NEWBURY, a market-town and parish, having separate jurisdiction, though
locally in the hundred of Faircross, county of BERKS, 17 miles (W. by S.)
from Reading, and 56 (W. by S.) from London, on the road to Bath,
containing, with Sandleford Priory, 5364 inhabitants. This place,
which is said to have risen from the ruins of the ancient Spinee, a
Roman station, the site of which is occupied by the village of Speen,
was, in contradistinction to the old town, called Newbyrig,
of which its present name is only a slight modification.
It is a town of considerable antiquity, having been of
some importance at the time of the Conquest, and bestowed
by the Conqueror on Ernulph de Hesdin, whose
grandson was killed in the battle of Lincoln, in the reign
of Stephen. In the reign of Edward I. Newbury returned
two members to parliament, and in the llth of
Edward III. it sent three deputies to a grand; council of
trade held at Westminster. In the reign of Henry VIII.
it was'one of the most flourishing towns in the kingdom,
and was particularly distinguished for its extensive
manufacture of woollen clothes. At this period lived the
celebrated John Winchcombe, commonly called Jack of
Newbury, said to have been the most eminent clothier
in England, and to have sumptuously entertained
Henry VIII. and his queen Catherine, on their visit to
the town. When the Earl of Surreymarched against
James' IV., King of Scotland, who was ravaging the
borders of the kingdom, this spirited individual, at his
own expense, armed and clothed one hundred of his
workmen; and, at the head of this little band, accompanied
the earl to Flodden Field, where he greatly signalised
himself by his intrepid conduct. On the termination
of the war, he returned to his native place, and
at his own charge built the greater part of the parish
church, in which he was interred in 1519. His descendants
possessed large estates for many years, and the last
of them was united in marriage toLordBolingbroke. Part
of the house in which he lived, was, about a century
since, converted into an inn, bearing the sign of Jack of
Newbury. During the parliamentary war, two battles
took place in the vicinity, in both which the king
commanded in person: the first was fought on the
18th of September, 1643, on the common called the
Wash 5 the second on the 27th of October, 1644, in
the fields between Newbury, Speen, and Shaw. In
this battle, the king, though he kept possession of
the field, suffered the Earl of Essex to march with his
army to London, and the royal cause sustained an irreparable
loss in the deaths of many distinguished officers,
among whom were the Earls of Sunderland and Caernarvon,
and the celebrated Lord Falkland. The parliamentarians
in the following year obtained possession
of the town, which they fortified, and retained till the
close of the war.
The town is pleasantly situated on a fertile plain,
on the banks of the river Kennet, over which was an
ancient wooden bridge of one arch, rebuilt of stone, at
the expense of the corporation, in 1770; it is one of the
largest towns in the county; the houses are mostly of
brick, generally well built and of modern appearance;
the streets, diverging obliquely from the market-place,
are spacious, well paved under the powers of an act recently
obtained, and lighted with gas by a company,
whose works being neatly and scientifically constructed,
are much admired; the inhabitants are amply supplied
with water from springs in the neighbourhood. In the
hamlet of Speenhamland, adjoining the borough, is a
small theatre, which is open for about two months
during the season. The environs are pleasant, and afford
many agreeable walks on the banks of the Kennet, and
in the vicinity of the village of Speen. The trade is principally
in malt and flour, for the latter of which are many
large mills on the banks of the river: there are also a small
paper-mill, and a mill for throwing silk; and in the parish
of Speen; about a mile from the town, is a manufactory
for ribands and galloons. The river Kennet, which in
1723 was made navigable to Reading; and the Kennet
and Avon canal, which passing through the town, in a
line parallel with the river, joins the Thames at Reading,
afford great facilities to the trade. The market is on
Thursday, and is one of the largest in the country for
corn, which is pitched in the market-place for sale; for
nearly a century the corporation took toll of all grain
brought into the town for consumption, or merely passing
through it, and that whether bought and tolled in
any other market, or not; they also took toll of corn
exposed in the market-place for sale, which practice
continued until the year 1818, when proceedings at law
were commenced, and a verdict given against the corporation,
as regarded "toll-thorough and toll-traverse,"
leaving the question of market-toll undecided; the corporation,
however, discontinued the taking of toll altogether,
with the exception of some members of their
own body allowing their corn to be tolled for about
two years after the decision, and since then no toll has
been demanded, although the corporation have recently
issued notice of their intention to resume the practice.
The fairs are on Holy Thursday, for horses and cattle;
July 5th for horses, cows, and hogs; September 4th and
November 8th, for horses and cheese; and on the first
Thursday after October 11th is a statute fair for hiring
servants.
The inhabitants were first incorporated by Queen
Elizabeth, in 1596, in whose charter Newbury is
styled " an ancient and populous borough, which had
enjoyed divers liberties, franchises and privileges by the
charters of many of her ancestors and predecessors, kings
of England." Under this charter the government is
vested in a mayor, high steward, recorder, six aldermen,
and twenty-four burgesses, assisted by a town clerk and
other officers; the mayor is chosen annually on St. Matthew's
day, and, with one of the aldermen appointed for
that purpose, is justice of the peace within the borough;
the other officers and the burgesses, as vacancies occur,
are chosen by the corporation: the freedom of the
borough has become obsolete, persons being admitted
indiscriminately to the privilege of carrying on trade.
The corporation hold quarterly courts of session for the
trial of misdemeanants within the borough, and have
power to hold a court of record, under the charter of
Elizabeth, every week, for the recovery of debts not
exceeding twenty marks, now fallen into disuse. The
Easter quarter session for the county is held here,
and the petty sessions for the division every Thursday.
The town hall, called the mansion house, is a substantial
modern brick building, erected in 1740, and supported
on piers and arches: the lower part affords an area for
the market, and the upper part consists of a handsome
suite of rooms, in the largest of which the courts are
held, and assemblies during the season: it is a spacious
and very handsome room, ornamented with two
beautiful copies, by Cosino Fioravante, from Rubens
Choice of Hercules, and the Dire Effects of War; adjoining
it .are refreshment and card rooms. Part of theworkhouse
has recently been converted into a borough
gaol, containing nine wards for the classification of prisoners,
and used also as a bridewell, or house of correction
but the inhabitants having been deemed liable
to the payment of the county rate, all prisoners committed
by the magistrates for the borough are sent to
the county gaol at Reading.
The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Berks,
and diocese of Salisbury, rated in the king's books at
£38. 16. 10., and in the patronage of the Crown. The
church, dedicated to.St. Nicholas, is a spacious edifice
in the later style of English architecture, with a lofty
square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles: the
tower and the western part of the nave were the portions
built by John Winchcombe, whose effigy, on a
brass plate removed from over his tomb, is placed
against the east wall of the north aisle, and above the
altar is some beautiful screen - work. A handsome
chapel of ease, in the later style of English architecture,
is now in process of erection in Speenhamland.
There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society
of Friends, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists,
and Unitai'ians. A Blue-coat school was founded, in
1706, by the corporation, to whom, in 1624, John Kendrick
gave the sum of £4000, for the purchase of a
house and garden for the employment of the poor,
and .for other charitable uses, of which £350 was laid
out in the purchase of an estate, called the Hospital
Estate, let on lease, at £106 per annum, to the Kennet
Navigation Company, at the expiration of which it is
expected to produce £400 per annum, the rental being
appropriated to the clothing and insta. action of twenty
poor boys. To this several augmentations were made
for the clothing and instruction of additional scholars,
by Mr. Richard Cowslade, in i;i5; Mr. Nicholas Clement,
m 1722; Mr. Thomas Stockwell, in 1736; and by
Mr. John Kiraber, who in l?'90 gave funds for the instruction
of ten more scholars, to be clothed in green,
and on their leaving school to be apprenticed, with premiums
of £10 each. There are forty bo} on the
foundation, who are now instructed by the master of
a National school, established by subscription in 1811,
in which are educated about one hundred and fifty boys
and one hundred and sixty girls, in addition to the charity
boys. There are also Lancasterian schools for boys
and gi rls, supported by voluntary contributions. The parish
has, under the will of Mr. John West and Frances his
wife, the privilege of sending several children to Christ's
Hospital, London, who are elected by the vestry. St Bartholomew's
hospital, supposed to have been founded by
King John, and comprising fourteen houses for the reception
of men and women, was, by charter of Elizabeth
vested in the corporation; the inmates receive a weekly
allowance of live shillings each, with an annual supply of
fuel and clothes; ten other houses have been added
to the original establishment, the endowment of which
exceeds £700 per annum. Opposite to St. Bartholomew's
are twelve almshouses, erected and endowed in 1670, by
Jemmit Raymond, Esq., for six aged men and six aged
women, who have a weekly allowance of five shillings
each, with coats and gowns annually; the number of
houses has been augmented for the reception of ten aged
persons of each sex. Thomas Pearce, in 1690, arid Mr.
Francis Coxhead, each built two almshouses, which have
been consolidated for the maintenance and support of
aged persons, who have each three shillings arid sixpence
per week, with an allowance of clothes and fuel; after
defraying these charges, the residue of the endowment,
which is about £112 per annum, is appropriated to the
instruction of poor children in reading and writing. Iu
1727, Mr. Thomas Hunt bequeathed lands at Greenham,
which have been exchanged for an estate at
Ashmoor Green, producing a rental of £7'0; and £270
in money, for the support of three aged widows, who.
have four shillings each per week, with an annual allowance
of clothes and fuel: the residue of the income
is appropriated to the instruction of fourteen poor children
in the Lancasterian school. In Cheap-street are
twelve more almshouses, erected in 1793, and endowed
by Mr. John Kimber, in the centre of which is a neat
brick building, with a stone recording the date of their
erection and the name of the founder. Twelve aimshouses,
which formerly stood near the church, have been
rebuilt near St.Bartholomew's hospital; they are endowed
by Mr. Henshaw, for six aged men and six aged
women of the parish, who are nominated by the corporation:
there are also two for poor weavers, founded by
Mr. Robinson, and six for aged women, at St. Mary's Hill.
Extending sixteen miles in length, on both sides of
the Kennet, are strata of peat half a mile in breadth,
and varying in depth from one foot to eight feet
which being dug sells for ten shillings per load: in digging
for it have been found oaks, alders, willows, and
firs, indiscriminately mixed, which appear to have been
torn up by the roots; the horns, skulls, and bones of
several kinds of deer; the horns of the antelope, the
heads and tusks of boars, and the heads of beavers.
In rebuilding the bridge, in I'/'/'O, a leaden seal of Pope
Boniface IX., a pix, some knives of singular construction,
and several coins from the time of Henry I. to William
III., were discovered. Some years since, an, urn of a
light brown colotir, of the size of a gallon, was found .in
the peat-moss, at the distance of from eight to ten feet
from the river, but being broken by the workmen, the
contents were lost. The present rector of Newbury,
the Rev. James Roe,  possesses a private collection of
specimens in natural history, unequalled in the county
for the rarity of the subjects and their suitable arranger
ment. Within a mile and a quarter, of the town is
Sandleford, a hamlet in the parish, where a small Augustine
priory was founded, about the year 1200, .by
Geoffrey, Earl of Perche, and dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, which was given by Edward IV. to the Collegiate
Church of Windsor, and the revenue of which, in™6
reign of Henry VIII., was valued at £ 10. Newbury gives
the inferior title of baron to the Marquis of Cholmondeley.