Discover 400 years of history at Newbury Town Hall this weekend

Newbury Town Council is opening up the town hall this weekend as part of the National Trust’s heritage open day scheme.

The public are invited to view the council chamber, civic staircase, town hall portraits, the council’s maces and other civic regalia.

The town hall will be open for all to discover on Saturday, September 9 and entrance is free.

Newbury mayor Nigel Foot said: “We are lucky to have such a historic building in Newbury and this is an opportunity to visit the town hall and learn about 400 years of history at the same time.

“Find out what the maces are used for, and why Newbury has two of them. Discover why Newbury has a teazel on its flag and the name of the mayor’s bear.”

Some of the town hall highlights include the honours boards, which list all the mayors of Newbury going back to 1596 and features many well-known local families.

The town hall portraits on the civic staircase include an image of Jack of Newbury dated 1550, as well as paintings of King George III and Queen Charlotte.

The Newbury coat is also on display, featuring an interesting story from Newbury’s industrial past, as well as the mayor’s throne and the council’s maces. The maces date from 1707 (Queen Anne) and 1758 (King George II).

The Victorian town hall (facing Market Place) was built from 1876 to 1878 and the clock tower was added three years later in 1881. The Municipal Offices (facing Mansion House Street) were built between 1909 to 1910.