Didcot
Didcot shown within Oxfordshire
Population	25,231
OS grid reference	SU525900
- London	54.7m
Parish	Didcot
District	South Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DIDCOT
Postcode district	OX11
Dialling code	+44-1235
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
European Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Wantage
List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire

Coordinates: 51°36′23″N 1°14′28″W / 51.6063, -1.241 Image File history File links Red_pog2. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... A civil parish (usually just parish) in England is a subnational entity forming the lowest unit of local government, lower than districts or counties. ... The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. ... South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. ... Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of English administrative division used for the purposes of local government. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... South East England is one of the nine official regions of England. ... // Constituent country is a phrase used, often by official institutions, in contexts in which a historical, currently non-legally officially recognised country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged, gives an overview of states around the world with information on the extent of their sovereignty. ... A post town is a required part of all UK postal addresses. ... UK postal codes are known as postcodes. ... The OX postcode area, also known as the Oxford postcode area[2], is a group of postal districts around Abingdon, Bampton, Banbury, Bicester, Burford, Carterton, Chinnor, Chipping Norton, Didcot, Kidlington, Oxford, Thame, Wallingford, Wantage, Watlington, Witney and Woodstock in England. ... +44 redirects here. ... There are a number of policing agencies in the United Kingdom. ... Thames Valley Police is one of the largest Home Office police services in England and the largest non-metropolitan one, covering 2200 sq mi (5,700 km²) and a population of 2. ... A Fire Appliance belonging to the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service The fire service in the United Kingdom has undergone dramatic changes since the beginning of the 21st century, a process that has been propelled by a devolution of central government powers, new legislation and a change to operational... The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, is the Fire Service serving the county of Oxfordshire. ... The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, and Southampton, in the South East England region. ... This is a list of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom in the 2004 to 2009 session, ordered by name. ... The constituency within England. ... The United Kingdom House of Commons is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs). ... Wantage is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places within counties List of places in Bedfordshire List of places in Berkshire List of places in Buckinghamshire List of places in Cambridgeshire List of places in Cheshire List of places in Cleveland List of places... This is a list of settlements in both the non-metropolitan shire and ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Didcot is a town in the Thames Valley, in the English county of Oxfordshire (although formerly in Berkshire). The town is located approximately 8 miles south of the city of Oxford. Ronda, Spain Main street in Bastrop, Texas, United States, a small town A town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... The Thames Valley is generally the region that drains into the River Thames, England, but is used in a more specific term by the government. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ...

The district in England with the highest healthy life expectancy, according to the Office for National Statistics study, is the 1990s-built Ladygrove estate in Didcot.^[1]

History and economy

Didcot dates back to the Iron Age. The settlement was situated on the ridge in the town, and the remainder of the surrounding area was marshland. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ...

The Romans attempted to drain the marshland by building the ditch that runs north through what is now known as the Ladygrove area north of the town near Long Wittenham. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Long Wittenham is a small village on the southern bank of the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. ...

Didcot first appears in historical records in the 1200s as Dudcotte, Berkshire. The name is believed to be derived from that of the local Abbot. Didcot was then a sleepy rural Berkshire village with a population of 100 or so, and remained that way for hundreds of years, only occasionally cropping up in records. Parts of the original village still exist in the Lydalls Road area and part of All Saints church dates back to the eleventh century. It was much smaller than several surrounding villages, who are now dwarfed by modern Didcot. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Abbot (disambiguation). ... Masouleh village, Gilan Province, Iran. ...

There are a number of major scientific employers nearby including the UKAEA at Culham (and the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion research project), Harwell Laboratory, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (the research council responsible for Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) and the Diamond Light Source synchrotron, which is the largest UK-funded scientific facility to be built for over 30 years. Didcot is also the base of operations for the Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) was established in 1954 as a statutory corporation to oversee and pioneer the development of nuclear energy within the United Kingdom. ... Split image of JET with right side showing hot plasma during a shot. ... The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s. ... Science and Technology Facilities Council Logo The Science and Technology Facilities Council (or Scitech) is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy. ... Aerial view of Rutherford Appleton Lab. ... Diamond Light Source is a synchrotron research facility located on the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, England. ... Synchrotrons are now mostly used for producing monochromatic high intensity X-ray beams; here, the synchrotron is the circular track, off which the beamlines branch. ... Baptist Union of Great Britain - the oldest and largest national association of Great Britain. ...

The railway

1839 saw the arrival of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway at Didcot, and in 1844 his station followed, which enclosed the track completely in a similar style to Paddington (the original station burnt down in the later part of nineteenth century). The more obvious location for the original line to Bristol would have been the town of Abingdon a little further north, but the landowner, Lord Wantage, is reputed to have prevented the railway coming close to the town. This and the junction of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway created the conditions for the future growth of Didcot. The station's name also finally fixed the spelling of Didcot. 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... Jan. ... Paddington Station, March 2005 during rush hour Paddington station or London Paddington station is a major National Rail and London Underground station complex in the Paddington area of London. ... This article is about the English city. ... Abingdon is a market town in Oxfordshire, England and is one of the towns which claim to be Britains oldest continuously occupied town. ... Brigadier-General Robert James Loyd-Lindsay, Baron Wantage of Lockinge, VC, KCB, FRS, (April 16, 1832 – June 10, 1901) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British forces. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... This article is about the city of Worcester in England. ... Wolverhampton is a city in the historic county of Staffordshire and metropolitan county of the West Midlands. ...

Didcot - a railway town.

The position of Didcot at the junction of the routes to London, Bristol, Oxford and to Southampton via the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway made the location of strategic importance to military logistics, in particular during the campaign on the Western Front and the build up to D-Day. Although that railway line has closed and the large Army and Royal Air Force ordnance depots that were built to serve these needs have long since disappeared beneath the power station and Milton Park trading estate, there is still an army camp (Vauxhall Barracks) on the edge of town. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 864 KB) Summary Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK, grew up around the Great Western Railway. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 864 KB) Summary Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK, grew up around the Great Western Railway. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the English city. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... For other uses, see Southampton (disambiguation). ... The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway was a cross-country railway running north-south between the towns listed in its name although it actually reached Southampton by running over the London and South Western Railway tracks from Shawford Junction, south of Winchester. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... RAF redirects here. ... The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a British Army corps formed in 1918 by the merger of the Army Ordnance Department (AOD) and the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC). ...

The closure of the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway in 1963 led to the loss of what could have developed into an important north-south freight route; Indeed the line continued to be used for freight for a further four years after closure to passengers, the bulk of this being oil traffic from the refinery at Fawley, near Southampton. This line was engineered by John Fowler and built by contractors T.H.Falkiner and Sir Thomas Tancred, who together also constructed the Forth Road Bridge. The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. ...

After World War II technology changed, with steam locomotives becoming obsolete, and the motor car becoming common. The station was renamed Didcot Parkway in the mid 1980s and the site of the old GWR provender stores which had been demolished in 1976 (the provender pond was kept to maintain the water table) became a large car park so that the station would attract travellers from the surrounding area. The locomotive depot became the Didcot Railway Centre in 1967. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Great Western Railway No. ... Didcot Parkway railway station is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire in England. ... General view, including engine sheds, of part of the site on a cold January day The Didcot Railway Centre, located in the Oxfordshire town of Didcot, is a comprehensive exhibition of Great Western Railway rolling stock. ...

Power stations

Main article: Didcot Power Station

The Power Stations from the Berkshire Downs above Rowstock

The Didcot Power Stations (which are next to each other, and actually in Sutton Courtenay) supply electricity to the National Grid. Country Life magazine voted these the third worst eyesore in Britain, but some locals refer to them as "the Cathedral of the Vale" [of White Horse], a title which really belongs to the parish church at Uffington. The power station cooling towers are visible from up to 30 miles away due to their location, but won an award for reducing visual impact (six towers in two well-separated groups half a mile apart rather than a monolithic 3x2 block), much in the style of what is sometimes known as Didcot's 'sister' station - Fiddler's Ferry - at Widnes on Merseyside, constructed slightly earlier. Visually this station is just about identical although it has eight cooling towers in 2 groups of 4. Didcot A Power Station Cooling towers (three of), taken from a train on the GWML. The Power Stations from the Berkshire Downs above Rowstock. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 2405 KB) Photographer: User:Ballista I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 2405 KB) Photographer: User:Ballista I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. ... Didcot A Power Station Cooling towers (three of), taken from a train on the GWML. The Power Stations from the Berkshire Downs above Rowstock. ... Electricity (from New Latin Ä“lectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ... The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network in Great Britain, connecting power stations and major substations and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere in Great Britain can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. ... Country Life is a British weekly magazine. ... A parish church is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches. ... Uffington is a village in Oxfordshire, close to one of the United Kingdoms best-known archaeological sites, the Uffington White Horse. ...

Reputation

Didcot featured in the 4th episode of the D series of QI. During the discussion it was revealed that Didcot Power Station was the third worst eyesore in the UK according to a poll by "Country Life". Number one was Wind farms. Didcot is also apparently home to the second oldest yew tree in the country. It's 1,600 years old. A point of humour as once again, Didcot could only boast about being second best. This is a list of episodes of QI, the BBC comedy panel game television show hosted by Stephen Fry. ... This is a list of episodes of QI, the BBC comedy panel game television show hosted by Stephen Fry. ... For other uses, see QI (disambiguation). ... Didcot A Power Station Cooling towers (three of), taken from a train on the GWML. The Power Stations from the Berkshire Downs above Rowstock. ... Country Life is a British weekly magazine. ... Wind turbines in Neuenkirchen, Dithmarschen (Germany). ... Binomial name L. Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. ...

In 2006 Didcot First was established, an indepedent body committed to promoting Didcot. The organisation has been involved in a number of projects, such as the pursuit of Fair Trade status for Didcot and erecting a temporary ice rink during Christmas 2007.^[2] For the product certification system ( ), see Fairtrade certification. ... Rockefeller Center ice rink Outdoor ice rink in Ottawa. ... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ...

Local Government

Didcot is governed by Didcot Town Council, which consists of 21 councillors representing four wards:

• All Saints (5 councillors)
• Park (5 councillors)
• Ladygrove (6 councillors)
• Northbourne (5 councillors)

Elected town councillors are unpaid and offer their time on a voluntary basis.^[3] Didcot is a principal town of South Oxfordshire District Council. It is the largest town in the parliamentary constituency of Wantage, which is represented at Westminster by Ed Vaizey. South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. ... Wantage is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP Speaker of the House of Lords Hélène Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist... The Honourable Edward Henry Butler Vaizey (born June 5, 1968) is a conservative commentator and columnist and has been selected as a Conservative candidate at the next UK general election. ...

Didcot is twinned with the French town Meylan.

One of the many youth projects in the town is the Didcot Youth Council. A group of young people who live in the town meet on a regular basis with the town clerk to organise events for the young people in Didcot as well as to highlight issues that they believe the Didcot Town Council should discuss.

Current developments

Didcot was formerly within the ceremonial county of Berkshire. A change in county boundaries in 1974 moved Didcot into Oxfordshire; it became the largest town in the new South Oxfordshire district, although it is situated right at its edge. Didcot is now home to around 24,500 people, with a new town centre, The Orchard Centre^[4] which opened in August 2005. A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ...

Didcot has been designated as one of the three major growth areas in Oxfordshire with the Ladygrove development set to double the number of dwellings in the town since construction began in the late 1980s to the North and East of the railway line on the former marshland. Originally, the Ladygrove development was planned to be complete by 2001, however, the final section to the East of Abingdon Road only had plans announced in 2006. In anticipation of the completion of the Ladygrove development, a prolonged and contentious planning enquiry decided that a 3,200 dwelling development will now be built to the west of the town, partly overlapping the boundary with the Vale of White Horse.^[5] Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Health

“In 2001 the average UK healthy lifespan was thought to be 68.8 for women and 67 for men. People in Didcot, Oxfordshire, could expect 86 healthy years, while in parts of Middlesbrough the figure was 54.9. By contrast, the 1990s-built Ladygrove estate in Didcot, which officially tops the national table, may have received a boost from the local recreation grounds and sports centre. Tony Harbour, the deputy Mayor of Didcot, told the Sunday Telegraph that he was not surprised that his town had done so well in the study. He said: "I suppose we are a healthy lot - people tend to walk everywhere. A real mix of people move here, for various reasons. There's a lot of young families.“ ” -BBC news

Education

Didcot is served by 6 primary schools: All Saints C of E, Ladygrove Park, Manor, Northbourne C of E, Stephen Freeman and Willowcroft. Along with these 6 schools based in Didcot, a further 7 local village schools form the Didcot Primary Partnership: Blewbury Endowed C of E, Cholsey, Hagbourne, Harwell Community, Long Wittenham C of E and South Moreton County. Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ...

The two state secondary schools in Didcot are St Birinus School and Didcot Girls' School. These two single-sex schools join together at sixth form. Didcot Girls' School has specialist Language College status, and St Birinus has Technology and Language College status. Secondary school is a term used to describe an institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. ... St Birinus School is a comprehensive secondary school for boys in Didcot, Oxfordshire and serving Didcot and the surrounding rural area. ... Didcot Girls School or DGS is a comprehensive school in Didcot. ...

Sport and leisure

Didcot Town Football Club play at RWE nPower Loop Meadow Stadium, situated on the Ladygrove Estate and won the FA Vase in 2005. The current home ground of Didcot Cricket Club is at Didcot Power Station in Sutton Courtenay [1]. Didcot Town F.C. is a football club based in Didcot in Oxfordshire, England. ... The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing in the lower regional leagues of England. ... All Saints Church Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish, between Didcot and Abingdon, currently in the English county of Oxfordshire, but before administrative boundary changes in 1974, part of Berkshire. ...

Cornerstone, the new purpose built arts centre, is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2008.^[6] 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Lingham, Brian (1979). The Long Years of Obscurity. A History of Didcot, Volume One - to 1841. Didcot: BF Lingham. ISBN 9780950654508. 

External links

• Didcot Town Council Website
• Didcot Railway Centre Website
• Didcot.com community website
• Didcot First website