school, and the borough blue-coat school are both well endowed. There are numerous almshouses, viz: St. Bartholomew's, founded by King John, which has now an income of nearly £1,000 per annum; Raymond's almshouses, with an income of nearly £400 per annum; Coxedd's school and almshouses; Hunt's; St. Mary's Hill; Pearce's and Robinson's almshouses, which have incomes varying from £20 to £110 per annum. Newbury Poor-law Union contains 18 parishes and townships, with an area of about 47,000 acres. There is a large cemetery. The bridge was rebuilt about 1770. The literary and scientific institution has a library of upwards of 1,000 volumes, to which a museum has been added. The theatre, townhall, union poorhouse, and market-place, with two banks and a savings-bank, make up the list of public buildings. A supply of good peat for fuel is obtained from the river bank.

Baily, the astronomer, was a native; and it gives the title of baron to Marquis Cholmondeley. There are many seats in the neighbourhood, as Hampstead Park, belonging to Earl Craven; Highclere Castle, the seat of Earl Carnarvon; Woolhampton House, the property of Earl Falmouth; Sandleford Priory, lately the seat of Lord Rokeby; and several others of equal importance. Donnington Castle, which is near, belonged to Chaucer, and a ruin called Chaucer's Grove may still be seen. Market day is Thursday, when much business is done. Fairs are held on Holy Thursday, the 5th July, 4th September, and 8th November, also a statute fair on the first Thursday after 11th October (Old Michaelmas Day), for hiring servants.

 

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]