I am always pleased to see visitors to Newbury and in particularly from abroad and I was delighted to welcome a group of exchange students from one of our twin towns, Bagnols located in the south of France to the Town Hall on Tuesday 22 April 2008. The organisers and sponsors for the Exchange Visit was Park House School and in particular Ms Amelie Trousset, one of the French teachers there. She had been very kind in helping me with my speech in French for my visit to Bagnols as part of the Twin Towns reunion last year.
I was asked to give a talk to the students about the history of Newbury and of the Mayor so I wrote my talk and asked if Amelie would translate it so that I could give the talk in French. When I did receive it, I did have serious reservations as to whether I could deliver it adequately, even with Amelie’s assistance in the short time available. I decided in the end to give the speech in English and have copies of the speech available to each of the students in both languages. I would prefer to give it slowly in good English rather than in poor French.
And so on the Tuesday morning the group arrived in the Council Chamber; there were 33 altogether, Brenda Jones from Park House School, 3 teachers from Bagnols and 29 students, the majority being girls. After welcoming them to the Town Hall, I gave them a potted history of the town. I said that a small settlement was mentioned in the Domesday Book with a river running through it. As the settlement grew, so a church was built in 1086 on the site of the current St Nicolas church. In medieval times, sheep were herded along the Ridgeway and they were shorn in the outlying villages and the wool taken into Newbury for it to be made into cloth which was then sent downriver to Reading and London and across the sea to the continent and in particular to Antwerp. The town was also in an agricultural area and the Town’s market was a centre for local produce although some was sent down to Reading by boat. In the 17th century, during the Civil War between the King, Charles 1 and Parliament, there were two inconclusive battles at Newbury in 1643 and 1644. I said that the location of the town halfway between London and Bristol and Winchester and Oxford was also significant in its prosperity. Hundreds of stage coaches between these cities with an overnight stop in the town helped to increase its prosperity as did when the canal between Reading and Bristol allowed freight to be transported along its stretch. These compensated for when the cloth trade declined. With the introduction of the railways in the 19th century, the canal usage for freight almost dried up. I stated that the 20th century saw the introduction of manufacturing and the 1950s saw the creation of the nuclear industry at nearby Harwell and Aldermaston. I concluded the hstory by stating that many hi-tech industries grew up in the town, such as Vodafone, Bayer and a number of computer companies which is where we are now.
I went on to mention the background on the Town Council and the Mayor, including the important charter given to the town by Queen Elizabeth 1st in 1596 which allowed a Mayor, a High Steward, a Recorder, 6 Aldermen, and 12 Burgesses to govern the town. I mentioned the chain and pendant and chain which were created in 1884; it also had two maces which were made in 1708 and 1758 respectively. I said that the Mayor is elected each year at Mayor Making and is the non-executive Chairman of the Council. The Town council itself has responsibilities for some of the functions locally and has a budget of around £1m.
I then opened it up for questions and after that, they wanted many photographs which I was happy to help with. They all then left the Town Hall to see more of the Town. I wish them well in the future.
I was asked to give a talk to the students about the history of Newbury and of the Mayor so I wrote my talk and asked if Amelie would translate it so that I could give the talk in French. When I did receive it, I did have serious reservations as to whether I could deliver it adequately, even with Amelie’s assistance in the short time available. I decided in the end to give the speech in English and have copies of the speech available to each of the students in both languages. I would prefer to give it slowly in good English rather than in poor French.
And so on the Tuesday morning the group arrived in the Council Chamber; there were 33 altogether, Brenda Jones from Park House School, 3 teachers from Bagnols and 29 students, the majority being girls. After welcoming them to the Town Hall, I gave them a potted history of the town. I said that a small settlement was mentioned in the Domesday Book with a river running through it. As the settlement grew, so a church was built in 1086 on the site of the current St Nicolas church. In medieval times, sheep were herded along the Ridgeway and they were shorn in the outlying villages and the wool taken into Newbury for it to be made into cloth which was then sent downriver to Reading and London and across the sea to the continent and in particular to Antwerp. The town was also in an agricultural area and the Town’s market was a centre for local produce although some was sent down to Reading by boat. In the 17th century, during the Civil War between the King, Charles 1 and Parliament, there were two inconclusive battles at Newbury in 1643 and 1644. I said that the location of the town halfway between London and Bristol and Winchester and Oxford was also significant in its prosperity. Hundreds of stage coaches between these cities with an overnight stop in the town helped to increase its prosperity as did when the canal between Reading and Bristol allowed freight to be transported along its stretch. These compensated for when the cloth trade declined. With the introduction of the railways in the 19th century, the canal usage for freight almost dried up. I stated that the 20th century saw the introduction of manufacturing and the 1950s saw the creation of the nuclear industry at nearby Harwell and Aldermaston. I concluded the hstory by stating that many hi-tech industries grew up in the town, such as Vodafone, Bayer and a number of computer companies which is where we are now.
I went on to mention the background on the Town Council and the Mayor, including the important charter given to the town by Queen Elizabeth 1st in 1596 which allowed a Mayor, a High Steward, a Recorder, 6 Aldermen, and 12 Burgesses to govern the town. I mentioned the chain and pendant and chain which were created in 1884; it also had two maces which were made in 1708 and 1758 respectively. I said that the Mayor is elected each year at Mayor Making and is the non-executive Chairman of the Council. The Town council itself has responsibilities for some of the functions locally and has a budget of around £1m.
I then opened it up for questions and after that, they wanted many photographs which I was happy to help with. They all then left the Town Hall to see more of the Town. I wish them well in the future.
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