West Berkshire is a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

in Berkshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, administered from Newbury by

West Berkshire Council West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. West Berkshire is divided into 30 wards, electing 52 c ...

History

The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury,

Bradfield Rural District Bradfield was a rural district in Berkshire, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Bradfield rural sanitary district, except the three parishes in Oxfordshire which formed the Goring Rural Dist ...

, Hungerford Rural District and Newbury Rural District, along with part of Wantage Rural District. Until 1 April 1998, Newbury District Council and Berkshire

County council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

were responsible for the region at local government level. On 1 April 1998, Berkshire County Council was abolished and Newbury District Council changed its name to West Berkshire Council and took on the former County Council's responsibilities within its area.

Geography

West Berkshire is semi-rural in character, with most of the population living in the wooded

Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...

valley. Apart from Newbury, the other main centres in the district include

Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, Pangbourne railway station, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a vill ...

and

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of ra ...

. Larger villages include

Burghfield Burghfield is a village and large civil parish in West Berkshire, England, with a boundary with Reading. Burghfield can trace its history back to before the Domesday book, and was once home to three manors: Burghfield Regis, Burghfield Abbas a ...

Mortimer Mortimer () is an English surname, and occasionally a given name. Norman origins The surname Mortimer has a Norman origin, deriving from the village of Mortemer, Seine-Maritime, Normandy. A Norman castle existed at Mortemer from an early point; ...

and Hermitage. 30% of the population resides in the East of the district, these towns and villages including

Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundarie ...

Theale Theale () is a large village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, southwest of Reading and 10 miles (16 km) east of Thatcham. The compact parish is bounded to the south and south-east by the Kennet & Avon Canal (which here incorp ...

Purley-on-Thames Purley on Thames (known locally as Purley) is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Purley is centred north-west of Reading, east of Pangbourne, and south-east of Oxford. Consequently, Reading is the principal social, economic ...

and Calcot which form part of the

Reading/Wokingham Urban Area The Reading Built-up Area or Reading/Wokingham Urban Area is a name given by the Office for National Statistics to a conurbation in Berkshire, England, with a population of 318,014. This was a significant decrease from the population according to ...

. West Berkshire borders

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

to the south,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

to the west, Oxfordshire to the north and both the

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...

authorities to the east. Around three-quarters of the land is designated North Wessex Downs

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

, ranging from the Berkshire Downs to the Thames Valley. The highest point in southeast/south-central England is located in West Berkshire at

Walbury Hill Walbury Hill is a summit of the North Wessex Downs in Berkshire, England. With an elevation of , it is the highest natural point in South East England. On the hill's summit is the Iron Age hill fort of Walbury Camp, whilst the flanks of the hill ...

with a summit height of 297 m (974 ft) 2 km to the south of the village of

Inkpen Inkpen is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire southeast of Hungerford, most of the land of which is cultivated fields with scattered woodland was once part of a former forest of Savernake. Inkpen has boundaries with Wiltshire and Ha ...

, though the hill is not particularly prominent. West Berkshire has a number of water courses running through the area. In addition to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, there are the Rivers

, Pang, Bourne and the Kennet and Avon Canal and a number of tributaries that feed these rivers. Properties within flood plains may be at risk of flooding from rising river waters or from water coming up through the ground in some periods of heavy and/or prolonged periods of rain. Purley and Pangbourne are particularly at risk.

Economy

West Berkshire has the 21st largest economy in England, characterised by low unemployment, above average wages, and abundance of jobs in technology and financial sectors. The presence of

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

has created a cluster of around 80 mobile phone related businesses in Newbury, while the

area is the second most important centre for the racehorse industry in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, employing over 800 people directly, and producing an annual income of £20 million.
West Berkshire is also home to

Atomic Weapons Establishment The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...

, near

Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingsto ...

Wolseley plc Ferguson plc (formerly Wolseley plc) is a British-American multinational plumbing and heating products distributor with its head office in Wokingham, England. Its brands include Ferguson Enterprises (in the United States). Wolseley plc changed ...

, Bayer and PepsiCo.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

for West Berkshire was established in 1974 for Newbury District Council. Upon the creation of the unitary authority it was inherited by West Berkshire Council. The colours of red and gold in the arms represent industry and the richness of the area, whilst the interwoven cross represents the

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

industry which was important to Newbury in past centuries. The corn on the shield represents the agriculture industry which is important to the area, whilst the cogwheels represent manufacturing and manufacturing achievement. The mural crown represents

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

and the grassy mount symbolises the downs of the surrounding area. Finally, the horseman represents the two battles of Newbury in the

English civil war The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Politics

Since 5 May 2005 the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

-controlled because of a by-election in Thatcham North. Before that, the Liberal Democrats and Conservative Party had an equal number of seats but the Liberal Democrats had control due to the casting vote of the council chairman. The Liberal Democrats had first taken power in 1991. The district is approximately coterminous with the parliamentary constituency of Newbury, except for areas to the east where parts of West Berkshire are incorporated into the constituencies of

and Reading West.

Education

There are 10 state-funded secondary schools operating in West Berkshire as well as numerous

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s and a special school provision. There are also a number of

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Further Further or Furthur may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus * Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band * Furthur (band), a band formed in 2009 by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh * ''Further'' (The Chemical Brothers a ...

and

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

in the area is provided by Newbury College, however there are no

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, the nearest being the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

and one of the

University of West London The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing C ...

campuses, both in the neighbouring Reading Borough.

Notable people

* Richard Adams (1920–2016), author *

Francis Baily Francis Baily (28 April 177430 August 1844) was an English astronomer. He is most famous for his observations of "Baily's beads" during a total eclipse of the Sun. Baily was also a major figure in the early history of the Royal Astronomical S ...

(1774–1844), astronomer *

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...

(1926–2017), author and creator of Paddington Bear * David Cameron (born 1966), politician and UK Prime Minister *

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran ...

(born 1931), furniture designer *

Emma Crosby Emma Catherine Crosby (born 5 June 1977) is a British television newsreader and journalist. Between 2003 and 2009, Crosby worked at Sky News, regularly co-presenting their breakfast programme ''Sunrise'', along with various other programmes o ...

(born 1977), television newsreader * Matthew Darby-Griffith (1772–1823), Napoleonic army general *

Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional an ...

(1896–1969), WW2 army general * James Hanson (1922–2004), industrialist *

Max Hastings Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British journalist and military historian, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of ''The Daily Telegraph'', and editor of the ''Evening Standard'' ...

(born 1945), journalist *

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tru ...

(born 1950), racehorse trainer *

John Newport Langley John Newport Langley (2 November 1852 – 5 November 1925) was a British physiologist, who made substantive discoveries about the nervous system and secretion. Life He was born in Newbury, Berkshire the son of John Langley, the local schoolmast ...

(1852–1925), scientist * George Mann (1917–2001), English cricket team captain *

Melinda Messenger Melinda Jane Messenger (born 23 February 1971) is an English television presenter and former glamour model and Page Three girl. She presented the magazine programme ''Live from Studio Five'' and was formerly the co-presenter of the reality show ...

(born 1971), model and TV presenter *

Kate Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

(born 1982), duchess and member of the British Royal Family *

Julian Pettifer Julian Pettifer OBE (born 21 July 1935) is an English television journalist. He was president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and is vice president of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB. He was voted BAFTA 'Repor ...

(born 1935), TV journalist *

Chapman Pincher Henry Chapman Pincher (29 March 1914 – 5 August 2014) was an English journalist, historian and novelist whose writing mainly focused on espionage and related matters, after some early books on scientific subjects. Early life Pincher was born ...

(1914–2012), journalist and author *

Jenny Pitman Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...

(born 1946), racehorse trainer and author *

Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, (21 May 1893 – 22 April 1971) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as a bomber pilot in the First World War, and rose to become f ...

(1893–1971), WW2 air marshal *

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant, (born 10 October 1946) is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show '' Who Wants to Be a Mil ...

(born 1946), TV presenter * Jethro Tull (1674–1741), farmer and inventor * Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905), architect *

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with ...

(born 1989), footballer * John Winchcombe aka Jack O'Newbury (1489–1557), industrialist *

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

(born 1979), pop singer

References

External links

West Berkshire Government
{{Authority control Unitary authority districts of England Districts of Berkshire Berkshire, West