About
At the heart of the central south Newbury has prospered through the ages due to its fine strategic location. Sitting on the crossroads of the old east west coaching routes of London to Bristol and from the north south trade routes from the seaports of Southampton and Portsmouth to Oxford and beyond Newbury has always enjoyed good fortune. During the middle ages, Newbury’s riches were founded on the wool trade and later were to enjoy good income from the coaching routes. Today Newbury is still a market town of around 28,000 inhabitants whose workforce serves high tech industries such as Vodafone and Bayer. The town has a main line railway to London and the busy M4 motorway is just four miles to the north of the town.
Surrounded by beautiful countryside and dissected by the Kennet and Avon canal Newbury now enjoys levels of prosperity and a quality of life hardly bettered anywhere in the UK. Employment levels are the highest in the UK. As a place to visit Newbury has much to offer the tourist. Perhaps best known for its racecourse frequently visited by Royalty a days horse racing “ at Newbury” accompanied by a stay at one of Newbury’s high quality hotels is something to be savoured. For those interested in history then a visit to the town’s museum will quickly disclose the vital role Newbury played in the civil war. Highclere Castle, the home to the Earls of Carnarvon, is just a couple of miles to the south of the town. A beautiful neo gothic castle awaits the visitor who can enjoy tours of the castle and of the grand estate.
In recent years Newbury has developed a bustling nightlife with many restaurants now facing the attractive market place. For theatre lovers an acclaimed arts centre ‘The Corn Exchange’ now has high quality entertainment throughout the year. Just to the West of the Town in a tiny village one of the country’s most valuable theatres set in an old mill through which the river lambourn flows ‘The Watermill Theatre’ is home to stage plays and musicals of the highest quality.
Eight miles to the West of the town is the antique centre of Hungerford and the old English town of Marlborough a few miles beyond. To the south is the ancient city of Winchester and to the north lies Oxford arguably the greatest centre of education in the world.
For those people wanting to travel a little further, Windsor Castle, one of the homes of Her Majesty The Queen, is just an hour away to the east. The internationally important and historic monument of Stonehenge is just an hour’s drive to the South West.
Newbury is home to:
Vodafone, Quantel, Opperman Mastergear, Jokers Masquerade, Bayer in the UK, Hipp Organic, English Provinder Co, Micro Focus, Stryker
Newbury is also home to West Berkshire Council.