The Changing Face of Newbury

The major topics affecting the town during those years are recorded. Among them are the struggle to establish a bypass in the 1980s despite the objections of Swampy and his fellow protesters; the disappearance of privately owned grocery stores and the emergence of supermarkets; the evolving of new shop fronts in central Newbury around Northbrook Street; and the arrival of the town's largest employer - Vodafone - are all recalled. At the same time some things are still with us but have grown and expanded, such as the ancient Michaelmas Fair, the Newbury Agricultural Show, Newbury Racecourse and the Hennessy Gold Cup meeting, an independent local newspaper and the jewel in Newbury's crown, the Watermill Theatre. All find a place in this marvellous record of the changing face of Newbury over the last 50 years or so.