Out & About January 2018

James Money at York House, The Broadway Newbury

James Money

J ames Money (1834-1918) is possibly the most influential Newbury person you have never heard of and there is every chance that you have walked past many of ‘his buildings’. If you travel widely within West Berkshire, then this list of structures would rise to 70-plus and include such iconic landmarks as Newbury and Hungerford town halls. James Money was born at The Dene in Donnington, near the Castle Pub. He was the son of John and Maria Money and had two older sisters and an older brother, the noted Newbury historian Walter Money. His father ran a brickworks at Donnington House, before moving on to create an architect and surveyors business locally. James Money finished his education and moved to London to train as an architect at Cooper & Kent of Gray’s Inn and immediately made his mark by having some of his designs chosen in competitions for cemetery buildings at Watford, Ipswich and Keighley in Yorkshire. James returned to Newbury to join his father’s practice in the 1850s and had effectively taken over the running of the business from his father

Martha Money

children – one son and nine daughters – and he designed the ornate wooden gateway at their local church at Shaw, where he and his wife are buried. A memorial cross was later erected in their honour. The ‘Money style’ of design used different colours of brick, such as red and grey, to create a patchwork of patterns. His designs were numerous, in varying styles, and these included cottages, pubs, such as The Bell at Boxford, breweries, shops, schools, chapels (Thatcham Cemetery) and extensions to many local country houses. Money died in 1918, aged 83, and is considered to be Newbury’s answer to Sir Christopher Wren, having been so prolific during his working life. A ‘blue plaque’ to honour Newbury architect James H Money was unveiled near the main entrance to Newbury Town Hall in July 2017 by the mayor David Fenn (pictures below). Among the guests were his great-grandsons Christopher Blissard-Barnes and Anthony Wells, as well as Peter Snape, Walter Money’s great-grandson. Historian Walter also has his own blue plaque in the town.

by the 1870s. For the next 50 years he enjoyed a

productive career and in 1862 he married Martha Joan Vincent, daughter of Newbury solicitor Frederick Vincent. In 1864, his office was at 34, Northbrook Street (the former Newbury Weekly News headquarters), but by the end of the decade he expanded to York House in the Broadway and moved the family home to The Shrubbery, Oxford Road (now Wessex House, opposite Waitrose). This ‘double move’ coincided with James Money’s most productive period of designing, as he embarked on competing to design the town halls of Hungerford and Newbury. Among his most notable achievements were Hungerford Town Hall, built to his plans in 1870-71; Newbury Town Hall 1876-81, with an extension in 1909-10 and its iconic clock tower in 1880; the Falkland Memorial at Wash Common, commemorating the first Civil War Battle of Newbury, was unveiled in 1878, and the Oddfellows Hall in Craven Road, was built in 1886. James Money and his wife Martha had 10

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