Understand
Newbury has a population of about 45,000 and has become something of a booming company town recently as it houses the world headquarters of Vodafone, a major mobile phone operator with operations in many countries.
Newbury also attracted a lot of national and international coverage in the 1980s when it was the scene of the Greenham Common Peace camp in protest at the stationing of nuclear armed cruise missiles at a nearby air base, and in the 1990s when it hosted perhaps the most famous road protest against the Newbury bypass. The vast majority of the population probably did not appreciate either campaign.
Thatcham is best known as England's fastest growing town, with large housing areas being built to house a population which largely commutes to work in Newbury, Reading or London.
Visitors may hear both the terms 'Newbury District' and 'West Berkshire' in use; these are effectively synonymous and refer to the town of Newbury and its surrounding rural area. They are also the old and new names for the local government which runs the area that includes both Newbury and Thatcham.
