Newbury's festive market and gift fairs come with the switch-on on Saturday 14 November; Thatcham's market merges with its own on 28 November. All the dates.
Newbury’s Christmas market season opens on Saturday 14 November 2026, the Christmas Lights Switch On, when Newbury BID promises a “festive market and gift fairs” across the town centre from 10am, with the lights on at 6.30pm. The Antique and Vintage Street Market follows on Sunday 15 November, then The Base’s Winter Craft Fair at Greenham on 21 and 22 November. Thatcham’s Christmas market is Saturday 28 November, merged this year with its own switch-on. The biggest traditional fair, at Shaw House, has not yet been dated for 2026.
Updated 3 October: Newbury BID has confirmed the switch-on for Saturday 14 November with a festive market and gift fairs, and The Base’s craft fair now runs on both Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November.
The quick answer
- Newbury switch-on market and gift fairs: Saturday 14 November, 10am to 7pm, town centre, free (Visit Newbury).
- Thatcham Christmas Market and Lights Switch-On: Saturday 28 November, 12pm to 7pm, High Street and The Broadway, with Santa and the steam train (Thatcham Town Council).
- Newbury: Antique and Vintage Street Market, Sunday 15 November, 10am to 4pm, Northbrook Street, free.
- Highclere Castle’s Courtyard Christmas Gift Market, 3 to 6 December, but only with a £65 castle ticket.
Confirmed dates
| Date | Market | Where | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 14 Nov, 10am to 7pm | Christmas Lights Switch On: festive market, gift fairs, live music, lights on at 6.30pm | Newbury town centre | Free |
| Sun 15 Nov, 10am to 4pm | Newbury Antique and Vintage Street Market, part of the switch-on weekend | Northbrook Street | Free |
| Sat 21 and Sun 22 Nov, 10am to 4pm | The Base's Winter Craft Fair: ceramics, textiles, jewellery, woodwork | 101 Outdoor Arts, Greenham Business Park, RG19 6HN | £2 suggested donation |
| Sat 28 Nov, 12pm to 7pm | Thatcham Christmas Market and Lights Switch-On | High Street and The Broadway, Thatcham | Free |
| Sun 29 Nov, 10am to 4pm | Newbury Artisan Market (last Sunday of the month) | Newbury town centre | Free |
| Thu 3 to Sun 6 Dec | Courtyard Christmas Gift Market, weather permitting | Highclere Castle | Castle ticket, £65 adult |
Sources: Antique and Vintage Street Market, Winter Craft Fair, Thatcham, Artisan Market, Highclere.
Thatcham has changed its format
Until last year Thatcham ran its switch-on and its Christmas market separately. The town council says that “brand new for 2026” the two “will come together for one festive day on Saturday 28th November”: commercial, charity and community stalls along the High Street and The Broadway, food and drink, live entertainment, Santa, the steam train and the switch-on itself. It runs 12pm to 7pm. The council says more information will follow.
Newbury’s own market days
Newbury does not run one big standalone Christmas market. Its festive trading is spread across the switch-on weekend and the regular markets.
- Switch-on day, Saturday 14 November. Newbury BID’s 2026 listing promises “festive market and gift fairs” and live music across the town centre from 10am, and Santa in a new grotto at the Waterside Centre, before the lights go on at 6.30pm. It has not named the traders or the fair venues yet. The Antique and Vintage Street Market on Sunday 15 November “forms part of our Christmas Lights Switch On weekend”. Last year the switch-on day also brought seasonal traders to the Charter Market on Northbrook Street and a Christmas Gift Fair at the Corn Exchange, 10am to 5pm, free (Visit Newbury, 2025). The full switch-on picture is on our Christmas lights page.
- The Charter Market trades in Market Place every Thursday and Saturday, and the Farmers’ Market on the first Sunday of the month, which falls on 6 December (Newbury Town Council).
- The Artisan Market is on the last Sunday of each month; its November date is Sunday 29 November.
Shaw House: last year’s biggest fair, not yet dated
Shaw House’s Christmas Fair is the largest in Newbury. In 2025 it ran on Sunday 7 December, 11am to 3pm, with over 70 stalls of locally made gifts, food, drink, decorations and crafts, a mulled wine bar, children’s crafts and a reindeer trail. Entry was £2 for adults and £1 for children, with under-3s free (Visit Newbury, 2025 listing).
No 2026 date has been published. What we do know is that Shaw House is closed for all of November and reopens every day from 1 to 20 December, 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 11am to 4pm at weekends (West Berkshire Heritage). If the fair keeps to a Sunday in early December, that points to 6 or 13 December; we will confirm it as soon as West Berkshire Heritage does.
Other fairs from last year
These ran in 2025 and have no 2026 listing yet. They are here so you know what to look out for, not as dates.
- Newbury Christmas Market at the Orida Hotel, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November 2025, 10am to 4pm, £2, run by Mamas Events (2025 listing).
- Newbury Art Group Christmas Sale of Work, Newbury Town Hall, 27 to 30 November 2025.
- Christmas craft fairs at the Bacon Arms, 9 November and 6 December 2025, 1pm to 5pm.
Hungerford
Hungerford’s Victorian Extravaganza, with its street stalls, parade and fireworks, is the town’s Christmas market in all but name. It was on Friday 12 December 2025, its 33rd year, and no 2026 date has been published. Our Christmas lights page explains why an old listing for it is misleading.
Parking and getting there
Northbrook Street and Market Place sit inside Newbury’s pedestrian zone. Car park prices are on parking in Newbury and closures on Newbury roadworks and travel. For Santa visits, which several of these markets include, see Santa’s grottos near Newbury.
Still to be confirmed
| Detail | Status on 3 October 2026 | Expected |
|---|---|---|
| Newbury switch-on day | Confirmed, Saturday 14 November, 10am to 7pm | Settled |
| Newbury switch-on market traders and gift fair venues | Not published | Late October |
| Corn Exchange Christmas Gift Fair | Not listed for 2026 | October |
| Shaw House Christmas Fair | Not dated | October or November |
| Thatcham stall list and timings | “More information to follow” | November |
| Hungerford Victorian Extravaganza | Not dated | October or November |
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