Local Books
Pub Walks Near Hungerford by Alex Milne-White £7.99
A collection of fourteen walks that start in or around Hungerford. All Have a pub or two dotted along the circular routes. Covers Hungerford, Kintbury, Wickham, Burghclere, Sandham, Inkpen, Ham, Shalbourne, Wilton, Great Bedwyn, Little Bedwyn, Stype, Aldbourne and Ramsbury.
Hungerford: A Pictorial History by Hugh Pihlens £17.95
In this easy-to-read book the author reviews the entire history of the town and makes skilfull use of a superb selection of well-captioned old photographs to provide a vivid, visual impression of the place and its people over a hundred years ago, and of its changing life and scenes since then. This second edtion contains updated captions and a further 48 photographs covering events since 1930.
Hungerford: A History published by Hungerford Historical Association £4.95
Careful reasearch from original documents has produced this fascinating paperback on Hungerford’s history.
A Man of Hungerford: The Memories of Jack Williams £9.00
Reminiscences of a Hungerford man (and former Mayor of Hungerford). He has lived through some remarkable happenings and changes in the town – this book records those events and is a compulsive read for anyone associated with this town in the Kennet Valley.
Hungerford 2000 devised and drawn by Rufus Segar £5.00
Worth buying this alone for the intricate line drawings of the buildinggs and streets of Hungerford. This was originally published as a millenium souvenir by The Town and Manor of Hungerford and the Liberty of Sanden Fee.
The History of St. Lawrence Church, Hungerford by Fred Bailey £4.00
A booklet on this parish church described by Songs of praise presenter Pam Rhodes as having “an air of solidarity..that belies its real age”. Contains numerous photographs.
Membury at War by Roger Day £11.95
This is the remarkable story of a Berkshire airfield during the Second World War. Everyday thousands of motorists pass Membury Services on the M4 Motorway between London and Bristol. Few will see the old concrete runways or notice hangars as they speed by, but both ae clues to its former wartime past. In 1941 the landscape around the tiny settlement of Lambourn Woodlands changed dramatically and the following year Membury airfield opened and played a vitally important part in the liberation of Nazi occupied Europe.
Look, Duck and Vanish: A History of the 6th (Marlborough) Battalion Wiltshire Home Guard by Roger Day £12.95
A history of the Home Guard in the Wiltshire market town of Marlborough. The author has interviewed more than twenty local veterans who served either in the LDV, Home Guard or Army Cadet Force beween the years of 1940 and 1944.
Roger Day has also published Savernake at War and Ramsbury at War (the latter now being out of print – but do contact us in case we have a second hand copy available). Mor information on Roger Day’s books can be found here: www.ramsburyatwar.com
Around the 3 Valleys by Lesley Dunlop & Dick Greenaway £10.50
This is an exploration of the geology, landscape and history of the Lambourn, Kennet and Pang valleys in West Berkshire. The Berkshire Downlands were some of the earliest British landscapes inhabited by people after the retreat of the ice approximately 12,000 years ago. The marks they have left are still visible to those who look and they are surrounded by enough local geology and wildlife to satisfy the most enquiring mind. This book is offered to help their exploration. Be warned – once commenced exploration can become compulsive!
Enborne & Wash Common: An Illustrated History by Penelope Stokes £15.00
Enborne and Wash Common lie side by side on the south west of Newbury, in Berkshire. This history deals with overlapping themes such as farms, families, schooling, churches, landscape and recreation, topped and tailed in chronological terms by two key events that have affected both parishes; the first battle of Newbury in 1643 and the arrival of the Newbury bypass in 1998.
The Story of Newbury by David Peacock £9.95
In the 21st Century, the bustling market town of Newbury is now home to a famous racecourse, a global telecommunications companyand a leading pharmaceutical business – it has come a long way from its pre-Roman beginnings, when it was little more than a group of huts beside the River Kennet. This brand new account of Newbury’s past will fascinate and inform residents and visitors alike.
Newbury in the News by Gerald Hunt £10.95
Stories from a former reporter of the Newbury Weekly News. He covered murders, train crashes, road building protests and Royal visits. In this book, Gerald Hunt has tried to convey both the serious and the bizarre side of his job.
Newbury & Thatcham: Past & Present Map £8.99
Discover the landscapes of the past with maps reproduced by Cassini. This fold-out map enables you to compare 4 different maps from 4 different periods (1817 – present day). It includes the villages of Boxford, Burghclere, Chievely, Cold Ash, Ecchinswell, headley, Hermitage, Highclere, Upper Bucklebury and Woolton Hill.
Queen of Waters: A Journey in Time Along the Kennet & Avon Canal by Kirsten Elliott £20
The Kennet & Avon Canal was the wonder of its age, a broad waterway built across southern England as a trade route between the country’s two greatest ports – London and Bristol. It changed the countryside through which it passed forever. Yet only 30 years after it was completed, Brunel’s Great Western Railway opened, robbing it of much of its traffic. After decades of neglect came ultimate dereliction. It lay like a sleeping princess, weed-choked and silent, its locks and bridges crumbling – but some people refused to let it die. Thanks to their efforts, it was eventually restored, to become once more the Queen of Waters. Two hundred years after the first cargoes sailed along it, and twenty years on from its grand reopening, this book pays tribute to the canal that refused to die.
