Oldest House in Newbury

This video is about the very oldest buildings in Newbury and how Dendrochronology has enabled historians to date them accurately.

It all started with “Lockdown”. I’ve always kept very busy in my retirement but my wife and I fell into the “vulnerable” category so we had to stay in. Previously, because I’m one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you might have seen me manning one of our display stands in Northbrook Street. I had also kept busy creating videos for charities and non-profit organisations. I couldn’t do that any more either. So to stop my film-making skills going rusty, I decided to make a small film.

At the same time, I began to digitise all my video recordings of the last thirty plus years and came across one that I’d made in 1991. In that year there was an attempt to recreate The Newbury Coat at the Newbury Show and I’d taken some footage. That footage has languished in my loft for the past 30 years and I decided it could be the basis of a video. But once I began to research, I discovered that there was much more to discuss than just John Coxeter’s Coat. In fact, I’d mistakenly believed that The Newbury Coat had been made by the famous Jack O’Newbury. I was wrong. Jack O’Newbury and John Coxeter lived 300 years apart!

In the end, I realised that there is a wealth of stories based on the history of the area and I decided to start at the beginning with the Oldest House in Newbury.

But I’m not an expert! I have to thank all those who researched and wrote books for our benefit especially David Peacock's excellent book: The Story of Newbury.

You'll find more information about Newbury on the "Memories of Newbury & West Berkshire" and "Newbury and Thatcham, Past & Present" Facebook groups
Also:
ndfc.org.uk
westberkshireheritageforum.org.uk
heritagegateway.org
berkshirehistory.com

For help about the big questions in life: jw.org