Crowthorne

Crowthorne is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire.[3] It had a population of 6,711 at the 2001 census,[4] which increased to 6,902 at the 2011 Census.[1] Crowthorne is well known as the venue of Wellington College, a large co-educational boarding and day independent school, which opened in 1859, and of Broadmoor Hospital, one of England's three maximum-security psychiatric hospitals, which lies on the eastern edge of the village.

This article is about the village in Berkshire, England. For the suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, see Crowthorne, Gauteng.

Crowthorne

The shops in Duke's Ride near Crowthorne Station
Crowthorne
Location within Berkshire
Population6,711 (2001)
6,902 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSU841641
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCROWTHORNE
Postcode districtRG45
Dialling code01344
PoliceThames Valley
FireRoyal Berkshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament

History

Crowthorne was only a small hamlet until Wellington College was opened in 1859 and Broadmoor Hospital in 1863. Crowthorne railway station, originally known as Wellington College for Crowthorne Station, was opened in 1860 and grew quickly. In the 1960s, the Transport Research Laboratory established by the UK Government as the Road Research Laboratory (RRL) opened in Crowthorne, and was privatised in 1996.

At the 2001 census the village had a population of 6,711,[5] which increased minimally to 6,902 at the 2011 Census.[1]

Human geography

Crowthorne is part of the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area. It lies 4 miles NNE from Camberley and approximately 5 miles SSW from Bracknell. The Crowthorne area spills over into the neighbouring parish of Wokingham Without. Most of Crowthorne is in the Bracknell Forest district.

North of Crowthorne is Pinewood, which has a leisure centre,[6] cafe[7] and a miniature railway.[8]

Nature reserves

Crowthorne has a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and local nature reserve at the north edge of the village, called Heath Lake[9] There is also an SSSI to the south-east, called Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths, which includes a nature reserve called Wildmoor Heath.[10][11]

To the south of the village, between it and Sandhurst, there is a local nature reserve called Edgbarrow Woods.[12]

Schools

Crowthorne houses Wellington College, a large co-educational boarding and day independent school, which opened in 1859 as a national monument in honour of the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), who had led British, Spanish and Portuguese forces in a succession of military victories in the Iberian Peninsula.[13]

Edgbarrow is a secondary school that serves the whole of Crowthorne, with five feeder schools: Hatch Ride Primary, New Scotland Hill, Crowthorne Church of England School, Wildmoor Heath (formerly Broadmoor Primary) and Oaklands Junior. There are a few pre-preparatory, preparatory schools, nurseries and childcare centres in the town accepting children between 3 months and 11 years old.

Aeronautics

C. F. Taylor, a company that grew into a large international aeronautical fabrications business, later part of British Aerospace. It was born in a shed of the Buckler premises in Heath Hill Road shortly after World War II. Metal craftsman C. F. Taylor single-handedly produced aluminium racing fairings for motorcycles and bodies for early Buckler cars.

Local societies and community groups

The Crowthorne Natural History Society was founded in 1968.

Crowthorne holds a biennial carnival, usually taking place in early July. The 2008 theme was Fun and Fantasy; the 2010 theme was Rhythm of Life, and the 2012 theme was Best of British. The winners of the best junior school float prize were Oaklands Junior school in 2010, and 2012. The Carnival as a whole is organised by the Crowthorne Carnival Association, but individual events can be organised by local schools, groups and businesses.[14]

The Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society was founded in 1978.[15]

The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Roscoe, is based in the village. The orchestra gives three concerts a year, usually at Wellington College. It also holds an open workshop for full orchestra in September and a string workshop in May. The orchestra celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011.[16]

Sports

Crowthorne & Crown Wood Cricket Club was formed in January 2014 as an amalgamation of two existing clubs. The new club plays its home games in the grounds of Wellington College and at Crown Wood's established base at St Sebastian's. It belongs to the Saturday League Cricket in the Berkshire League and Sunday Friendlies. In 2013, Crowthorne CC fielded two Saturday teams for the first time, as well as a Sunday Team and a Midweek T20 team, whereas Crown Wood CC fielded two League teams and a youth setup. The 1st XI gained promotion from Division 2 in 2013 after winning the league. The club has three League teams, a Sunday Team and a Midweek team. Crown Wood's existing youth setup continues under the umbrella of the merged club.[17]

AFC Crowthorne is one of the local football teams that play their home games at the Morgan Recreation ground.

Notable residents

In order of birth:

gollark: I assume they will just iterate through the available ones.
gollark: This is the cosmic lemon, of course.
gollark: And here is lemonic metaspace.
gollark: Here is its inverse.
gollark: Actually, that was just a bug, I fixed it.

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. http://www.crowthornepc.org.uk/
  3. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LrUgE1IsuusJ:www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx%3FalId%3D238820+&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
  4. Office for National Statistics: Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: Bracknell Forest Retrieved 3 November 2010
  5. Office for National Statistics: Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: Bracknell Forest Retrieved 3 November 2010
  6. Wokingham Borough Council Leisure centres Archived 30 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Wokingham.gov.uk (11 July 2013). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
  7. "Places to eat in Crowthorne, places to eat in Bracknell, places to eat in Wokingham". Pinewoodbarandcafe.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  8. "Home Page for the Pinewood (Wokingham) Miniature Railway". Pinewoodrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  9. "Heathlake – Site of Special Scientific Interest – Wokingham Borough Council". Wokingham.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  10. "Magic Map Application". Magic.defra.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  11. Opening Times. "Wildmoor Heath | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust". Bbowt.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  12. "Magic Map Application – Edgbarrow woods". Magic.defra.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  13. The Duke of Wellington: Soldiering to Glory. Author: Andrew Roberts (historian). Publisher: BBC History. Published: 17 February 2011. Retrieved: 5 January 2014.
  14. "Carnival". Crowthornecarnival.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  15. "Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society". Catswebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  16. "The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra". Crowthorneorchestra.com. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  17. "Crowthorne CC". Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  18. Royal Academy Dictionary of Exhibitors: Summer Exhibition catalogue archives
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