4 members of NBC have been mayors - did you get it right?
Henry Flint was a deacon from 1839-79.
He was the church organist and choirmaster for much of this time, and on 21st May 1858 he made a winning bid of £930 on behalf of the church for a site in Northbrook Street. This became the church’s new home.
Aside from church life, Flint was a highly influential member of the community. He was a Justice of the Peace and local Alderman. He served as a Liberal councillor and was a trustee of several charities, as well as a founding trustee of Newbury Building Society.
He owned a Coal Merchant’s in St. Mary’s Hill (a short walk from the current church building in Cheap Street).
His brother, Samuel, also served as Mayor in 1871.
Alfred Jackson 1846-1925
Alfred Jackson was a draper, who traded under the name of Harding Brothers in the market place. He was a deacon from 1875-1925.
When the Sunday School grew rapidly in the 1880s and required larger premises, he was elected treasurer of the Sunday School Building fund. He also chaired all meetings during the pastoral vacancy of 1908-09.
In the wider community Jackson was an Alderman and councillor. He played a key role in establishing an isolation hospital in Wash Common, and laid the foundation stone for the Salvation Army in Northcroft Lane.
William E. Lewendon (1851-1915)
William Elial Lewendon was the first recorded member of the Lewendon family to be involved at NBC, with his great-granddaughter an active member of the church today.
He was involved in the Sunday School and was a committed temperance worker, during a time when the temperance movement was very popular, especially among nonconformists.
Lewendon was a Liberal councillor and ran two grocer’s shops. He was also a shipping agent and sold antiques. He was committed to social action, founding the Mayor’s Distress Committee whilst Mayor, and was instrumental in obtaining a free library for the town in 1906. Under the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900, he instigated a survey of the standard of housing in Newbury, resulting in a programme of improved housing.
His involvement in the Passive Resistance movement is told on our story board.
Jo Day (1951 - present)
Henry Flint (1808-79)
Mayor - 1859-1860
Mayor - 1891-1892
Mayor - 1903
Mayor - 2014 and 2026
Jo has been a member of NBC since 1991 and served as deacon from 2019-24. She was a Sunday School teacher in church, and a secondary school teacher for 40 years.
She has served as a Liberal Democrat councillor since 2007 and was Deputy Council Leader for three years. She currently also serves as chair of Newbury Civic Pride, Arts and Culture.