THE NEWBURY SOCIETY – NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

to be held on Thursday 13^th October 2022 at 7.30 p.m. in the Parish Room, St. John’s Church, St. John’s Road, Newbury RG14 7PY

AGENDA

1. Apologies for Absence
2. Chairman’s Report on behalf of the Executive Committee and approval thereof
3. Treasurer’s Report and presentation and approval of Independently Examined Accounts to 30^th June 2022
4. Election of 

(a) Officers 

• Chairman Dr David Peacock
• Secretary Graham Smith
• Vice Chairman Vacancy
• Treasurer Mike Hood

2. Committee Members

The following existing committee members are standing for re-election:

• Dr. Paul Bryant
• Garry Poulson
• John Handy
• Chris Marriage

5. Appointment of Independent Examiner
6. Any Other Business 
7. Presentation and Discussion led by David Peacock – Newbury in 2022.  This will include a review of the latest version of the proposal to redevelop the Kennet Centre.

Graham V Smith

Secretary

Notes:

The Committee may appoint a Patron, a President and one or more Vice Presidents and details of these are advised to members at the AGM.  Currently Lord Benyon is President and Garry Poulson is a Vice President.

All Officers and Members of the Committee retire annually but are eligible for re-election.  Yolande Fothergill is not standing for re-election at this AGM.

Details are as at 3^rd October 2022.  Nominations are invited for additional committee members – they should be made in writing to the Secretary and have the consent of the person nominated.  In the absence of sufficient nominations proposals may be accepted from the floor at the meeting. 

Copies of the Annual Report and the Accounts will be available for viewing at the meeting or may be obtained in advance by contacting the Secretary

THE NEWBURY SOCIETY – OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 2021/22 President: Lord Benyon      Vice President: Garry Poulson

OFFICERS Chairman, Planning Spokesman and Local History Advisor: David Peacock 01635 524017 chairman@grahamvsmith Treasurer and Membership Administrator: Mike Hood 07775 800183 treasurer@newbury-society.org.uk & membership@newbury-society.org.uk Secretary, Bulletin Editor and Waterways Representative: Graham Smith 01635 580356 secretary@newbury-society.org.uk

COMMITTEE Dr Paul Bryant Yolande Fothergill John Handy (Trees & Landscaping Advisor) Chris Marriage Garry Poulson

New plans for the Kennet Centre 

Cheap Street elevation showing the redesigned street frontage and the 10-storey blocks behind (south section – cinema to Save the Children)

Cheap Street (north section, from Save the Children) and Market Place elevation (Mays Lane is opposite Bear Lane)

The same bulk and scale as before and redesigned street frontages are the two main features of the amended plans for the development of the Kennet Centre, lodged in September.

At the heart of the development are two blocks of flats rising to ten storeys, with the top floor now in the roof.  The total number of flats has come down for the original 402, to 381 last year, and 367 now; and over half have two or three bedrooms.  There is still no affordable or social housing.

The most visible change between these plans and the previous versions is the redesign of street frontages in Cheap Street and Bartholomew Street.  Some thought has gone into the design, and many people would agree that (at the third attempt) these present a more attractive proposal than the previous versions.

The high-rise blocks are towards the Market Street end of the development, but will be particularly visible from the Bear Lane area, behind the Catherine Wheel and “Save the Children,” both listed buildings.

The scheme, from Lochailort, is 100% Build-to-Rent.  The plans include (unchanged) six-storey blocks of flats on Market Street and Bartholomew Street, and the office building proposed for Market Street is nearly the same height as the telephone exchange.

The Newbury Society is not opposed to flats as part of a redevelopment on this site, but considers that an attractive and viable development could be built with somewhere between a half and two-thirds of the flats originally proposed: in round numbers, between 200 and 270 flats.

As before, there is a stark shortage of parking included, with (according to the developers) 160 new spaces.  However, only 83 spaces are specifically allocated for the use of the flats, well below the normal planning requirement.

We would urge everyone to have a look at the plans themselves, on the planning section of the West Berkshire Council website, and send in their comments.  The website can be searched by putting in “kennet centre”, and the application numbers are 21/00379/FULMAJ and 21/00380/FULMAJ.  The former is the main application; the latter is for 91-retirement flats, as an alternative to the office building, and would bring the total number of flats up to 458.  The new plans are all listed with September 2022 dates.

Bartholomew Street frontage showing The Newbury and six-storey flats

The 10-storey Block A at the heart of the Kennet Centre development

Office building facing Market St

Boat trip 2022

Dates for Your Diary – 2022-23

Talks are held in the Parish Room, St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Newbury RG14 7PY.

Admission is free for members or £2.50 for non-members. Visitors are most welcome.

Thursday 13^th October, 7:30pm – AGM (see formal notice p.1) + David Peacock: Newbury in 2022 

Newbury Society chairman David Peacock will be reviewing the past year; talking about Newbury today, some of its attractions, and the range of challenges it faces.

Thursday 10^th November, 7:30pm – Phil Wood: Newbury Breweries

A History of Newbury’s Breweries, from the earliest records to the final demise of the industry in the town. A lavishly illustrated talk piecing together the fascinating and often complicated history of the descent of these businesses large and small.  For many years Phil, an enthusiastic local historian, has been uncovering all there is to know about the large number of pubs and breweries that once seemed to fill the town.  Study of the existing pubs also gives him the opportunity for some enjoyable field work!

Thursdays 9^th February, 9^th March, 13^th April & 11^th May 2023 (all at 7:30pm) – details to be confirmed

Blue plaque to Rev. James Bicheno,
anti-slavery campaigner

The latest blue plaque was unveiled in July, to the Rev. James Bicheno, a local campaigner against the slave trade in the late 18th century.   He actively promoted two petitions from Newbury to Parliament and was the Baptist minister of Newbury for 27 years.

About 1770 Bicheno fell victim to deception and was taken to America where he was sold as an indented servant.  One account states that after time spent living with his master’s slaves in Virginia, Bicheno was accepted into his master’s household as his children’s tutor.  In due course he was redeemed by his friends and returned to England.  Once back home he trained as a Baptist minister, and was appointed Baptist minister at Falmouth before becoming the Baptist minister at Newbury in 1780.  

The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade organised its first national campaign of petitions to the House of Commons for the abolition of the trade in 1788.  Rev. James Bicheno is understood to be the author of an advertisement in the Reading Mercury (then the local newspaper) in March 1788, which appealed to “the inhabitants of Newbury” and described the conditions of slave trade, where “…multitudes perish on their passage; those who survive are sold as cattle, to be slaves for life…”

The advertisement resulted in a public meeting held on April 7, 1788 at the Mansion House in the centre of Newbury.  The Mayor of Newbury, aldermen, burgesses and inhabitants of Newbury voiced their concerns about the slave trade and called for it to be stopped by any practical means.  They petitioned the House of Commons to take action to end “…the horrors of a commerce which is disgraceful to our national character, and by which we become the instruments of misery to innumerable multitudes of our fellow creatures.”  The petition was presented to Parliament, along with over 100 other petitions from all parts of England, but the House of Commons decided not to respond.

In 1792 Bicheno was one of ten people who called for a public meeting to consider a second petition.  The meeting was held at the Mansion House on March 5, and agreed to present a petition to the Commons against “…the very great Enormity of this abominable Traffic in Human Flesh…”  The petition described this as a trade “…which violates the most sacred Laws of Justice and Humanity, disgraces us as a People glorying in the exercise of Liberty and which dishonours us as Christians professing a religion that breathes Peace and Good Will to all Men.”

This petition was signed by 333 Newbury people, and was handed over to Berkshire MP Winchcombe Henry Hartley.  This time the Newbury petition was one of over 500 petitions in a larger national campaign co-ordinated by the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.  The continuing campaign had a major success with the Slave Trade Act 1807, but it was not until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 that slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire.

In addition to being the Baptist minister, Bicheno ran a boys’ boarding school at Greenham House, then in Greenham, which is where the plaque has been installed, on one of the gateposts to what is now the Newbury Gardens Day Nursery.

https://newbury-society.org.uk/history-of-newbury/blue-plaques has further information on this and other blue plaques in the town.

Changes in Agriculture

The way in which agriculture has changed over the past century was the theme for a talk to the Newbury Society by Mike Robinson in September.

Mike is an agronomist who has worked with many local farms for most of his life, and, using local examples,  voiced particular concerns about financial support which encouraged landowners to take productive land out of food production altogether.  

Among other themes, he looked at the changes in common breeds for beef and dairy production, and in sheep.  He reviewed the way in which government structure had evolved, with implications for the policies followed, highlighting the former Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF), when farming and food were directly linked.

The talk was given at the St John’s Church Room in Newbury, and was followed by questions and coffee.  A minute’s silence at the opening of the meeting marked the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth, made earlier that evening.

West Berkshire Council and heritage

Until early this year two part-time conservation officers at West Berkshire Council were responsible for all the listed buildings across West Berkshire, responding to planning applications to alter or demolish them, and also responsible for the heritage aspects of all applications in conservation areas.

One of the two officers (employees of the council, not elected councillors) retired early in the year and was not replaced.  Now it appears that West Berkshire Council has decided not to replace the retired officer, leaving one part-time person with all this responsibility.  This, in simple terms, is an impossible job, and the decision is a reflection of the low priority given by the Council to local heritage.

The conservation officers are crucial in protecting listed buildings and their settings, working inside the planning system.  They also play a key role in providing the documents needed to protect conservation areas, Conservation Area Appraisals.

The Wharf – car parks or what?

Consultants were employed by West Berkshire Council two years ago to develop a “masterplan” for the future of Newbury town centre, which went out for consultation in the middle of last year, attracting attention mostly for a new footbridge proposed across the canal near the Waterside Centre.  The plan put forward by the consultants was adopted by the council early this year, and since then more consultants have been developing aspects of it, including proposals for The Wharf.

This has now reached the stage of discussions with “stakeholders”.  They propose removing the car parks in front of the library and the museum, and spending over £5m on re-vamping the area in a number of different ways.  The two most expensive parts involve putting a pedestrian bridge alongside the Parkway bridge (which the consultants call the “American” bridge), to separate pedestrians and vehicles; and turning the area between the library and the canal into a public square where events can be staged.  These two proposals account for £3.5m of the suggested total. 

Other aspects of the scheme involve extending the “Peace Garden” back from the canal towards the museum (with more trees); work on the waterside itself (which includes structural work and possibly some facilities for boaters); and changes to the area immediately in front of the museum, keeping the taxi rank close to its present position.  Also included are suggestions to improve the access to the canal from Northbrook Street, near Costa and the Old Rectory.  Once a scheme is finalised, the details would be used to support funding applications.

The “masterplan” was produced by Hemingway Design, NEW Masterplanning, Urban Movement and G.L. Hearn.  The proposals for The Wharf are being developed by Adams & Sutherland of Kentish Town, London.

Dates for Your Diary – 2022

Saturday 25^th June 5:30pm – Mid-summer Evening cruise on the narrowboat Jubilee

Join your Committee for this summer’s social event.  The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s narrowboat Jubilee will be cruising west from Newbury Wharf to just beyond Benham Lock before returning.  Boarding is from 5:15pm for a prompt departure and the cruise will finish at approx. 9:00pm; there is the option for passengers to stretch their legs at Benham Lock for about 20 minutes while the boat is turned.  The ticket price of £17.50 includes a mug of tea or coffee and a selection of sandwiches, cakes etc.; further drinks including beer and wine may be purchased at the bar on the boat – card payments preferred.  Booking details and form on the slip with this newsletter.

Talks are held in the Parish Room, St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Newbury RG14 7PY.

Admission is free for members or £2.50 for non-members. Visitors are most welcome.

Thursday 8^th September, 7:30pm – Mike Robinson: Changes in Agriculture since the Great War

This talk will cover agriculture over the period from after the end of World War 1 up to the present day, with some references to local agriculture; and will therefore cover the period that most people are able to relate to.  It will include references to the foundation of the industry, and a review of the future of the industry, with challenges from global warming and changing dietary preferences.

Thursday 13^th October, 7:30pm – AGM + David Peacock: Newbury in 2022 

Newbury Society chairman David Peacock will be reviewing the past year; talking about Newbury today, some of its attractions, and the range of challenges it faces.

Thursday 10^th November, 7:30pm – Phil Wood: Newbury Breweries

A History of Newbury’s Breweries, from the earliest records to the final demise of the industry in the town. A lavishly illustrated talk piecing together the fascinating and often complicated history of the descent of these businesses large and small.  For many years Phil, an enthusiastic local historian, has been uncovering all there is to know about the large number of pubs and breweries that once seemed to fill the town.  Study of the existing pubs also gives him the opportunity for some enjoyable field work!

Elke Holden-Bell 1935 – 2022 

Long-standing former committee member of the Newbury Society, Elke Holden-Bell, died at her home in Speen on April 6. 

Elke was married to the late Newbury Society chairman Jeremy Holden-Bell, who died in 2017.  She was born in 1935 as Elke Carstensen and spent her childhood in Hamburg, which suffered badly during the war; and life remained difficult once the war had ended.  In spite of this she went to university in Hamburg, developed her interest in art history, and went on to live in several European countries.

She met Jeremy in Bulgaria and they were married in November 1970 at Richmond, while Jeremy was working for Bayer at Kew.  When the company moved to Newbury in the early 1980s they moved with it, settling at Speen Lodge Court, off Speen Lane.

They quickly became involved in many aspects of local life, and Elke became the public relations officer for the Newbury Society, expanding the role in the 1990s to become membership secretary, while Jeremy became treasurer and vice-chairman.  She was closely involved in social events, and continued to support Jeremy after he became the Society’s chairman in 2009.

The couple were also active members of the West Berkshire Conservative Association, and supporters of the Newbury Spring Festival.  They travelled extensively across Europe, including regular visits to Germany.  Elke, as secretary of the Speen parochial church council, was also among the group which successfully fought against the closure of Speen church.

After Jeremy’s death in December 2017, Elke continued to live in Speen Lodge Court, with increasing support, and (in spite of some stays in hospital), it was there she died.   The funeral service was at Speen church on April 22, and she was buried alongside Jeremy in Speen churchyard.

Sandleford appeal decision May 2022 

A government minister has given the go-ahead for the 1,000+ housing development at Sandleford, overturning objections from West Berkshire Council.

The development, south of Monks Lane, across from the A339 towards the Andover Road, has been on the cards for many years.  West Berkshire Council officially identified the site as suitable for up to 2,000 houses back in July 2012; it was not opposed to the development in principle, but had rejected the latest set of plans from the developers, Bloor Homes and Sandleford Farm Partnership.  

Local residents raised many objections, and fought the plans with a campaign called “Say No to Sandleford.”  The site gained some national media attention mainly because it features in Richard Adams’ “Watership Down.”

The decision on May 6 to allow the development came from Stuart Andrew, Minister of State for Housing, following the public inquiry before a planning inspector in May last year.

WBC’s executive member for Planning, Transport and Countryside Richard Somner said “We are disappointed with the outcome of the appeal inquiry for Sandleford Park, which is an allocated strategic development site.”

There are still many details about the development to be finalised in future applications.  “We will now encourage and seek to engage in pre-application discussions positively and pro-actively with the appellants,” says a statement from the council, adding that the development will eventually provide up to 1,080 new homes including affordable housing, with expansion land for Park House school and open space, including a country park.

We would welcome members’ views.

Talk about the role of the High Sheriff of Berkshire

The High Sheriff of Berkshire is an unpaid role, appointed by the Queen each year to carry out ceremonial, charitable and community functions.

The role was described at the February meeting of the Newbury Society by Willie Hartley-Russell, High Sheriff for 2021-22, who is the eighth member of his family to have been High Sheriff, starting in the 16th century.

The role relates to the legal system in each county, and includes hosting visiting judges, a role Mr Hartley-Russell said had been carried out more extensively by his father.  Among other events, Berkshire schools are also invited to take part in mock trials, to give them knowledge of the practical workings of the legal system.

The Sheriffs (for England and Wales, but not Scotland) are appointed by the Queen using a bodkin to prick holes against each name on a scroll.  On one occasion, Mr Hartley-Russell asked the queen whether she personally “pricked” every name, and she assured him that she did; which gave him an indication of the kind of monarch she is.

As part of his role, the High Sheriff also visits prisons, and the probation service.  He was invited to speak to the Newbury Society by Garry Poulson, who has worked with him through the High Sheriff’s links with the voluntary sector throughout Berkshire.

Mr Hartley-Russell also talked at length about his family’s connections with the almshouses Donnington Hospital, founded in the 1390s.  These are among the oldest almshouses in the country.  He is also a Trustee of The Almshouse Association, a national organisation.

Boxford open days 2022

Following our talk on the Boxford Mosaic in March, members might like to know that the Boxford Heritage Centre will be opening to the public from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday June 4 and then on the first Sunday of the month for the rest of the year: July 3, Aug. 7, Sept. 4, Oct. 2, Nov. 6 and Dec. 4.  The Heritage Centre can be found at the end of Boxford churchyard on Leckhampstead Road, opposite School Lane.

Display items include a new large photo of the Roman mosaic (courtesy of David Shepherd) and finds from the site, and there will be a slide show of the 2019 excavations including some of the late Anthony Beeson’s reconstructions of the missing parts of the mosaic.

Further details are online at www.boxford.org.uk/category/heritage-centre 

THE NEWBURY SOCIETY – OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 2021/22 President: Lord Benyon      Vice President: Garry Poulson

OFFICERS Chairman, Planning Spokesman and Local History Advisor: David Peacock 01635 524017 chairman@grahamvsmith Treasurer and Membership Administrator: Mike Hood 07775 800183 treasurer@newbury-society.org.uk & membership@grahamvsmith Secretary, Bulletin Editor and Waterways Representative: Graham Smith 01635 580356 secretary@newbury-society.org.uk

COMMITTEE Dr Paul Bryant Yolande Fothergill John Handy (Trees & Landscaping Advisor) Chris Marriage Garry Poulson

Blue plaque to Doris Page aka Ann Armstrong, disability rights campaigner

The latest blue plaque was unveiled at Wash Common on May 5^th to disability rights campaigner Doris Page.

In 1955, Doris contracted polio – a disease which affects breathing.  The response at the time was to confine patients to hospital, inside an “iron lung” which would breathe for them.  With the support of her husband Ken, Doris fought to return home to 39 Essex Street and regain a more independent life.

From her bed she started campaigning, first for people affected by polio and then more broadly for the necessary infrastructure to enable disabled people to lead a viable home life, partly as one of the founder members of the charity “Independence at Home”.

She took a postal course in journalism and started to write on disabled issues for the local and national press under the pen-name “Ann Armstrong”, using specialist equipment which made writing possible for her.  She founded and from 1963 to 1968 edited a magazine, named with reference to the space age, as the “Responaut”.  In 1968 she was awarded an MBE for her work.  She wrote two books, “Patient’s Prospect” and “Breath of Life”, which were serialised on BBC Woman’s Hour.  

The plaque is the latest in the series organised by Newbury Town Council and supported by the Newbury Society, and more information can be found on the websites of both organisations.

A large group attended the unveiling, including many members of Doris Page’s family, Anthony Pick (who chairs the town council’s Heritage Working Group), and Dave Stubbs from Wash Common, who proposed Doris Page for the plaque and did much to co-ordinate the event.  Newbury’s MP Laura Farris, Newbury and West Berkshire councillors, representatives from St. George’s Church, local residents and others who had known Doris were present.

The plaque was unveiled by Newbury’s deputy mayor Gary Norman. There were several speeches, with lively accounts of her life from Dave Stubbs and Doris’s son, and a reception at the Bowlers Arms followed.  A statement from the town council read “The Town Council is very grateful to Mr and Mrs Joliffe [who now live in the house], to the Newbury Society for generously contributing £100 to the cost of the plaque, and to Dave Stubbs for advising us on Doris’s life and achievements”.

Doris Page (1935-1991), aka Ann Armstong, pioneering disability rights campaigner, “the first Responaut”.

Dates for Your Diary – 2022

(all subject to confirmation due to the Coronavirus pandemic)

Talks are held in the Parish Room, St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Newbury RG14 7PY.

Admission is free for members or £2.50 for non-members. Visitors are most welcome.

Thursday 10^th February, 7:30pm – Willie Hartley-Russell: The roles and responsibilities of the High Sheriff 

Willie Hartley Russell was sworn in as the High Sheriff of Berkshire on Friday 26th March, 2021, for this year.  The Office of High Sheriff is an independent, non-political, Royal appointment for the period of one year. It is the oldest secular office in country apart from the monarchy. Today, the role is now largely ceremonial, but carries the status of being the Queen’s highest judicial officer in the county.  The role involves a mix of ceremonial, charitable and community functions.
Note the change from the details previously advertised – Dave Stubbs’ talk about the First Battle of Newbury will be given at a later date.

Thursday 10^th March, 7:30pm – Anthony Beeson: Understanding Boxford’s Roman Mosaic

The late Roman figurative mosaic discovered at Mud Hole, Boxford in Berkshire between 2017 and 2019 has proved to be the most important found in Britain for over fifty years. Covered with scenes from classical mythology and with a unique design, it is indeed unlike anything previously found in Britain. This lecture offers the excavator’s interpretation into its design, the wealth of figurative work and the stories from Greco-Roman mythology that it depicts and how it reflects the art of its own and previous centuries and the culture of those who commissioned it.

Anthony is an expert on Roman and Greek art and architecture, a Classical iconographer.  He is the author of the books Roman Gardens and The Boxford Mosaic, as well as many articles on antiquities and art in academic journals. His latest volume, Mosaics in Roman Britain is due for publication in March 2022. He is the Hon. Archivist of the Association for Roman Archaeology, and a member and former Archivist of the Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics, and has appeared on Time Team. In 2017-9 he interpreted, excavated and produced the official report on the internationally-famous mosaic of Pegasus and Bellerophon found at Boxford in Berkshire.

Thursday 14^th April, 7:30pm – Jon Winstanley: Newbury Traffic and Transport

Jon is the Service Director for Environment at West Berkshire Council. He will be looking at a range of issues, including how the council assesses demand, recent and planned schemes for highways changes in and around Newbury (including the Robin Hood roundabout); work on alternative travel options; and demand management/ co-ordination.

Thursday 12^th May, 7:30pm – Sue Ellis: Conservation Area Appraisals: Enhancing historic areas

Sue qualified at Reading University in the 1970’s with a degree in History and Archaeology, and although her career before retirement was mostly based in libraries and in local authority policy departments, she maintains her deep interest in local history with membership of several local societies. She took a post graduate certificate in the archaeology of standing buildings in 2002, and now provides training and support for local parishes and societies on local listing, and the conservation area appraisal process.

Saturday 25^th June 5:30pm – Mid-summer Evening cruise on the narrowboat Jubilee

Join your Committee for this summer’s social event.  The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s narrowboat Jubilee will be cruising west from Newbury to just beyond Benham Lock before returning.  Full details and booking forms will be circulated nearer the time.

Thursday 8^th September, 7:30pm – details to be advised  

Thursday 13^th October, 7:30pm – AGM + David Peacock: Newbury in 2022 

Thursday 10^th November, 7:30pm – Phil Wood: Newbury Breweries

THE NEWBURY SOCIETY – OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 2021/22 President: Lord Benyon      Vice President: Garry Poulson

OFFICERS Chairman, Planning Spokesman and Local History Advisor: David Peacock 01635 524017 chairman@grahamvsmith Treasurer and Membership Administrator: Mike Hood 07775 800183 treasurer@newbury-society.org.uk & membership@grahamvsmith Secretary, Bulletin Editor and Waterways Representative: Graham Smith 01635 580356 secretary@newbury-society.org.uk

COMMITTEE Dr Paul Bryant Yolande Fothergill John Handy (Trees & Landscaping Advisor) Chris Marriage Garry Poulson

Telegraphing above the Clouds

Fred Davison

Not many people know that in 1899 Newbury played host to an important experiment which forecast the possibilities of using radio telegraphy to communicate with an air traveller. Wireless transmission of radio signals, Radiotelegraphy, had been invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894-95 and its potential for communication over great distances was soon realised. Marconi and others carried out various experiments using kites attached to vertical wires to demonstrate communication to a high-flying object; however, no one had demonstrated that communication was possible between an earth station and airborne vehicle flying freely above the clouds and over the horizon without any earth contact.  

Enter John N. Maskelyne, who lived on Bucklebury Common, and his son Nevil who were both famed magicians but also talented inventors. Father and son quickly grasped the immense potential of radiotelegraphy and set about exploiting the new technology. Naturally, they involved their good friend, the ever-inquisitive Rev. John M. Bacon, the Scientific Balloonist from Cold Ash. In late July1899 they explored the possibility that a balloon travelling above the clouds, could maintain contact with an earth station. This, of course, had immense importance for the military and the proposed experiment excited much interest in government circles and the armed forces, as well as being widely commented on in the press. Transmission of radio signals to a free-flying balloon filled with over 50,000 cubic feet of highly explosive gas had never been attempted, so a number of problems had to be overcome, with safety being the main concern. A balloon filled with coal gas could not provide sufficient lift to carry the extra weight of heavy batteries and a bulky transmitter, so the balloon had to be a receiver station only.

At that time, the standard radio receiver required a good earth contact, which was impossible with a free-flying balloon. With some ingenuity the problem was resolved by using as the earth connection a water dropper device slung below the balloon basket, so allowing a safe contact with the moisture and static electricity in the clouds. Prevention of a build-up of static was of paramount importance to prevent a spark igniting the thousands of cubic feet of coal gas in the open-necked balloon. A wire was run up the rigging to the top of the silk balloon and connected to a small receiver in the basket below. An ascent was planned from the Newbury area with the transmitter carrying vertical wires for transmission of the radio signals needing to be as tall as was possible.

Bacon often made balloon ascents from Newbury Gasworks in Kings Road, which provided a ready supply of coal gas with a good hydrogen content necessary to provide lift. Gertrude Bacon (1907†) described how in 1898 Bacon made his first scientific balloon ascent from the corner of a field adjacent to the elm avenue that led to Shaw House. There must have been a gas main nearby for filling the balloon. This location would appear to be Horsepool Field, Speenhamland Farm where the Newbury Guildhall Club held a gymkhana on 27^th July 1898. One year later, on 29^th July Bacon made his radiotelegraph ascent from the same location and took two aerial photographs of the launch site at an interval of two minutes. In the first image, the spacing of the crowd indicates that lift-off was from the empty circular area to the left of the marquee, with people crowded to one side. It is possible there was a large gas pipe crossing the field on this photograph. The image taken from a greater height gives a better view of the area with, what is now, London Road on the left side of the photograph. The distinctive roofline and spire of St Mary’s Church, Speenhamland (demolished in 1973 and pictured inset) can be seen to the left of the roadway and at the top left the large white building could be 37 London Road, which today stands at the junction with Parkway. I am most grateful to the Chairman of the Newbury Society for recognising significant buildings in London Road, especially St Mary’s Church, and so identifying the launch location.

Bacon (1899‡) described the day as perfect with a sky flecked with summer clouds. At take-off the balloon rose swiftly and was soon hidden from view by clouds. At one mile high the aeronautical party was completely severed from earth yet continued to receive Morse code messages across empty space. The balloon floated eastwards to Bradfield where it encountered cold air currents which drove it south-eastwards to Swallowfield; it passed over Wellington College and Sandhurst then Ascot, travelling eastwards to Crystal Palace where it descended after two hours, some 46 miles away. The balloon party consisted of Bacon, his daughter Gertrude, a fellow scientist Thomas Simpson, and the balloon captain Percival Spencer. The party engaged themselves in making various scientific observations, taking photographs and decoding the Morse code messages. Radio signals were received clearly, and their instructions obeyed promptly: firstly, by unfurling a flag; at a greater distance by letting off fog signals and further still by firing explosives. In Bacon’s own words: “The idea [was] that we were supposed to be dispatched as a reconnoitring party over enemy’s territory, and … being dismissed from a beleaguered city with which I could maintain communication …” This, no doubt, satisfied the War Office which had engaged with Bacon in various military exercises and balloon races, indulging Bacon’s passion for war gaming and aerial pyrotechnics. 

Whilst the experiment had serious intent, it was not lacking in humour. Rev. John Bacon was President of the Newbury Guildhall Club, a social club for local young men with ambitions, mainly tradesmen’s sons, shop assistants and mechanics. These enterprising young men enthusiastically staffed the Newbury signal station under the management of Nevil Maskelyne. Bacon recalled that many of the actual transmitted Morse code messages were nonsense: “Come back, you have my stopwatch!” followed by “Don’t tumble out” and “Mind the Moon”. Messages commenced about two minutes after take-off and were received for a further twenty minutes, some 12 -13 miles distance travelled. Bacon estimated that contact would have been maintained for a further 10 to 15 miles if the Newbury transmitter mast had been twenty feet taller. Nevertheless, the experiment was a great success. One month later, Bacon repeated it for the British Association of Science, flying from Bradford to Sheffield, keeping in radio contact in an experiment witnessed by many scientists.  

These successful experiments enhanced Bacon’s standing in the scientific community and provided much material for his popular magazine articles and public lectures. Nevil Maskelyne went on to become manager of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. 

† Gertrude Bacon (1907) The Record of an Aeronaut: Being the Life of John M. Bacon, publ. John Long, London.
‡ J. M. Bacon (1899) Telegraphing from the Clouds, Pearson Magazine, 480 – 484.

Blue Plaque for Education Pioneer

In September 1975 the Newbury Girls’ Grammar School merged with St. Bartholomew’s School, to become coeducational.  With the redevelopment of St Bart’s, there were plans to demolish the Luker building in 2008, but (partly as a result of a campaign from the Newbury Society), the building was saved and converted into flats.

This plaque is the 14th in the series organised by Newbury Town Council, and supported by the Newbury Society.  Details of all the plaques and a map of the locations can be found on the Newbury Society website.

Flats at the former Magistrates’ Court site

A four-storey block of flats has been proposed for the site of the former Magistrates’ Court, in Mill Lane next to Newbury Police Station.

The site is alongside the Canal, prominent from the towpath, and is for 28 one- and two-bedroom flats in one block, with the top floor set slightly back.  We have raised objections because of the prominent and sensitive position of the site.  We feel that, in terms of design, developers should look to the nearby Greenham Mill development to show what can be done using local design themes, including pitched roofs and gables.

We also feel that, as proposed, the landscaping next to the Canal is too restricted.  The Canal is a wildlife corridor through Newbury, and this needs to be preserved and encouraged, rather than restricted.  The creation of a Conservation Area along the canal here in 1983 was intended to offer some protection.

For anyone who wishes to comment on the plans, the application number is 21/03024/FULEXT.  We would welcome your views on this or any other local applications.