Vale of White Horse
Vale of White Horse
Vale of White Horse District | |
---|---|
David Johnston (Conservative) | |
Area | |
• Total | 223.4 sq mi (578.6 km2) |
• Rank | 65th (of 296) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 139,487 |
• Rank | 164th (of 296) |
• Density | 620/sq mi (240/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
UTC+1 (BST) | |
ONS code | 38UE (ONS) E07000180 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | SU3462689188 |
Website | www |
The Vale of White Horse is a
As well as being a local authority district, the Vale of White Horse is a geographical, historical and
History
The area has been long settled as a productive fertile chalklands above well-drained clay valleys, and well-farmed with many small woodlands and hills between the Berkshire Downs and the River Thames on its north and east sides. It is named after the prominent and large Bronze Age-founded Uffington White Horse hill figure.
The local government district was formed as part of the
Politics
The Vale of White Horse District Council is based in Milton Park, Milton. The council has been controlled by either Liberal Democrat or Conservative administrations since Vale of White Horse was created in 1973. The council was run by the Conservative Party from 2011 until the 2019 UK local elections, at which the Liberal Democrats regained control in a landslide, after having previously held the council from 1995 to 2011.[5]
Geography
The Vale is the valley of the
Wantage is the only town in the foot or slopes of the vale (Faringdon, on the northwestern rim, is closely associated). Wantage is in a sheltered hollow at the foot of the hills, along which villages concentrate often in long strip parishes. Numerous springs, the run-off from the chalk hills were main local water sources, and an accessible water table enabled the growing of fruits, grains and vegetables.
Sites of interest
White Horse Hill
Towards the west, above Uffington, the hills reach a culminating point of 261 m (856 ft) in White Horse Hill. In its northern flank, just below the summit, a gigantic figure of a horse is cut, consisting of deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. This figure gives name to the hill, the range and the Vale. It is 114 m (374 ft) long and highly stylised, the neck, body and tail varying little in width.
The origin of the figure is unknown. Tradition asserted it to be the monument of a victory over the
), has been variously located. Moreover, the figure has been dated to the Bronze Age, so it pre-dates the battle by many centuries. Many ancient remains occur in the vicinity of the Horse.On the summit of the hill there is an extensive and well-preserved circular camp, apparently used by the Romans but of much earlier origin. It is an Iron Age
A smooth, steep gully on the north flank of White Horse Hill is called the Manger, and to the west of it rises a bald mound named
The Vale as a whole appears at the beginning of
Waylands Smithy
To the west of White Horse Hill lies a
.The Ridgeway
A grassy track represents the
Other earthworks, in addition to those near the White Horse, overlook the Vale, such as Letcombe Castle (also known as Segsbury Camp) above Wantage. At the foot of the hills, not far east of the Horse, is preserved the so-called Blowing Stone of Kingston Lisle, a mass of sandstone (a sarsen) pierced with holes in such a way that, when blown like a trumpet, it produces a loud note. It is believed that, in earlier times, the stone served the purpose of a bugle.
Several of the village churches in the Vale are of interest, notably the fine
Economy
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2011) |
Farming is mostly arable. In livestock the range is mixed. The area had a large dairy industry, especially in the 1960s, but it was much reduced by the 21st century, with the large fertile fields supported by subsidies. The Lockinge Estate is a longstanding agricultural employer within the region.
Natural
With the closure of British Leyland's long-established
The length of the Vale is traversed by the
The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is a large employer, particularly for scientists and engineers.
At one time Amey plc had its head office in Sutton Courtenay, Vale of White Horse.[8]
See also
- Vale and Downland Museum - local museum for the region.
- Vale of the Red Horse– another vale of a similar name that once carried some 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 hill figures of a horse.
- Vale of White Horse Hunt - fox hunting pack named after the region.
Notes
- ^ Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "A Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (1748)". Google Books. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Berkshire, Surrey and Sussex". A vision of Britain though time. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "General view of the agriculture of Berkshire. Drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture and internal improvement (1809)". Google Books. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ "Election results: Lib Dems win Oxfordshire Tory council". BBC News. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ Nash Ford, David. "Uffington: St. Mary's Church". Berkshire History. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ Webb, Clifford (24 October 1980). "The MG factory at Abingdon closes today". Honest John. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Amey bids for high-flying firm". Oxford Mail. 22 January 1999. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
References
- Thomas Hughes, The Scouring of the White Horse (1859).
- G. K. Chesterton, "The Ballad of the White Horse" (1911).
- Rudyard Kipling, "Puck of Pook's Hill".
- Tom Brown's Schooldays