This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1892 .
100-493: The Lambourn Valley Railway (LVR) was a branch railway line running from the town of Newbury, Berkshire north-west to the village of Lambourn . It was opened in 1898. Fulfilling a local need, it was in financial difficulties throughout its independent life and was sold to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1905. Steam railmotors and a GWR diesel railcar were used on the line, as well as steam engines owned by
200-526: A Liberal Democrat . From 1999 to 2020 Newbury was part of the South East England European Parliament constituency electing MEPs by proportional representation . Newbury was an ancient borough . Its date of incorporation as a borough is unknown; the name implies it was founded as a borough, and the earliest known documentary reference to it explicitly being a borough is from 1189. The earliest known municipal charter
300-528: A private finance initiative , and Mary Hare School , a residential co-educational community special needs school for deaf pupils. Independent schools nearby include: Newbury is home to one of England 's major racecourses, Newbury Racecourse , which held its first race meeting in 1905. The most prestigious race in the calendar is the Hennessy Gold Cup , which normally takes place in late November. The Racecourse also frequently plays host to
400-637: A 220-seat theatre, is located just outside Newbury in Bagnor, and the former Greenham Common air force base is home to The Base, a dedicated arts centre which opened in 2019 in partnership with the Corn Exchange and Greenham Trust. Since 1979, the Newbury Spring Festival of classical music has brought internationally renowned soloists and ensembles to a variety of venues in and around the town. The Newbury Comedy Festival emerged as
500-463: A complicated gyratory system encompassing 6 approaching roads, a fire station, ambulance station and an exit on the inside of the roundabout, which has a north–south flyover across the roundabout. In 2007, the sculpture Couple in Conversation was unveiled on the roundabout, providing a new landmark for one of the major gateways into the town. Other significant roads radiating from Newbury include
600-410: A day or so later. The financial results of the first year of operation showed an operating profit of £954, making 19.7% of turnover. This was quite healthy, except that £857 8s 9d was due to Archer-Houblon as part of the agreed hire-purchase arrangement for rolling stock. In 1902 J B Squire was appointed as managing director of the company. Commissioned to investigate economies, he recommended reducing
700-399: A dedicated bay platform at the west end of the station on the up side. In the years 1906-1909 the station was considerably expanded, with central through lines; the platforms were served by loop lines and an additional bay was provided. Leaving the station, the branch single track ran alongside the main line for half a mile and then turned north. Stations on the line were: The alignment on
800-421: A division of GoAhead, operates route X20, a once-weekly "shopper" service from Marlborough. National Express previously served Newbury, most recently route 402 towards Reading's Mereoak Park & Ride, Heathrow Airport and London, under contract to Newbury & District. The town's location at the intersection of the routes from London to Bristol and from Southampton to Birmingham made it, for many years,
900-549: A major event in 2004 and played host to comedians such as Alan Carr and Jo Brand , but ended in 2012. Newbury Showground, located to the north of the town centre in Hermitage, is also a major local events venue. Most notably, it hosts the annual Newbury Show every September, an agricultural and farming show which attracts over 50,000 visitors and which returned in 2023 after a 3-year hiatus. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian from
1000-528: A major renovation in summer 2023. It is owned and subsidised by West Berkshire Council but is managed by an external contractor, Parkwood Leisure. Newbury was home to A.F.C. Newbury , with their home ground situated at Faraday Road near the town centre, but the club collapsed after Vodafone pulled its sponsorship of the team in May 2006. A local pub team from the Old London Apprentice took over
1100-637: A match between the Southern Vipers and South East Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup . Newbury has two athletics clubs, Team Kennet and Newbury Athletics Club, which train at the Crookham Common Athletics Track. The town is also home to numerous golf courses. The most notable is situated at the historic Donnington Grove estate, built in 1763 and where a golf course was opened in 1993. Victoria Park
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#17327759580911200-729: A minimum of 72 m above mean sea level to 122 m at Wash Common . Elevations reach 150–200 m in the directly adjoining hills. The River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal flow east through the centre of the town to reach the Thames at Reading , while the River Lambourn (beside which is the country's largest horse-training paddocks in the Valley of the Lambourn Downs ) partly forms its northern boundary, ending in
1300-513: A new parish of Newbury, and also to change the district's name to West Berkshire. The new parish of Newbury and its town council were established in 1997. Newbury District Council took over county-level functions from the abolished county council and was renamed West Berkshire Council on 1 April 1998. The twinning ceremonies were held at the Corn Exchange . Newbury is twinned with the following: The Civil Parish of Newbury consists of
1400-546: A nuisance raid, followed the Great Western Railway line running west from London. One of the bombers headed towards Reading while the other followed the line all the way to Newbury. At 4:43pm the bomber dropped eight high-explosive bombs over the town. There had been no time for a warning siren. The Senior Council School, St. Bartholomew's Almshouses, St. John's Church (just the altar was left standing) and Southampton Terrace were all destroyed, and another 265 dwellings were damaged, many of which had to be demolished. St John's Church
1500-493: A realistic scheme. This was a tramway from Newbury to Lambourn; the Tramways Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 78) had enabled a low-cost form of railway to be constructed without some of the legal processes required for conventional railways. There was considerable local enthusiasm for the scheme and the provisional Newbury and Lambourn Tramway Company was formed in late 1873. A 3 ft gauge single track would be laid at
1600-648: A return to general economic prosperity. A large Royal Air Force station was established during the Second World War at Greenham Common on the edge of the town. In the 1950s, it became home to US Air Force bombers and tankers , for which it was equipped with the longest military runway in the United Kingdom . In the 1980s, it became one of only two USAF bases in the UK equipped with ground-launched nuclear -armed cruise missiles , causing it to become
1700-523: A series of concerts on race days during the summer, which has included Olly Murs , Craig David , Tom Jones , Rick Astley and Madness in recent years. Northcroft Lido in Newbury's Northcroft Park is one of the last remaining lidos in the United Kingdom. It was originally built in the 1890s, although the current structure was erected in the 1930s. The pool is still in use today and received
1800-427: A serious contractual dispute with Billups arose. The company went to litigation against him and won, and were awarded costs. Billups left the scene, leaving behind his plant and a construction locomotive Lambourn . The company now decided to progress the works directly, but with almost no money this was a challenge, and no progress was made. Authorisation for a further extension of time and further borrowing were given in
1900-472: A special souvenir booklet was produced. Lambourn had been an important agricultural and trading centre, but in the second half of the nineteenth century it was declining. Interested parties suggested a number of ways of making a railway connection, seen as important to revitalising the town, but it was left to the Engineer of the newly authorised Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway , E E Allen. to propose
2000-498: A trailer coach. The Board considered this to be an attractive idea, and applied to the Board of Trade on 3 May 1904 for sanction to operate them. This was necessary because the axle load of the railmotors, at 12 tons, exceeded the authorised rolling stock weights. Col Yorke of the Board of Trade made an inspection on 7 May 1904, in which two railmotors were passed over the underbridges together; some brickwork repairs were pointed out, but
2100-517: A transport bottleneck. In 1963 a dual carriageway was built east of the town centre to ease congestion and the opening of the M4 motorway in 1971 moved the intersection of these major trunk routes three miles (five kilometres) north of the town, to Chieveley . The ring road around the town still suffered serious congestion and the Newbury bypass was proposed in 1981. The plans were approved in 1990. The road
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#17327759580912200-742: Is a market town in West Berkshire , England, in the valley of the River Kennet . It is 26 miles (42 km) south of Oxford , 25 miles (40 km) north of Winchester , 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) west of Reading . It is also where West Berkshire Council is headquartered. Newbury lies on the edge of the Berkshire Downs , part of the North Wessex Downs Area of outstanding natural beauty , 3 miles (5 km) north of
2300-639: Is a long-distance footpath, the Lambourn Valley Way , which uses the trackbed of the former railway in places. From the opening of the line on 4 April 1898 until the delivery of the LVR's first locomotives in late 1898, the line was worked by a locomotive loaned from the GWR. This was their no. 1384, a small 2-4-0 T which they had acquired from the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway in 1883; it
2400-475: Is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of
2500-626: Is home to the United Kingdoms headquarters of the mobile network operator Vodafone , which is the town's largest employer with over 6,000 workers. Before moving to their £129 million headquarters in the outskirts of the town in 2002, Vodafone used 64 buildings spread across the town centre. As well as Vodafone , Newbury is also home to the United Kingdom headquarters of National Instruments , Micro Focus , Stryker Corporation , Cognito, EValue and Newbury Building Society . The pharmaceutical company Bayer AG are also headquartered in
2600-431: Is inter-related to that of the eastern M4 corridor , which has most of its industrial, logistical and research businesses close to Newbury, mostly around Reading , Bracknell , Maidenhead and Slough . Together with the adjoining town of Thatcham , 3 miles (5 km) distant, Newbury forms the principal part of an urban area of approximately 70,000 people. Newbury is also home to Newbury Racecourse , as well as being
2700-593: Is the A4 road from London to Bristol, historically the main route west from London. This road has been superseded as a long-distance route by the M4 motorway which runs almost parallel and can be accessed three miles (five kilometres) to the north at the Chieveley interchange at Junction 13. At Newbury this east–west route is crossed by a dual-carriageway north–south trunk road, from the major south coast port of Southampton to
2800-657: Is the town's main park, located near the centre of the town, and includes tennis courts, a boating pond, adventure golf course, skatepark and bowling green. The park is frequently used for local events throughout the year, such as the Newbury Waterways Festival in July. Between 2004 and 2011, the Park's bandstand played host to the Keep Off The Grass (KOTG) dance music event. Until 2018, it was also
2900-504: The Lambourn Valley Railway Act 1892 ( 55 & 56 Vict. c. clxiv), and the company approached the Great Western Railway (GWR) for help; the larger company was sympathetic but unwilling to lend the money. A further extension of time was obtained, and a working agreement with the GWR was concluded, but no progress on the ground took place until the contractor S Pearson & Son of Westminster offered to complete
3000-729: The A339 which now includes the renumbered part of the old A34 through the town centre and then heads towards Basingstoke and the M3 motorway , the A343 to Andover , the B4000 to Lambourn, the B4494 to Wantage and the B4009 to Streatley . Most local bus services were provided by Newbury Buses, a division of Reading Buses until August 2011. Reading buses continue to operate most bus routes around Newbury under
3100-535: The First Battle of Newbury (at Wash Common ) in 1643, and the Second Battle of Newbury (at Speen ) in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle. The disruption of trade during the civil war, compounded by a collapse of the local cloth trade in the late 16th century, left Newbury impoverished. The local economy was boosted in the 18th century by
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3200-729: The Greenham Dairy Farm in 1963, and the Faraday Road site in 2002. Additional material was found in excavations along the route of the Newbury Bypass . Newbury was founded late in the 11th century following the Norman conquest as a new borough , hence its name. Although there are references to the borough that predate the Domesday Book it is not mentioned by name in the survey. However, its existence within
3300-574: The Grouping , the Cambrian became a constituent of the enlarged GWR, and so these locomotives entered GWR stock on 1 January 1922. There, they became GWR nos. 819–821 in the order of their Cambrian numbers. Their ultimate fate varied: 820 (ex- Ealhswith ) was withdrawn by the GWR in March 1930, and sold to a Somerset colliery in March 1931, from where it was sold for scrap in early 1945. 821 (ex- Aelfred )
3400-477: The Hampshire – Berkshire county boundary. In the suburban village of Donnington lies the part-ruined Donnington Castle and the surrounding hills are home to some of the country's most famous racehorse training grounds (centred on nearby Lambourn ). To the south is a narrower range of hills including Walbury Hill and a few private landscape gardens and mansions, such as Highclere Castle . The local economy
3500-499: The Hannington TV transmitter. There are four main local radio stations broadcasting in the Newbury area; BBC Radio Berkshire ; a community radio station , Kennet Radio; and two Independent Local Radio stations – Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire & North Hampshire (formerly 'Newbury Sound', 'Kick FM', 'Kestrel FM' and 'The Breeze') which broadcasts from Newbury, and Heart South (formerly 2-Ten FM) which broadcasts into
3600-486: The Westinghouse air brake was operating. In the mid-1930s competition from road transport became serious, and it affected all the lines' traffics. The GWR considered how economies might be made, and at length on 5 February 1937 an AEC diesel railcar, no 18 started operating on the branch. The railcar was capable of hauling a limited trailing load. If necessary this was a passenger coach; the station pilot at Newbury
3700-475: The list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of
3800-607: The manor of Ulvritone is evident from the massive rise in value of that manor at a time when most manors were worth less than in Saxon times. In 1086 the Domesday Book assesses the borough as having land for 12 ploughs, 2 mills, woodland for 25 pigs, 11 villeins (resident farmhands, unfree peasant who owed his lord labour services), 11 bordars (unfree peasants with less land than villans/villeins), and 51 enclosures (private parks) rendering 70s 7d. Doubt has been cast over
3900-407: The stocks in Newbury, and probably the UK, was on 11 June 1872 when Mark Tuck was placed in them for 4 hours. In the 1980s, British electronics firm Racal decided to locate their newly formed telecommunications company Racal Vodafone, later Vodafone UK , in the town. In the subsequent decades Newbury became something of a regional centre for the high-tech industries, and the town has since enjoyed
4000-548: The "Newbury & District" brand Stagecoach South operates routes 7 and 7A to Woolton Hill & Andover, and route 32 (formally the 'Link') to Basingstoke. Thames Travel , part of the GoAhead group, operates routes X24 and X34 to Harwell Campus and Didcot, funded jointly between the Harwell Campus and West Berkshire Council's government-issued Bus Service Improvement Plan funding. Swindon's Bus Company, also
4100-399: The 1881 session due to objections over level crossings, but a revised scheme with a shorter route and fewer level crossings was submitted for the 1883 session, and obtained its authorising Act on 2 August 1883. The Lambourn Valley Railway Company was incorporated, capital £100,000. It was to be a single line built on the standard gauge; the estimated cost of the infrastructure was £80,530; it
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4200-485: The D N S Ry (i.e. the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway , usually abbreviated to DNS ) to Didcot and thence the GWR. The Traffic Manager of the company was W H H M Gipps; he had been appointed some time before opening, and he was the only senior official in the company with practical railway experience, as he was also Traffic Manager of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DNS). Gipps promoted excursions from
4300-506: The Faraday Road ground temporarily and rebranded itself as Newbury F.C. in 2007, which has played in the Hellenic Football League since 2008. The team were forced to leave their home ground at Faraday Road in 2018, with the site remaining derelict since and the team playing in a number of temporary venues, including in nearby Lambourn. However, work began in May 2023 to restore the football ground at Faraday Road following
4400-540: The GWR for maintenance between October/November 1904 and January/February 1905, their replacements were nos. 19 & 21, which had been built in July/June 1904. In July 1905, one of the railmotors covered a duty which on Mondays to Saturdays began at 07:45 and ended at 19:52, covering 125 miles (201 km); it was supplemented on Thursdays and Saturdays by the other which began at 12:40 and finished work at 17:11, covering 52 miles (84 km). On Sundays just one railmotor
4500-481: The GWR to purchase the line was evidently still alive, and agreement was reached, for the sum of £50,000; they considered that £75,000 needed to be expended on the line to make it suitable for their purposes. The formal transfer took place on 1 July 1905. In the final months of independent existence, the Company found that the hired railmotors were giving trouble; this was traced to the very hard water at Lambourn which
4600-514: The Lambourn line to Southampton over the DNS. He had long urged the company to acquire its own locomotives and work the line itself, and Archer-Houblon once again provided the cash on a personal basis, and two 0-6-0T locomotives were purchased from Chapman and Furneaux of Gateshead, for £1,330 each. The first, Aelfred , arrived on 15 October 1898 and started work on 18 October, and the second, Ealhswith
4700-538: The Lambourn line, the Sunday train was discontinued in September 1950; its primary function had been for milk, and this had reduced heavily in volume over the years. At the end of 1951 however complete closure was considered, but due to "important developments" at Welford Park, the initiative was shelved. The important developments were the construction of a new branch line from Welford Park to an RAF base, RAF Welford ;
4800-418: The Lambourn valley Railway, and Great Western Railway standard engines. The line closed to passenger traffic in 1960, but a section between Newbury and Welford remained open for freight traffic to RAF Welford until 1972. A special passenger service operated on 3 November 1973 between Newbury and Welford Park to give the public a final trip over the line; a nine-coach train made four runs in each direction, and
4900-534: The Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800
5000-479: The USAF in 1970, but by June 1972 they had transferred the movements to road, saving them $ 100,000 per annum, and the line was closed completely; on Saturday 3 November 1973 a special passenger service was operated as a "farewell" event, and that was the end of the line. The Lambourn Valley line was a single line; the up direction was from Lambourn to Newbury. The Lambourn Valley Railway ran from Newbury GWR station. At
5100-533: The area from nearby Reading. The following local newspapers are distributed in Newbury ( circulation ): A number of notable people have originated from, worked, lived or died in Newbury: Nobles killed at the First Battle of Newbury 55 %26 56 Vict. Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see
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#17327759580915200-435: The area of the former borough then acted as charter trustees to preserve the town's mayoralty and civic traditions, in the absence of the town having its own town council. In the mid-1990s, the government decided to abolish Berkshire County Council and pass its functions to the county's six district councils, including Newbury District Council. Ahead of the change coming into force, the district council decided to establish
5300-489: The base was to be converted for the purposes of munitions, and when operational was to be operated by the United States Air Force from July 1954. The line was over two miles long, and was completed by October of the same year. Traffic to the base ran as required, and traffic returns suggest an average of about 100 movements per annum to 1960. The USAF used its own locomotives within the depot. Steam haulage
5400-401: The branch was mainly straight with a number of local curves typically in the range 18 to 40 chains radius. The line climbed steadily from Newbury with some gentle falls also; the stiffest climb was from Newbury Fields to Speen, just over a mile at 1 in 75; and from East Garston to a summit just before Eastbury, about a mile at 1 in 100 average. There are no plans for reopening the line. There
5500-493: The centre section of the Kennet and Avon Canal , which would extend the Kennet Navigation to Bath , thus providing a through water route between London and Bristol via Newbury. This route was finally completed in 1810. The opening of the Great Western Railway from London to Bath in 1841 effectively killed the canal and coaching trades, and as the line passed some 25 kilometres ( 15 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) to
5600-458: The company acquired another engineer, William Gregory, and a new Contractor, Jonathan Edwin Billups, who it seems was prepared to undertake the work for £110,000, but he would accept £60,000 of that in shares and £33,000 in debenture stock, only requiring £18,000 in cash. As a means of actually starting construction, this was attractive to the board, although by now they had not even the £18,000: of
5700-413: The company on a hire-purchase arrangement, the coaches carrying a plate indicating his ownership in the meantime. Eighteen goods wagons were procured on the same basis. Archer-Houblon had already made loans for some road-surfacing and other works. The public timetable showed four trains each way daily, with five on Thursdays and Saturdays. A timetable bill shows connections to Liverpool and Manchester over
5800-496: The election of a new Liberal Democrat-run local council. Newbury's rugby union club Newbury R.F.C. , founded in 1928, has been based at a purpose-built ground at Monks Lane since 1996. The town has two cricket teams, including Newbury Cricket Club, founded in 1822 and playing at Northcroft Playing Fields, and Falkland Cricket Club, which in May 2023 hosted the first ever professional cricket match in West Berkshire with
5900-423: The existence of Newbury Castle , but the town did have royal connections and was visited a number of times by King John and Henry III while hunting in the area. The first reference to a bridge on the site of the current Newbury Bridge is an account of its reconstruction in the 14th Century . In 1312, King Edward II directed that its bridge should be kept in good order. By 1623, when the bridge collapsed, it
6000-588: The finish line of the Crafty Craft, an improvised raft race along the canal . Newbury's arts scene is primarily centred around the Corn Exchange , a 400-seat auditorium situated in the Market Place which provides a venue for both professional and amateur live performances as well as hosting an independent cinema. English rock band the Who performed at the Corn Exchange in 1966. The Watermill Theatre ,
6100-588: The first factory in England , and the later tale of the Newbury Coat. The latter was the outcome of a bet as to whether a gentleman's suit could be produced by the end of the day from wool taken from a sheep 's back at the beginning. The local legend was later immortalized in a humorous novel by Elizabethan writer Thomas Deloney . Newbury was the site of two battles during the English Civil War ,
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#17327759580916200-524: The first world war . A Sunday train was restored from January 1925, primarily for milk traffic. In the years following 1918 the line became increasingly heavily used, milk, passengers and goods all flourishing. Newbury racecourse had opened in 1905, and the area was a well-established centre for training and stud purposes and for bloodstock sales. This brought a large volume of traffic to the line, in most cases special trains. The horseboxes were fitted with dual brake systems, for operating into territory where
6300-677: The industrial centres of the Midlands . Although this route was once served by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway, today it is only served by the A34 road , which now bypasses Newbury to the west on an alignment partially using the old rail route (see also 'Newbury Bypass' below). Until the completion of the bypass, the A34 and A4 met in the town centre at the Robin Hood Roundabout,
6400-413: The intermediate stations; a modern telephone system was installed and the electric tablet system of signalling was installed, with an intermediate block post at Welford Park. At this time the GWR was developing its automatic train control (ATC) system. When finalised, track equipment was provided at distant signals which gave an audible and visual indication in the engine cab of whether the distant signal
6500-515: The line and the Directors' willingness to fund necessary outgoing s personally. The offer was repeated in 1904 with an offer of £50,000 but was again rejected. Unabashed, the GWR now suggested that their new railmotors would be useful on the line; specially developed to reduce costs on lightly trafficked lines, these consisted of a passenger coach with a small steam engine incorporated at one end. The railmotors could haul one or two goods wagons or
6600-406: The location of the headquarters of Vodafone and the software company Micro Focus International . The town centres around a large market square and retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall , an adjoining half timbered granary , and the 15th-century St Nicolas Church , along with 17th- and 18th-century listed buildings . There was a Mesolithic settlement at Newbury. Artefacts were recovered from
6700-561: The north it brought no advantage to the town. Newbury had to wait until 1847 to join the railway network, with the opening of the Berks and Hants Railway branch line from Reading to Hungerford via Newbury, and until 1906 to be on a main line, with the opening of the Reading-Taunton line . As a result, Newbury became something of a backwater market town, with an economy based largely on agriculture and horse-racing . The last use of
6800-431: The novel of the same name), Beacon Hill , the southeast's highest point Walbury Hill , and Combe Gibbet . Newbury has two very narrowly buffered settlements, Thatcham (25,267 inh. as at 2011) and Shaw cum Donnington (1,686 inh. as at 2011) forming an identifiable, informal greater Newbury urban and suburban conglomeration. In major use classes 11% of Newbury's land is occupied by roads and as of 2005, 34% of its land
6900-432: The official approval) may have run the following day, but the line opened fully to passengers and goods on 4 April 1898. So the railway opened, with the GWR operating. That company provided engine power—the 2-4-0T no 1384 at first—but coaching stock was not available, and the Company Chairman, Col Archer-Houblon personally purchased four four-wheeled coaches from the Lincoln Wagon and Engine Company; he made them available to
7000-498: The other two. Eahlswith and Aelfred were painted dark blue, lined out in black and white. Eadweade was painted similarly, but had a copper-capped chimney and a brass safety valve cover. Nameplates were brass, with red backgrounds. On 15 May 1904, the LVR hired two steam railmotors from the GWR, and the locomotives were put up for sale. They were sold to the Cambrian Railways in June 1904, where Eadweade became no. 24, Ealhswith became no. 26, and Aelfred became no. 35. Under
7100-399: The pair; the LVR hired them for £420 (equivalent to £57,160 in 2023) per year, again for the pair. They had an axle loading of 12 long tons (12.19 t ), and since the line had been designed for a maximum axle load of 8 long tons (8.13 t), the bridges needed to be inspected with both railmotors upon them before they could be approved for use. When they were temporarily returned to
7200-592: The proposal was approved. Yorke made the comment that: for all practical purposes the line is now a light railway, though neither of the clauses referring to the Lt. Rly Act of 1860 nor the Lt. Rly. Act of 1896 apply to it. The railmotors were put into service on 15 May 1904, and the goods train was discontinued four weeks later; porters were also dispensed with at the intermediate stations. The company's locomotives and rolling stock were removed to Swindon and auctioned, and Archer-Houblon finally got his loan repaid. The offer by
7300-548: The rise of Bath as a popular destination for the wealthy escaping London 's summer heat and associated stench. Newbury was roughly halfway between London and Bath and an obvious stopping point in the two-day journey. Soon Newbury, and the Speenhamland area in particular, was filled with coaching inns of ever increasing grandeur and size. One inn, the George & Pelican, was reputed to have stabling for 300 horses. A theatre
7400-407: The side of the main road, with several short branches within Newbury. It was to be horse-drawn, the vehicle making two round trips daily at first. The cost was estimated at £30,000 and an authorising Act was obtained on 7 August 1875; one year was allowed for construction. A contract for construction was let and a first rail was ceremonially fixed; the subscribers did not come forward and only shares to
7500-671: The site of protests by up to 40,000 protesters and the establishment of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp . With the end of the Cold War , the base was closed, the runway was broken up, much of it used as fill material in building the Newbury bypass , and the area was restored to heathland . This project then saw Greenham and Crookham commons reopened to the public in 2000. On 10 February 1943, two German bombers, Dornier Do 217s from ll/KG40 Bomber unit in Holland, on
7600-438: The time of construction the main line there was an east–west double track, and the station had two platforms. The Didcot Newbury and Southampton line (DNS) ran generally north to south: southbound DNS trains joined the GWR line at Greenham Junction (later Newbury East Junction) and ran east to west through Newbury station. They turned south again at Enborne Junction a little over a mile west of Newbury station. The Lambourn line had
7700-436: The town and the suburbs of Wash Common , The City, West Fields, East Fields and Speenhamland . The modern conurbation of Newbury, however, with close bus and road links and almost contiguous development, may be taken to include the surrounding villages of Speen , Donnington , Shaw and Greenham . Speen, which is now a suburb of western Newbury, is roughly equidistant between Bristol and London . Elevations vary from
7800-590: The town, although in October 2015 the company announced their intention to move to the Green Park Business Park near Reading . Today, Newbury is served by two railway stations, Newbury and Newbury Racecourse , which both are on the Reading to Taunton line. It was also served by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway until this closed in the 1960s. Following a similar east–west route
7900-630: The town, currently: Brummel Grove, Clay Hill, Falkland, Northcroft, Pyle Hill, Victoria and St Johns. In the 2023 United Kingdom local elections , the Liberal Democrats retained control of the town council, with 21 councillors elected, alongside 2 Green Party councillors. In the House of Commons , the town is in the Newbury constituency . Since the General Election of July 2024 this constituency has been represented by Lee Dillon ,
8000-598: The town. A tributary that is smaller still, the River Enborne , forms the southern boundary (and also the county boundary with Hampshire ). Adjoining the town's south-eastern border is Greenham Common and the famous Newbury Racecourse . Newbury is surrounded on three sides (north, west and south) by the North Wessex Downs . The downland to the south rises steeply out of the river valley providing scenic views, including Watership Down (made famous by
8100-530: The train service by one train daily, enabling a single engine to operate the service. All the goods work would be done in mixed trains, and there were later complaints about the delay to passengers in shunting. Continuing to look for ways to reduce cost, the Company applied in November 1902 for a Light Railway Order under the terms of the Light Railways Act 1896 . It is not clear what benefit this
8200-508: The value of £4,000 were taken up. The company could not proceed and at the expiry of the year allowed, it was wound up. This was followed by a more conventional railway scheme taking advantage of the Regulation of Railways Act 1868 which, among other things, authorised the construction of a light railway—the first use of the term—subject to conditions that might be imposed by the board of Trade. An attempt to get an authorising Act failed in
8300-432: The work for £33,000. A contract was agreed on 30 January 1897. It is not clear how Pearson expected to be paid the money. Pearson discovered that he had to rework much of the earlier construction, including excavating 60,000 cu yd of spoil in supposedly finished cuttings, and piling the River Kennet bridge and rectifying problems on several other bridges. Notwithstanding these additional tasks, Pearson & Son completed
8400-416: The work promptly and all that remained was a contract for the actual connection with the GWR at Newbury, also done by Pearson & Son but as contractor to the GWR. Before opening to passengers, an inspection by the Board of trade inspector was required; Col. Yorke visited on 31 March 1898. His report is entirely descriptive without any adverse remarks, and he approved the opening. A coal train (not needing
8500-450: The £25,930 subscribed £10,000 had been spent on Parliamentary costs—an extension of time had been applied for and granted—and land acquisition, and a further £10,000 was considered to be committed. Nonetheless, Billups was asked to start work, which he did on 18 June 1888. The actual construction work proceeded satisfactorily until in June 1890, when about two-thirds of the line was ballasted,
8600-448: Was adversely affecting the small boilers in them. Conventional rolling stock was substituted temporarily. The £75,000 to put the line into shape may have seemed a negotiating ploy, but the GWR soon launched into major upgrading work; within weeks the track was relaid; Lambourn station was extended and a new station at Newbury West Fields was opened on 1 October 1906. Better accommodation and standard-height platforms were provided at most of
8700-456: Was authorised as an ordinary railway, not a light railway. The engineer was John Fowler. Actually raising the capital was now the task; the Directors offered a guaranteed dividend of 5% during the construction period, money that could only be paid out of capital. They also employed a new engineer, H O Baldry, who produced a reduced estimate for the construction of £58,068. However, by January 1885 only £23,365 had been subscribed. In this impasse,
8800-429: Was built and finally opened in 1998. In August 2004, the improved A34-M4 junction was re-opened which allowed north–south traffic on the A34 to completely bypass the earlier roundabout at the M4. This junction continued to be improved, with new road markings and traffic signals completed in 2008. Newbury has three main secondary schools : There is also Newbury College , a further and higher education college, funded by
8900-481: Was built in 1876. Altogether the LVR owned three locomotives: Although produced by two different manufacturers, the three were generally similar: they were outside cylinder 0-6-0 T locomotives with 3-foot-7-inch (1,090 mm) wheels, but Eadweade was slightly larger than the others: its wheelbase was 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m) and it weighed 24 long tons (24 t ) as opposed to 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) and 23.5 long tons (23.9 t) for
9000-706: Was built to provide the travellers with entertainment featuring the major stars of the age. In 1795 local magistrates, meeting at the George and Pelican Inn in Speenhamland, introduced the Speenhamland System which tied parish poor relief (welfare payments) to the cost of bread. In 1723, the Kennet Navigation made the River Kennet navigable downstream from Newbury to the River Thames in Reading. Some 70 years later, in 1794, work started on
9100-573: Was completely rebuilt after the war. 15 people were killed and a further 41 people were injured, 25 seriously. There are two tiers of local government covering Newbury, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Newbury Town Council and West Berkshire Council . The town council is based at the Town Hall in the Market Place. West Berkshire Council is also based in the town, having its headquarters on Market Street. Newbury Town Council currently has 23 councillors , representing seven wards of
9200-570: Was expected to give them, but a hearing was held on 31 July 1903 and the Order was refused. The locomotive Ealhswith required an overhaul, and a third locomotive was procured from the Hunslet Engine Company , paying by instalments. In 1902 the GWR made an offer to purchase the line for £45,000. At this time the company had debts of over £27,000, but they rejected the offer outright, relying on optimistic ideas of improving income on
9300-606: Was granted in 1596. The borough covered the same area as the parish of Newbury. It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. The municipal borough and parish of Newbury were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , becoming part of the larger Newbury district . The Newbury district councillors who represented
9400-425: Was occupied by domestic gardens. Newbury and its immediate surroundings constitute the major commercial and retail centre of West Berkshire . The local economy is inter-related to that of the eastern M4 corridor which has most of its industrial, logistical and research businesses close to Newbury, Reading and Slough , with smaller industrial estates in the county at Theale , Bracknell and Maidenhead . Newbury
9500-459: Was off or on. If it was on, and the driver failed to acknowledge a warning, the brakes were automatically applied. In the experimental stage on the Lambourn branch, the ATC was provided instead of distant signals; conceptually an early form of cab signalling. In 1912 the GWR ran a Sunday passenger service, but this was discontinued in October 1914; other reductions in the train service were made during
9600-429: Was recorded as being built of wood, being 30 feet (9 metres) in length and 20 ft (6 m) in width, and having shops on it. The bridge was presumably rebuilt, as it is recorded that in 1644 a guard was placed on the bridge. Historically, the town's economic foundation was the cloth trade. This is reflected in the person of the 16th-century cloth magnate, Jack of Newbury , the proprietor of what may well have been
9700-408: Was reintroduced on the branch trains in 1956 but by this time revenue on the line was in serious decline, and closure was proposed. Goods services would continue to Welford Park, and the branch would remain open to that point for the USAF traffic. Some improvements were made there to the public goods facilities. The last passenger train ran on 4 January 1960. The residual branch line was handed over to
9800-478: Was required, between 10:00 and 14:00. The highest speed attained by the railmotors was 23.1 miles per hour (37.2 km/h), with an average speed of 22.2 miles per hour (35.7 km/h). One railmotor could handle a tail load having not more than 28 wheels. After the GWR took over the line on 1 July 1905, the two railmotors remained a few weeks more, but were replaced by normal GWR locomotives and coaches from August/September 1905. Newbury, Berkshire Newbury
9900-536: Was used to shunt the trailing coach off the railcar on arrival at the bay platform there. The railcar was based at Reading, and Lambourn engine shed was closed. Competing bus services were attractive, and at this period the heavy racehorse traffic became largely transferred to road. Following the Transport Act 1947 the main line railways of Great Britain passed into state ownership at the beginning of 1948: British Railways. While there were no immediate changes on
10000-404: Was withdrawn by the GWR in October 1932, sold to a Glamorgan colliery in May 1933; after working for another colliery, it was scrapped in 1942. No. 819 (ex- Eadweade ) remained on the GWR, being withdrawn in March or April 1946, being scrapped in 1947. The two hired steam railmotors were GWR nos. 1 & 2, which had been built in October 1903 for £3477-4-0d (equivalent to £473,221 in 2023) for
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