Crowthorne

Village in Berkshire, England

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

Human settlement in England

Crowthorne

The shops in Duke's Ride near Crowthorne Station

Crowthorne

Location within Berkshire

Population| 7,806 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid reference| SU841641
Civil parish|

* Crowthorne[2]

District|

* Bracknell Forest[3] and Wokingham

Shire county|

* Berkshire

Region|

* South East

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| CROWTHORNE
Postcode district| RG45
Dialling code| 01344
Police| Thames Valley
Fire| Royal Berkshire
Ambulance| South Central
UK Parliament|

* Bracknell

List of places

England
Berkshire

51°22′12″N 0°47′31″W﻿ / ﻿51.370°N 0.792°W﻿ / 51.370; -0.792

Crowthorne is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire, England.[3] It had a population of 7,806 at the 2021 census.[1] Crowthorne is 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.[4]

## History[edit]

Crowthorne was only a hamlet until Wellington College opened in 1859 and Broadmoor Hospital in 1863.[4] Crowthorne railway station, originally Wellington College for Crowthorne Station, opened in 1860 and burgeoned quickly. In the 1960s, the Transport Research Laboratory established by the UK Government as the Road Research Laboratory (RRL) opened in Crowthorne.[4] It was privatised in 1996.[5]

## Geography[edit]

Crowthorne is part of the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area. It lies 4 miles (6.5 km) NNE of Camberley and some 5 miles (8 km) SSW of Bracknell. The Crowthorne urban area spills over into the neighbouring parish of Wokingham Without.[4] However, most of the housing is in Crowthorne parish, which is part of Bracknell Forest district.[4] North of Crowthorne is Pinewood, which has a leisure centre, cafe and miniature railway.[6][7][8]

## Natural environment[edit]

The Crowthorne urban area adjoins several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and local nature reserves:

* Heath Lake along its northern edge, in Wokingham Without.[9]
* Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths form an SSSI to the south-east, mostly in Sandhurst.[10]

## Schools[edit]

Crowthorne houses Wellington College, a large co-educational boarding and day independent school, opened in 1859 as a monument to the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852). It became fully coeducational in 2005. Edgbarrow is a secondary school there are 5 primary schools: Hatch Ride Primary, New Scotland Hill, Crowthorne Church of England School, Wildmoor Heath (formerly Broadmoor Primary) and Oaklands Junior. There are some pre-preparatory and preparatory schools, nurseries and childcare centres for children between 3 months and 11 years old.

## Aeronautics[edit]

C. F. Taylor 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.[11]

## Local societies and community groups[edit]

Crowthorne holds a biennial carnival, usually in early July, organised by the Crowthorne Carnival Association, with some individual events put up by local schools, groups and businesses.[12] Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society was founded in 1978.[13] The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Roscoe, 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 marked its 20th anniversary in 2011.[14] The Crowthorne Natural History Group, founded in 1977, held its final meeting in 2013, due to a diminishing, ageing membership.[15]

## Sports[edit]

Crowthorne & Crown Wood Cricket Club was formed in January 2014 as a merger of two existing clubs. It 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, along with a Sunday Team and a Midweek T20 team, while Crown Wood CC fielded two League teams and a youth set-up. The 1st XI gained promotion from Division 2 in 2013 after winning the League. Crown Wood's existing youth set-up continues under the merged club.[16]

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

Crowthorne RFC is a local rugby union club, which has played at New Nest, Lower Broadmoor Road, since its construction in 2019.

## Notable residents[edit]

See also: Broadmoor Hospital § Former and current patients, and List of Old Wellingtonians

In order of birth:

* A. C. Benson (1862–1925), essayist and scholar, was born at Wellington College. His father, Edward White Benson, was its first headmaster.[4]
* A. Duncan Carse (1875 or 1876–1938), Artist.[17]
* Frank Sherwood Taylor (1897–1956), museum curator, died here.[18]
* Freeman Dyson (1923–2020), theoretical physicist and mathematician, born in the village.[19]
* Sir Anthony Seldon (born 1953), headmaster of Wellington College, political author.[20]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Crowthorne (Parish, United Kingdom) with population statistics, charts, map and location". City Population. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
2. ^ "Crowthorne Parish Council". Retrieved 6 September 2023.
3. ^ a b "Town and parish councils". Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
4. ^ a b c d e f Ford, David Nash (2020). East Berkshire Town and Village Histories. Wokingham: Nash Ford Publishing. pp. 99–103. ISBN 9781905191017.
5. ^ "TRL - About Us - who we are". TRL.co.uk. TRL Limited. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
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. ^ "Home Page for the Pinewood (Wokingham) Miniature Railway". Pinewoodrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
8. ^ "Places to eat in Crowthorne, places to eat in Bracknell, places to eat in Wokingham". Pinewoodbarandcafe.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
9. ^ "Heathlake Woodland". Wokingham Borough Council. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
10. ^ "Wildmoor Heath". Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
11. ^ "Buckler Cars". www.britainbycar.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
12. ^ "Crowthorne Carnival". Crowthorne Carnival Association (CCA). Retrieved 6 September 2023.
13. ^ "Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society (CATS)". Sardines Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
14. ^ "The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra". Crowthorneorchestra.com. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
15. ^ Barnes, Becky (30 July 2013). "Crowthorne Natural History Group holds last meeting after 46 years". Get Reading. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
16. ^ "Crowthorne CC". Retrieved 14 July 2014.
17. ^ Royal Academy Dictionary of Exhibitors: Summer Exhibition catalogue archives
18. ^ Greenway, Frank (23 September 2004). "Taylor, Frank Sherwood(1897–1956)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
19. ^ Dyson, George (2022). "Freeman John Dyson. 15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 73: 197–226. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2021.0050. S2CID 249204385.
20. ^ "Anthony Seldon to retire". Wellington College. 22 April 2014.

## External links[edit]

* About the parish
* Royal Berkshire History: Crowthorne
* St. Sebastians School

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