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| HER Number | MWB16732 |
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| Record Type | Monument |
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| Name | Site of The King's Arms, Speenhamland, Newbury (also The Dower House) |
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Summary
Very large Queen Anne building, used as a coaching inn and converted into private houses by 1900, but demolished by 1970s
Monument Type(s):
- COACHING INN (Demolished, 18th century to Cold War - 1710 AD? to 1970 AD?)
Full Description
The former King's Arms Inn was a massive three storey and seven bay building of variegated brick <1><2><3>. It is seems to have been built as an inn, supposedly before 1710, although there has been a suggestion it was constructed in 1759 by James Clarke who built the Kennet Bridge; this date may refer to a later addition, the west wing of which remains <4>. Money puts the date of the King's Arms at 1755 and the architect as Mr William McLary <1>. At the time of Money's history (1905) the inn had been converted into private housing; presumably this is when it changed its name to The Dower House, although there is no suggestion of this ever being a function of the building (ie a house forming part of a widow's dower and intended as her residence).
At the time of Pevsner's guide <3>, the house was abandoned, and although he wrote that it ought to be preserved, it was demolished by the 1970s. Wheeler's Garage relocated to the site from The Broadway in the mid 1950s <13>. A modern replacement with the name 'Dower House' now occupies the site.
West Berkshire Museum has photographs showing the south front and the east front of 44 London Road in the 1950s and 1960s <12>.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Money, W. 1905 & 1972. A Popular History of Newbury (also Walter Money's History of Newbury). p99. [Monograph / SWB11278] |
| <02> | Betjeman, J and Piper, J (eds). 1949. Murray's Berkshire Architectural Guide. p136. [Monograph / SWB10404] |
| <03> | Pevsner, N. 1966. The Buildings of England (Berkshire). p185. [Monograph / SWB10024] |
| <04> | The Borough Museum, Newbury. 1973. Newbury Buildings Past and Present. p6-8, 74, Illust p87, Map No 15. [Monograph / SWB12937] |
| <05> | 1943. Country Life 23 July 1943. [Article in serial / SWB147009] |
| <06> | Unknown - Newbury Museum. ?. Coaching Inns - Speen and Newbury. [Unpublished document / SWB13471] |
| <07> | Willis, John. 1768. Willis' Map of the Country ten miles round Newbury, with a plan of the Town of Newbury and of Speenhamland, 1768. 2 inch to mile?. Town Map No 15. [Map / SWB8040]
https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/50263734041 (Accessed 16/09/2021) |
| <08> | Thatcham Historical Society. July 2007. Journal of Thatcham Historical Society. Volume 1, Number 1. p19-43 Survival and Loss: Buildings of the Coaching Trade in Newbury, Part 1 by Sue Broughton. [Article in serial / SWB147687] |
| <09> | Museum Curator. Newbury Museum Accession Records (West Berkshire Museum since 1998). 2022 WBC Network. NEBYM:1986.81.3. [Unpublished document / SWB14452] |
| <10> | Page and Ditchfield (eds). 1924. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks IV 1924. Vol 4. p98. [Monograph / SWB10281]
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4 (Accessed 24/09/2015) |
| <11> | Davis, Cornelius. 1849. Davis' Ten Miles round Newbury, 1849. Ref No 36 'Padburys'. [Map / SWB13949] |
| <12> | Museum Curator. Newbury Museum Accession Records (West Berkshire Museum since 1998). 2022 WBC Network. NEBYM:1986.56.9; 1986.81.3; 1989.56; 2004.50.559-560. [Unpublished document / SWB14452] |
| <13> | Day, R and Green, T. 2021. A Motoring History of the Kennet Valley
A Motoring History of the Kennet Valley. p127, Illust. [Monograph / SWB150238]
https://countrysidebooks.co.uk/collections/most-popular-titles/products/motoring-history-of-the-kennet-valley?variant=42258625888430 (Accessed on 11/05/2022) |
Related Monuments
| MWB3464 | SPEENHAMLAND, Newbury (Place) |
| MWB19491 | 44 London Road, Newbury (Building) |
| MWB21729 | Site of cinema, 74 Cheap Street, Newbury (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
None recordedIf you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
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