Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
head and shooting her below the ear. Windsurfers beware. The Waterside Youth & Commu-
nity Centre is beyond Parkway bridge.
DH Lawrence and his wife were resident here in 1918 after being evicted from Cornwall.
Hardy was not at his most inspired when calling Newbury Kennetbridge but he did pick the
most important feature, the balustraded stone 6.1m elliptical single-arch bridge of 1770 by
James Clarke. This carried the A34 until 1965, and identified the town in
Jude the Obscure
.
This section of river past the back of the Old Waggon & Horses is fast and narrow. Boat-
men could be fined for allowing horses to haul across the road, there being no towpath un-
der the bridge so that a long line had to be let down with a float attached. The authorities
are still opposed to use of the road, which now has a very low speed limit and may only be
used after 5pm. Newbury was the first town to have Belisha beacons. The towpath wall and
bridge are well gouged with rope grooves. Next to the bridge is the Griffin butcher's shop
selling second-to-none pork pies. Other significant buildings are the 19th century Italianate
Corn Exchange and the Perpendicular church of St Nicholas of about 1500, with its unusual
17th century pulpit.
The Lock, Stock & Barrel is a reference to Newbury Lock, in front of which is the channel
of the River Kennet. Newbury Lock was the first lock to be built on the man-made canal.
Marked out alongside is the plan of the lock cottage that was occupied until 1958. This was
leased by canal restoration pioneer John Gould. Another local canal business is the Kennet
Horse Boat Company with motor trip boats here and horse-drawn boats at Kintbury.
The next two locks, Guyer's and Higgs, are named after the opposing commanders in the
First Battle of Newbury. This was fought on Wash Common in September 1643, the Round-
heads beating the Cavaliers in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The Second Battle
of Newbury took place 13 months later at Speen, when the Roundheads drove the Cavaliers
out of Donnington Castle. The Cavaliers, however, returned the following week and relieved
the castle, despite its anticlockwise staircases designed to put attacking right-handed swords-
men at a disadvantage.
