Old money is set to hit the right note at auction
Rare Newbury Bank cash is expected to raise around £1,500, April 7, 2011 OLD MEMORIES REVIVED Extracts taken from past columns of the Newbury Weekly News
All smiles at Speenhamland
THE marriage of Lieut-Col Perkins, of the Bengal Staff Corps, with Anna Charlotte, second daughter of John Tanner Esq, of Speenhamland, was solemnised yesterday morning at St Mary’s, Speenhamland, in the presence of a large number of relatives and friends, by the Rev J Selwood Tanner, MA, brother of the bride. The bride was attended by three bridesmaids, and was given away by her father; and the bridegroom was accompanied, as his best man, by Lieut-Col Hankin.
No wedding for a long time has taken place at St Mary’s which has attracted so much interest, the bride having won the best wishes of the poor, to whom she has been a kind friend and visitor, and the family by their connection and position in the parish being highly esteemed and respected.
The ceremony was a choral one; at the close the guests returned to the residence of the bride’s father, where the bridal pair received the warm congratulations of their numerous friends.
Later in the day the pair left for Clifton, en route for Devonshire, amid a shower of old slippers.
125 years ago
April 9 1896
Gymnasts wow the crowds
THE big attraction in Newbury was the Gymnastic Display, which kept up its reputation for amusing a holiday crowd.
It was a very well managed show, and the program appeared to afford satisfaction generally.
Sir Francis Jeune brought with him Sir Evelyn Wood, and an energetic member of the committee diplomatically bagged the General for a speech. Unfortunately, however, this distinguished soldier has not a big voice, and few heard the compliments he paid the gymnasts, or the nice things he said about Miss Stanley.
Still it was evident that Sir Evelyn was a very interesting spectator and expressed his appreciation by hearty applause.
Sir Francis didn’t attempt a speech, but was all smiles at the graceful manner in which Miss Stanley discharged her task.
It was a splendid audience, but the expenses were heavy, and the balance is likely to be only a small one.
100 years ago April 7 1921
Death of a maestro
POSSIBLY never has the opening of the NWN on Thursday morning caused such a shock in the households in Newbury. To nearly all it was the first intimation received of the sudden death of Mr JS Liddle the night before.
Only a few had heard of the sad event, and it came as a great blow to those who had been either pupils or admirers of his talents in music.
Although a man who was absorbed in his art, and seldom stepped outside it, he was a delightful companion, ready with a witty story or a happy remark. His death has been felt as a personal loss, and for the present the vacancy in musical circles is difficult to fill.
Unassuming in private life, he was an autocrat on the conductor’s stand, and wielded the baton of a man who must be obeyed. That was why he achieved so much success with the varying capacities of orchestra, choir and choruses.
He got the best out of them, and inspired the most diffident with confidence.
JSL was a bundle of nerves, and always worked at the highest pressure. Even while he talked, his fingers were working as if on the neck of his beloved violin.
75 years ago
April 4 1946
Strike hits cinemas
WILL the strike of technicians in the film industry affect local cinemas?
The answer is that this week’s programmes are secure, but managers are worried about next week.
Mr Albin White, of the Regal, says if the strike continues there may be some doubt about carrying through the advertised programme, but every effort will be made not to disappoint patrons. Some films will be shown.
The same applies to the Carlton and the Forum.
The Forum management expect Sunday’s films to arrive that morning. They hope next week’s will come along, too.
If they don’t, stand-by films will be introduced, but the trouble is there is a shortage of films, and very few cinemas have any in reserve.
50 years ago
April 1 1971
Cyril served in two wars
MR Cyril Turner, of Aynho, Longrove, Bucklebury, who died last week aged 80, was in the Forces for 10 years during the two world wars.
He served in the Royal Flying Corps during the 1914-18 war, part of the time in Germany, and was in this country with the RAF for six years during the 1939-45 war. Mr Turner spent his early years at Kidlington, but came to the Newbury area about 60 years ago as fruit and flowers gardener for Miss Hughes-Jones, of Thatcham. For 10 years, until his retirement at 65, he had a greengrocery round in the Beenham area and also worked for Berkshire County Council, taking round schoolchildren’s dinners.
He and his wife, who survives him, celebrated their golden wedding three years ago.
They had a daughter and three grandchildren.
The funeral service was on Tuesday at All Saints Church, Bucklebury.
25 years ago
March 29 1996
Denim’s all the rage
A CHILTON Foliat businesswoman has been busy since exhibiting at the recent Country Living Fair in London.
Mrs Janet Bingham runs Bear Brothers, which produces a range of hard-wearing denim aprons for serious cooks and gardeners, which reflect her experience in designing jeans.
The aprons produced a flurry of interest at the fair, especially the newly-launched aprons for children, which Mrs Bingham said “sold like hot cakes”.
Mrs Bingham’s company had to go through a rigorous screening process, before being chosen as an exhibitor for the fair, which provides a showcase for the best of small, rural businesses, many of which are involved in craft and country related activities.
Since appearing at the fair, interest has escalated with orders coming in from established traders and fair attendees. A Dutch agent is also exhibiting the products in the Benelux countries and in the USA.
10 years ago
April 7 2011
Auction hits right note
TWO rare ‘Newbury’ banknotes – produced more than a century ago when the town printed its own money – are set to fetch a total of £1,500 at auction next Wednesday.
Both notes are emblazoned with the words ‘Newbury Bank’ and both were produced by that bank in or around 1887, when Newbury and the rest of Britain was celebrating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.
Auctioneers Spink describe the notes as “rare” and, because they were never issued, are in excellent condition.
The more valuable of the two notes, whose original face value was £50, is expected to sell for up to £800 at the central London auction.
The £10 note should fetch up to £700.
Newbury was printing its own money as early as 1782 when two enterprising local businessman named Vincent and Withers set up what became known as Newbury Old Bank.
In 1790 a rival bank, simply known as Newbury Bank, was launched by Sam Toomer, Brice Bunney, Sam Slocock and John King.
It was this latter bank which produced the notes now coming up for sale.
Newbury Old Bank went bust in 1816, along with many other provincial banks of the era, but its rival Newbury Bank was much more successful. It overcame all the financial crises and economic downturns and successfully traded for more than a century until 1895 when it was taken over by Capital and Counties Bank Ltd, which was itself was taken over in 1918 by Lloyds Bank, which in 1995 became Lloyds TSB.
Newbury started printing its own money in the late 18th century because it was too difficult and dangerous to bring in big quantities of cash from London, 60 miles away, in those days before the M4, security firms, CCTV cameras and proper street lighting. In recent years the notes of these now-defunct provincial banks have become increasingly sought-after and valuable.