Summer Events at Shaw House

High summer and high time you high-tailed it to the magnificent Elizabethan Shaw House on the edge of Newbury where some very special events are taking place in July and August.

Shaw House Summer Fair: Sunday 19th July

Come along from 11am to 4pm on Sunday 19th July to enjoy a truly traditional English country fair, with craft stalls, garden games, music, bouncy castle, a magician, barbecue and much, much more besides, all in the lovely setting of the grounds of historic Shaw House. 

(Both of the above events are part of NewburyFest 2015, which runs until 26th July)

Open-Air Cinema at Shaw House: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August

Watching a film on the Great Lawn at Shaw House as the sun goes down adds a spectacular dimension to going to the movies, and this summer sees two quite different productions:

• Top Gun, on Saturday 8th August, is the award-winning 1986 classic action drama starring Tom Cruise as Naval aviator Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, and Kelly McGillis as love interest Charlie Blackwood.

• The Theory of Everything, on Sunday 9th August, is the award-winning 2014 film based on a biographical work about theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, and is a romantic drama about his relationship with Jane Wilde, who became his wife.

Gates open at 7pm, films start at sunset and refreshments are available.

Tickets: available from www.cultscreens.co.uk – £12.50 (deckchairs) or £15 (bean bags).

The Taming of the Shrew Open-Air Theatre: Sunday 30th August

An evening performance of William Shakespeare’s wonderfully comic The Taming of the Shrew. This is a battle-of-the-sexes comedy, brought to Shaw House by Illyria Open-Air Touring Theatre Company, in which fortune-hunting Petruchio seeks to tame the wealthy, acid-tongued Katherina. But is everyone who they appear to be?...

Gates open at 5.30pm for 7.00pm start.

Tickets: Adults £15, children £8.

Family Activity Wednesdays

On Wednesdays during the school summer holidays, Shaw House is hosting special family activity days. Starting from 10am and running until 4pm (last entry 3.30pm), there are all sorts of activities aimed at children aged 4 to 11 (all children must be accompanied by an adult). Just drop in at a time to suit you – there is no need to book. Entry to Shaw House is, as always, free of charge but there is a small charge for each activity.

This is a great way to keep the children occupied during those long summer holidays, so bring them along and prepare to have fun!

Visiting Shaw House

Shaw House and its grounds are open to the public on weekends from 11am to 4pm and on weekdays during school holidays from 10am to 4pm until 28th September, reopening in February. Entry is free and there is a café and gift shop on site.

Further details from the website or enquires by phone to Shaw House on 01635 279279.

Here It Comes… NewburyFest 2015!

Time to get your party shoes polished – NewburyFest 2015 starts on 27th June and this year it promises to be bigger and better than ever before.

Now in its third year, NewburyFest takes over the town this summer for a whole month, with fabulous, fun activities for all the family.

There’s lots happening the first weekend with:

• Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June: Strongman Competitions. So popular, this has been extended into a two-day event and takes place in the town centre.
• Saturday 27th June: Party on the Pitch at Newbury Rugby Club. An afternoon and evening of games, sport, live music, food, ale, cider and lots more. You can even camp for the night! 
• Sunday 28th June: Newbury Rotary Club Boules Tournament. Teams need to pre-register for this charity event which takes place in Market Square, though individual entrants can join in a public competition on the day.
• Sunday 28th June: Newbury Food & Craft Fair. A full-on day of local food, craft and fun, with lots of stalls selling their wares in the town centre.
• Sunday 28th June: Ring of Fire Cycle Ride. Test yourself, cycle with the family or just go along and watch this day of fun cycling events, all starting and finishing at The Wharf in Newbury. The circular routes are 10, 30 and 60 miles long, taking in beautiful West Berkshire countryside. Proceeds go to two good causes: ÉFirefighter's CharityÉ & Camp Uganda. (More details and registration here)

The rest of the week is jam-packed with excitement too:

• Monday 29th June - Saturday 4th July: Shop Local Week. Go on, support your local independent shops by making the decision to shop with them for one whole week – and beyond. Enjoy entertainment from buskers as you shop. (If you would like to register to busk, contact Suzanne Young at Newbury BID – suzanne@newburybid.com / 01635 760505.)
• Thursday 2nd July: Newbury Racecourse Key4Life Charity Race Evening & 80s Disco. The first of two great charity evenings during NewburyFest. Enjoy seven races then roll back the years with an 80s disco with Jack FM. 
• Thursday 2nd July: Summer Cyclocross in Goldwell Park. The final Thursday evening of six in this year’s fabulous cycling challenge for cyclists of all ages on grass tracks designed for all levels.
• Saturday 4th July: Independents Day with Covent Garden Entertainers. The final day of Shop Local Week sees entertainment throughout the town from this brilliant team of entertainers.
• Sunday 5th July: Newbury Carnival. The parade starts at 2pm in Pound Street and finishes at Park Way, next to Victoria Park, where the Carnival Fete takes place 12pm–6pm. Register for your group, organisation or business to join in the parade… there’s lots of prizes! 

That’s just week one! Next up comes:

• Sunday 12th July: Wiggle MagnifiCat. Starting from Newbury Racecourse, join over 2,000 cyclists in this exciting event, with an ultimate ride of short (44 miles), standard (85 miles) or epic (128 miles) proportions, taking in the rolling Hampshire countryside and South Downs. (Register here)
• Sunday 12th July: The Three Musketeers at Shaw House. Enjoy an afternoon in the sunshine with this open-air performance of Alexandre Dumas’ most famous work, with exciting comedy and dazzling swordplay. 
• Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July: Newbury Balloon Festival. Three days of afternoon and night-time fun at Newbury Showground. As well as the balloons (weather permitting) there will be all sorts of stalls, activities and entertainments, plus live music and a funfair. All proceeds will go to charity. Look out for further details on the Visit Newbury website. 
• Sunday 19th July: Vintage Fire Engine Day. Come along to Newbury town centre to see these magnificent machines.
• Sunday 19th July: Shaw House Summer Fair. Craft stalls, garden games, music, barbecue and much more, all in the lovely setting of the grounds of historic Shaw House on the edge of Newbury.
• Wednesday 22nd July: RSC Live – The Merchant of Venice at the Corn Exchange. The melting pot of Venice and one of Shakespeare’s finest tragedies, brought to you via live broadcast from no other than the Royal Shakespeare Company. (Details at the Corn Exchange)
• Thursday 23rd July: Newbury Racecourse NSPCC Charity Race Evening & Comedy Night. The second of two great charity evenings during NewburyFest. A summer evening of racing followed by live comedy in the Crafty Filly, and all in a good cause. 

NewburyFest 2015 goes out with a bang on the final weekend with two celebrated local festivals:

• Saturday 25th July: CultureFest. Get along to Newbury Racecourse where CultureFest is back, celebrating ethnic diversity with performances, presentations, workshops and demonstrations in art, music, dance and foods from around the world. Voluntary organisations, businesses and traders who would like to be involved should contact waheeda@all2gether.org.uk. 
• Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th July: Newbury Waterways Festival. With this year’s theme of ‘Flower Power’, The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s spectacular event has a flotilla of boats transforming the wharf all weekend. In Victoria Park on the Sunday there will be stalls, entertainment, food and fun for all – and the very popular duck race! (More details here)

Look out for further details of NewburyFest 2015:
NewburyFest
Visit Newbury 

NewburyFest is brought to you by Newbury BID (Business Improvement District) who arrange and/or support and promote the events (www.newburybid.com).

Biddy at Shaw House

Have you been to Shaw House? It’s a masterpiece of Elizabethan architecture right on Newbury’s doorstep and makes for a fascinating visit … and entry is free!

Generations of local people know Shaw House in a former guise as a school. My goodness, what an amazing place that must have been to be educated back in the day (from 1943–85 to be precise). But you need to wind the clock back several centuries to appreciate its origins.

It was built in 1581 for wealthy cloth merchant Thomas Dolman, and stayed in his family for six generations – welcoming several members of royalty over the years – until 1728. It remained a private house for another two centuries until requisitioned by the military during the Second World War, during which time Newbury Senior School was bombed-out and saw Shaw House adapted to accommodate the displaced scholars. Structural issues in 1985 meant this piece of local history closed for 20 years, until a huge renovation project began. Completed in 2008, the magnificent Shaw House is now open for all to enjoy.

And enjoy it I did when I visited recently. It is open on weekends and during school holidays, February to September, so pick your moment to go. (Not only is it a visitor attraction but also a popular conference and wedding venue, and the Register Office is here too.)

Parking is nice and easy, and the first view of this beautiful red-brick manor house is quite breathtaking. There’s a warm welcome in reception and an explanation of all that you can do here. You may be fortunate, as I was, to meet Judith who kindly gave me and another handful of early visitors a potted history in The Hall before letting us loose on a self-guided tour. 

There are plenty or rooms to explore, where you can uncover a detailed history of the house. I’m not going to give too much away about what you can see and do, but I particularly enjoyed the exhibition which gives an insight into the lives and experiences of the people that have spent time here – rich owners and their families, their visitors, their servants, military personnel and school children.

With lots of opportunities for children to enjoy hands-on activities, a visit to Shaw House is an excellent way to keep them entertained for a few hours, and in particular on Wednesday Family Activity Days during the school holidays.

The grounds are currently undergoing a major project to bring them back to some of their former glory – image the days when the view from Shaw House swept down to what is now the Robin Hood roundabout! – so this latest restoration will add another dimension for future visits.

Over the coming months Shaw House is making the most of its enviable setting with, for example, open air cinema and theatre, and a summer fair. Have a look at their website or pick up a brochure to find out more about these and other events (http://info.westberks.gov.uk and follow the Leisure, Parks and Countryside link).

Can’t possibly sign off without mentioning the Shaw House café, situated in the old kitchen, which sits above an Elizabethan bakehouse, discovered during the most recent renovations. The café has the most enormous fireplace, giving a real sense of days gone by – as do the inscriptions on the tables, such as an inventory from 1622. It’s a great setting to enjoy good coffee and delicious home-made cake, which are most definitely of 21st-century calibre.

Biddy x