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Walter Blacket was born in Newbury in 1842, the
oldest of three sons of James Blacket, who had moved
to Newbury to take over an ailing stationery business.
Within three years, Walter was in sole charge of the
business, and keen to start a local newspaper.
Walter sought an editor for his new venture and found
Thomas Whieldon Turner, a former printing apprentice
at Blacket’s, who had become a reporter on the
Cheltenham Examiner
.
TW Turner returned to Newbury and on February 7, 1867,
the
Newbury Weekly News
was launched to an eager public.
To celebrate 150 years of the
Newbury
Weekly News
, West Berkshire Brewery
has created a special beer for the
newspaper. Dan Cooper went along to
watch the start of the brewing process
I
n 1867, Walter Blacket and Thomas Whieldon Turner founded the
Ne bury
Weekly News
from a stationers shop at 34 Northbrook Street.
Today, despite the emergence of digital media, the paper is still going strong
and this month marks the 150th anniversary of its service to the community.
To celebrate this milestone, the
NWN
decided to team up with West Berkshire
Brewery to brew its very own beer in what is believed to be an industry first.
In December, chief executive James Gurney, group editor Andy Murrell and I
were invited along to the Yattendon brewery and introduced to head brewer Will
Twomey – the man responsible for creating many of its award-winning beers.
I’m a big fan of beer. However, despite my taste for the brew, I didn’t know the first
thing about how it was made. To get invited to a brewery to see the beer-making
process first-hand had me as excited as I imagine my two-year-old would be at a
visit to Peppa Pig World.
I was fascinated by the tour of the brewery, which will soon be replaced by a new
state-of-the-art building just down the road, following a £4m fundraising campaign.
After a coffee, which was more than welcome after a 7am start, Will showed us
how the
Newbury Weekly News
beer goes on its amazing journey from barley to
bottle.
We were joined by West Berkshire Brewery chairman David Bruce, who has
invested more than £150,000 into the company since taking over.
Will showed us how the
Newbury Weekly News beer
would go on its amazing journey
from barley to bottle
“
”
Walter Blacket was born in Newbury in 1842, the
oldest of three sons of James Blacket, who had moved
to Newbury to take over an ailing stationery business.
Within three years, Walter was in sole charge of the
business, and keen to start a local newspaper.
Walter sought an editor for his new venture and found
Thomas Whieldon Turner, a former printing apprentice
at Blacket’s, who had become a reporter on the
Cheltenham Examiner
.
TW Turner returned to Newbury and on February 7, 1867,
the
Newbury Weekly News
was launched to an eager public.