Newbury Berkshire Family History Guide
Newbury is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Berkshire.
Parish church: St. Nicholas
Parish registers begin: 1538
Nonconformists include: Baptist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Independent/Congregational, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterian, Primitive Methodist, Society of Friends/Quaker, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
NEWBURY, a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Berks. The town stands on the river Kennet, at its junction with the Kennet and Avon canal, and on the Reading, Hungerford, and Bradford branch of the Great Western railway, 17 miles W by S of Reading.
It originated in the Roman station Spinæ, and was built out of the ruins of that station, on a neighbouring site, under the name of Newbyrig. Spene is mentioned in a charter by King Kenwulf to the Saxon abbot Bethmeein 821; two villages, called Spone and Bagnor, were on the site of the original Spinæ at Domesday; and the places called Speen and Speenhamland, now adjacent to Newbury, perpetuate the ancient name.
The manor was given, by William the Conqueror, to Ernulph de Hedin; passed to the Marshalls of Hampstead-Marshall, the Bigods, and others; and was given, as a jointure, to Queen Jane Seymour and to Queen Anne of Denmark. A castle was built at Newbury by some early owner of the manor; and is recorded by Hollingshed to have been besieged and taken by King Stephen. King John, while residing at Kingsclere parish, often visited Newbury; and he is said, in an ancient ballad, to have been concealed in the house of an old spinning-woman here, when he fled from his insurgent barons.
The town, in 11 Edward III., sent three deputies to a great council of trade held at Westminster; and, during the times of Henry VII. and Henry VIII., it rose to high eminence as a seat of broad-cloth manufacture. John Winchcombe, commonly called Jack of Newbury, one of its cloth manufacturers, who kept 100 looms at work, marched at the head of 100 of his workmen, equipped at his own expense, to aid in resisting the Scottish invasion which terminated at the battle of Flodden; gave entertainment, in Newbury, after his return, to Henry VIII.; procured, afterwards, from the King, some privileges on behalf of the Newbury manufacturers; and is commemorated both in a ballad called the “Newberrie Archers,” and in a brass of 1519 in the parish church.
Christopher Shoemaker was burnt at Newbury, in 1518, for reading the Gospels to a listener; and Julius Palmer, a fellow of Magdalene College, Oxford, was burnt, in 1556, at a place called the Sand Pits, ¼ of a mile from Newbury.
Two sanguinary battles were fought in the vicinity of the town, during the civil wars of Charles I.; the first, in 1643, on a common called the Wash; the second, in 1644, in the fields between Newbury, Speen, and Shaw. Three tumuli, covering the remains of the slain, still exist on the Wash battlefield; and chain-shot, cannon-balls, and other relics of the fight are still occasionally found. The astronomer F. Baily was a native of Newbury; and the Marquis of Cholmondeley takes from the town the title of Baron.
The town stands in a fertile valley, amid pleasant environs; consists mostly of broad and well-paved streets; and presents a solid and quiet appearance. The soil beneath it is part of a bed of peat, not more than ½ a mile wide, but many miles long, and abounding in curious geognostic remains; and this soil, being of an elastic nature, occasions a perceptible vibration in the houses when any heavy waggon passes along the streets. A neat stone bridge takes the principal thoroughfare across the Kennet.
The town hall, or mansion-house, over the market-place, contains a picture by Price of the surrender of Calais, and a portrait allegedly of Jack of Newbury, but really of his son. The corn exchange was built in 1862, at a cost of £6, 500; is a handsome and commodious building in the Italian style; presents a front of Bath stone, with Corinthian pilasters; measures 160 feet in length, 50 in width, and 50 in height; and has an iron roof, glazed with Hartley’s rough glass.
The literary and scientific institution contains a good library; and a museum in connexion with it contains a geological collection from the peat deposit around the town, and a collection of other curiosities both local and general.
The parish church, or St. Nicholas’ church, is later English, and spacious; has a fine tower, said to have been built by Jack of Newbury; and, in the chancel portion, both externally and internally, was recently restored. Two rectors of this church were the famous non-conformist W. Twiss and the poet Penrose. St. John’s church was built in 1860; is of red brick with stone dressings, in the decorated English style; consists of nave, N aisle, and chancel, with bell-turret; and has large E and W windows, filled with stained glass.
There are chapels for Independents, Baptists, Quakers, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Unitarians; a free school, national schools, a British school, and a Wesleyan school; and no fewer than about 84 alms-houses, supported by endowments of aggregately about £3, 500. St. Bartholomew’s hospital supports the free school and 24 of the alms-houses; includes a chapel, called the Litten; is an ancient foundation, said to have been chartered by King John; and has an endowed income of £900.
The town has a head post-office, a railway station with telegraph, two banking offices, and two good hotels; and is a seat of sessions, and a polling-place. A weekly market is held on Thursday; fairs are held on Holy Thursday, 5 July, 4 Sept., and 8 Nov.; an annual wool market, begun in 1862, is held on 30 June; and an annual hiring-market is held on the Thursday after old Michaelmas day. The cloth trade is extinct; and a trade in corn, malt, silk-manufacture, and paper-making is now carried on.
The town sent members to parliament in the time of Edward I., but not afterwards; it is a municipal borough by prescription, and was first chartered by Elizabeth; and it is governed, under the new act, by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. Its limits, as a borough, are conterminate with the parish. Real property, £23, 808; of which £220 are in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 6, 574; in 1861, 6, 161. Houses, 1, 342.
The head living is a rectory, and the living of St. John is a p. curacy, in the diocese of Oxford. Value of the former, £380; of the latter, £170. Patron of both, the Bishop of Oxford.
The principal seats in the neighbourhood are Highclere Castle, the Earl of Carnarvon; Hampstead Park, the Earl of Craven; Benham Park, formerly the Earl of Craven and the Margrave of Anspach, now R. Sutton, Esq.; Barton Court, formerly Lord Amesbury, now Capt. Isherwood; Sandleford Priory, formerly Lord Rokeby, now W. P. Chatteris, Esq.; Cannon Park, Lord Bolton; Woolhampton House, J. Blyth, Esq.; Shaw House, H. R. Eyre, Esq.; and Donnington Priory, formerly the Cowslads, now the Rev. T. Hubbard.
The sub-district contains the parishes of Newbury, Sandleford, Enborne, Hampstead-Marshall, and Newtown-near-Newbury, the last electorally in Hants. Acres, 6, 521. Pop., 7, 193. Houses, 1, 570.
The district comprehends also the sub-district of Speen, containing the parishes of Speen, Shaw-cum-Donnington, Chieveley, Boxford, and Welford; and the sub-district of Thatcham, containing the parishes of Thatcham, Woolhampton, Brimpton, and Wasing. Acres, 42, 956. Poor-rates in 1863, £14, 505. Pop. in 1851, 20, 815; in 1861, 19, 999. Houses, 4, 409.
Marriages in 1863, 127; births, 666, of which 47 were illegitimate; deaths, 423, of which 130 were at ages under 5 years, and 13 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 1, 431; births, 6, 107; deaths, 4, 300.
The places of worship, in 1851, were 21 of the Church of England, with 2, 843 sittings; 5 of Independents, with 1, 565 s.; 5 of Baptists, with 772 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 150 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 220 s.; 8 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1, 553 s.; 8 of Primitive Methodists, with 1, 432 s.; 1 of Brethren, with 70 s.; 2 undefined, with 150 s.; 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 200 s.; and 2 of Roman Catholics, with 500 s.
The schools were 22 public day-schools, with 1, 991 scholars; 32 private day-schools, with 817 s.; 28 Sunday schools, with 2, 513 s.; and 1 evening school for adults, with 132 s.
The workhouse is in Newbury; and, at the census of 1861, had 202 inmates.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Newbury Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Newbury, on the Kennett, 56 m. W. London, and 17 m. S. Reading. Mrkt., Thurs. P. 637
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
Bankrupts
Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.
Absalom Charles, Newbury, Berks, grocer, May 5, 1837.
Allen Francis, Newbury, Berkshire, teaman and grocer, Oct. 31, 1828.
Attree William Orton, Newbury, draper, Sept. 5, 1834.
Beale William, Newbury, Berks, timber dealer, Dec. 15, 1821.
Brandon David, Beech st., Barbican, and Newbury, shoe manuf., Oct. 21, 1842.
Carter Samuel, Newbury, Berks, surgeon, Dec. 14, 1832.
Castle Thomas, Newbury, Berkshire, horse dealer &. innkeeper, Dec. 13, 1842.
Davis James Justice, Newbury, Berkshire, upholsterer, March 28, 1834.
Davis William, Newbury, Berks, upholsterer, July 2, 1830.
Dixon Peter, Newbury, Berkshire, tea dealer, Aug. 2, 1831.
East William, Newbury, Berkshire, coal merchant, June 17, 1823.
Finch George, Newbury, Berkshire, cabinet maker, Jan. 17, 1840.
Fry George, Newbury, Berks, mercer and draper, Aug. 25, 1821.
Gough Richard, Newbury, Berkshire, corn factor, Feb. 3, 1835.
Groberty Benjamin, Newbury, Berks, common carrier, Nov. 24, 1829.
Gunnell Edmund, Newbury, Berkshire, fellmonger, May 9, 1834.
Hancock Simon Cole, Newbury, Berksh., cheese & bacon factor, May 19, 1835.
Harwood John, Newbury, Berkshire, and Chatham, grocer, June 7, 1836.
Martin Michael, Newbury, Berkshire, currier, July 19, 1833.
Martin Robert, Newbury Berkshire, currier and leather seller, March 15, 1839.
May William, Newbury, Berkshire, maltster and corn dealer, April 9, 1822.
Packer John, Newbury, Berkshire, carrier, Oct. 30, 1829.
Smith James, Newbury, Berkshire, baker and grocer, June 28, 1839.
Smith John, Newbury, Berkshire, baker, April 1, 1823.
Vardy Matthew Wilks, Newbury, Berks, bookseller, May 4, 1841.
Woollett John, Newbury, Berkshire, tea dealer and grocer, March 22. 1833.
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Administration
- County: Berkshire
- Civil Registration District: Newbury
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire
- Diocese: Pre-1836 – Salisbury, Post-1835 – Oxford
- Rural Deanery: Newbury
- Poor Law Union: Newbury
- Hundred: Faircross
- Province: Canterbury