Weavers Cottages Newbury Hoodies

These canalside grade 2 listed cottages in Newbury, West Berkshire were once home to the town's prosperous weaving community. Today, their stoic beauty is captured in a monochrome view, framed by the rippled water of the Kennet and Avon canal. The tranquil scene conjures images of a bygone era when boats transported cloth to the bustling capital city.

The old weavers' cottages stand by the towpath of the Kennet and Avon canal in Newbury, West Berkshire. During the Middle Ages Newbury was noted for its cloth trade but this diminished rapidly in the late C16th and more so after the Civil War. Being on the Kennet Navigation (opened in 1723) towards London meant that cloth could be transported easily to the Capital via Reading. The canal, seen here, from Newbury to Bath and the port of Bristol was opened in 1796.

The Weavers Cottages stand on the towpath of the Kennet and Avon Canal in Newbury, Berkshire, just upstream from West Mills. Newbury was once famous for its cloth making with both the wool and finished product being transported along the canal by narrow boat.

The Kennet and Avon Canal as it makes its way westwards out of Newbury in West Berkshire. Here it joins with the River Kennet which at one time provided the water to power the corn and woollen mills along here. Newbury was renowned for its woollen industry and just ahead here is a row of weavers' cottages from the earlier days of cottage industry. The canal was used to transport wool, woollen goods as well as other commodities east to London via the Thames or west to Bath and Bristol.