Sixteen miles west of Reading, Newbury has been occupied by man for at least 11,000 years. It grew from a settlement by a ford, across the River Kennet and was previously called Ulverton, but later became one of many new towns set up around the country just after the Norman Conquest. This was the New Borough of Berkshire, probably founded by Arnulf De Hesdin (or Gilbert De Heugleville) in the 1070s.

It later became the property of the rebel Duke of York during the Wars of the Roses (15th c.). The town was taken by the Earl of Wiltshire in 1460, and he executed many of the townsfolk who supported York. They were hanged, drawn and quartered. The Duke's son later became Edward IV, and Newbury became a Royal Borough.

Newbury is a busy market town, recently bypassed by the controvesial A34. It has a wharf on the Kennet and Avon Canal a popular racecourse and to the north there is the ruin of Donnington Castle. There is also the nearby Highclere Castle.