Wantage

Coordinates: 51°35′20″N 1°25′37″W / 51.589°N 1.427°W / 51.589; -1.427

Wantage (/ˈwɒntɪdʒ/) is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Abingdon, a similar distance west of Didcot and 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Oxford.

Historically part of Berkshire, it is notable as the birthplace of King Alfred the Great in 849. In 1974 Berkshire County Council was abolished, and Wantage became part of a considerably enlarged Oxfordshire.

History

Wantage was a small Roman settlement but the origin of the toponym is somewhat uncertain. It is generally thought to be from an Old English phrase meaning "decreasing river". King Alfred the Great was born at the royal palace there in the 9th century Wantage appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. Its value was £61 and it was in the king's ownership until Richard I passed it to the Earl of Albemarle in 1190. Weekly trading rights were first granted to the town by Henry III in 1246 Markets are now held twice weekly on Wednesdays and SaturdaysRoyalist troops were stationed in Wantage during the English Civil War.

Wantage (UK Parliament constituency)

Wantage is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Ed Vaizey, a Conservative.

In terms of electorate, at the time of the 2015 general election, Wantage was the 37th largest constituency in the United Kingdom and the second largest in Oxfordshire.

Boundaries

1983-2010: The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Appleton, Craven, Drayton, Faringdon and Littleworth, Greendown, Grove, Harwell and Chilton, Hendred, Icknield, Island Villages, Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor, Longworth, Marcham, Segsbury, Shrivenham, Stanford, Steventon, Sutton Courtenay, The Coxwells, and Upton and Blewbury, and the District of South Oxfordshire wards of Brightwell, Cholsey, Didcot North, Didcot Northbourne, Didcot South, Hagbourne, and Wallingford.

2010-present: The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Blewbury and Upton, Craven, Drayton, Faringdon and The Coxwells, Greendown, Grove, Hanneys, Harwell, Hendreds, Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, Longworth, Marcham and Shippon, Shrivenham, Stanford, Sutton Courtenay and Appleford, Wantage Charlton, and Wantage Segsbury, and the District of South Oxfordshire wards of Brightwell, Cholsey and Wallingford South, Didcot All Saints, Didcot Ladygrove, Didcot Northbourne, Didcot Park, Hagbourne, and Wallingford North.