Eastbury   

A Berkshire Village     

 


Stop press: Courtesy of Joe Goodman we have a gallery of pictures from the wonderful Jubilee celebrations on Sunday 3rd June 2012. Please click here to see Joe's pictures
 
Oh, and some more from David Rutherford
 
And yet more from Peter West
 

 

The launch

The book launch took place in Eastbury Village Hall on Sunday 13th July 2003 and was, though we say so ourselves, a resounding success.

There was an extensive and beautifully presented display of information (which is moving to the Newbury Museum for the second half of July) about the village, including many photographs old and new. Members of the editorial team were on hand to talk about the material and answer questions, and Jenny's wonderful homemade cakes were enjoyed by all.

Thanks partly to the beautiful weather, the hall was packed to the gunwales with visitors for much of the time, especially after lunch, and we had to push the stragglers out more than half an hour after 4.00pm when we had intended to close. Everyone enjoyed it enormously, or at least claimed to, and sales of the book have already exceeded 250. The print run will shortly be sold out, so buy now while stocks last.

Click on the small pictures to see the full-sized versions (then click the 'Back' button on your browser to return).

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The site

This website has been created to support the launch of a new and, as far as we know, the only book about Eastbury. The book is the  village's millennium project; we're a little late, but we hope the result is worth the wait.

Eastbury is a small, peaceful, pretty downland village in West Berkshire, about a mile and a half from the horse-racing town of Lambourn. We still have a church, a village hall and a pub, but unfortunately have lost our Post Office, shops, garage, bakery, two Methodist chapels and two other pubs over the course of many years. The River Lambourn flows through the length of the village (except when it dries up at irregular and unpredictable intervals), and has a resident population of ducks and moorhens.

To quote from the back cover of the book:

The village of Eastbury lies in the Lambourn Valley in the north-western corner of Berkshire. It has yet to feature as home to any major events that have shaped the history of England, but in its own quiet way its history presents a revealing portrait of the evolution of an English rural community ...

... This book aims to give a flavour of life in the village and an appreciation of the character of this attractive corner of West Berkshire.

The archive

During the course of compiling this book, we have accumulated a large archive of information and pictures - far more than could possibly be included in the book itself. This is now being added to the web site for the benefit both of local people and of historians who may have an interest in Eastbury.

The first release of the archive (on 4th July 2004) contains the pictures, of which there are currently about 500; we intend to add the text documents as soon as possible. There is some very interesting material in the archive, so please click here and take a look.

The book

Eastbury    A Berkshire Village
© Eastbury Millennium Association
Published by Lambourn Valley Press
With an introduction by Professor Sir Michael Howard, Emeritus Professor of Modern History, Oxford University
ISBN  0-9545221-0-9
Price: £9.95, a few copies still available from West Berkshire Museum, The Wharf, Newbury
If you have broadband internet access, you can now view the book on your computer by clicking here.

You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't currently have this, click on the logo ...

 

... and follow the instructions.

Media exposure

The exhibition which was put together for the launch was on display in the Newbury Museum between 17th July 2003 and 31st July 2003.

There was an article in the Newbury Weekly News on Thursday 17th July 2003.

 

Looking for the Eastbury Partnership at http://www.eastbury.co.uk? Click here.