page_title: Newbury, Berkshire
section_title: Greenham Common
hierarchical_section_title: Newbury, Berkshire / History / Greenham Common
caption_attribution_description: RAF Greenham Common runway late 1980s.
context_page_description: Newbury is a historic market town in the county of Berkshire, England, which is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council.
  The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timbered granary, and the 15th-century St Nicolas Church, along with 17th- and 18th-century listed buildings. As well as being home to Newbury Racecourse, it is the headquarters of Vodafone UK and software company Micro Focus International.
  In the valley of the River Kennet, 26 miles south of Oxford, 25 miles north of Winchester, 27 miles south east of Swindon and 20 miles west of Reading. Newbury lies on the edge of the Berkshire Downs; part of the North Wessex Downs Area of outstanding natural beauty, 3 miles north of the Hampshire-Berkshire county boundary. In the suburban village of Donnington lies the part-ruined Donnington Castle and the surrounding hills are home to some of the country's most famous racehorse training grounds. To the south is a narrower range of hills including Walbury Hill and a few private landscape gardens and mansions such as Highclere Castle.
context_section_description: A large Royal Air Force station was established during the Second World War at Greenham Common on the edge of the town. In the 1950s, it became home to US Air Force bombers and tankers, for which it was equipped with the longest military runway in the United Kingdom. In the 1980s, it became one of only two USAF bases in the UK equipped with ground-launched nuclear-armed cruise missiles, causing it to become the site of protests by up to 40,000 protesters and the establishment of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. With the end of the Cold War, the base was closed, the runway was broken up, much of it used as fill material in building the Newbury bypass, and the area was restored to heathland. This project then saw Greenham and Crookham common reopened to the public in 2000.
caption: Greenham Common in the late 80s
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