John Winchcombe Senior

Cloth-making was one of the great industries of the medieval England with its main centers in Reading, Abingdon and Newbury. John Winchcombe Senior, also known as Jack of Newbury was the most prosperous and famous of the Berkshire clothiers.

He began his career as an apprentice to a wealthy clothier in Newbury, and following his master’s death he married his widow and came into possession of a large and flourishing business of cloth-making.

His wealth was of such proportions that he was, allegedly, capable of furnishing one hundred men fully equipped for the King’s service at Flodden Field. In return he was rewarded by the Queen Catherine with a “rich chain of gold” who wished that God would give the King many such clothiers.

His story is told in Thomas Deloney’s pamphlet entitled “The Most Pleasant and Delectable Historie of John Winchcombe, otherwise called Jacke of Newberie” which was published in 1596.