Didcot
Coordinates: 51°36′23″N 1°14′28″W / 51.6063°N 1.2410°W
Didcot is a town in Oxfordshire about 10 miles (16 km) south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was part of Berkshire.
| Didcot | |
 Didcot shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Population | 25,231 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU525900 |
| - London | 54.7m |
| Civil parish | Didcot |
| District | South Oxfordshire |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DIDCOT |
| Postcode district | OX11 |
| Dialling code | 01235 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Wantage |
| Website | Didcot Town Council |
| |
History and economy
During the Roman Empire the Romans dug a ditch that runs north through what is now known as the Ladygrove area north of the town near Long Wittenham.
Didcot first appears in historical records in the 13th century as Dudcotte, Berkshire. Parts of the original village still exist in the Lydalls Road area and part of All Saints' Church dates back to the 11th century.
Railways
The Great Western Railway, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, reached Didcot in 1839. In 1844 the Didcot railway station was opened. The original station burnt down in the later part of 19th century.
Didcot is junction of the routes to London, Bristol and Oxford. It was formerly a junction for Southampton via the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway but that closed in the 1960s. The traffic to Southampton meant that the town had strategic importance to military logistics, in particular during the First World War campaign on the Western Front and the Second World War preparations for D-Day.
Power stations
The Didcot Power Stations (which are next to each other, and actually in Sutton Courtenay) supply electricity to the National Grid. The power station has also proved a popular man-made object for local photographers. One power station was closed in 2013 and has been demolished. The other is still operating in 2018.
Further reading
- Lingham, Brian (1979). The Long Years of Obscurity. A History of Didcot, Volume One - to 1841. Didcot: BF Lingham. ISBN 9780950654508.
- Lingham, Brian (1992). Railway Comes to Didcot: A History of the Town (Volume 2) - 1839 to 1918. Didcot: Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780750900928.
- Lingham, Brian (2000). A Poor Struggling Little Town: A History of Didcot (Volume 3) - 1918 to 1945. Didcot: Didcot Town Council.
Didcot Media
All Saints' parish church, parts of which go back to the 12th century
White Cottage, the oldest house in Didcot
A Thames Travel bus on route 98 on Greenwood Way in the new Great Western Park estate
The front of the Didcot Parkway Railway Station in Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK, taken in November 2020.
A GWR Class 800 from Swansea arriving on Platform 2
Aerial view of Didcot Power Stations A (centre) and B (extreme left)
The Didcot-built Williams FW06 from 1978, being raced at Silverstone in 2007
Opium poppies were being cultivated at Harwell in June 2009
Didcot Town Football Club's Station Road Ground in 1982
The name Middle Earth was added to this Didcot road sign by anonymous artist Athirty4
Other websites
- Didcot Twinning Association
- Didcot Railway Centre
- Didcot.com community website
- Didcot First Archived 2018-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Didcot Town FC Archived 2010-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Future Didcot
- Cornerstone arts centre
- The Didcot Herald Archived 2017-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Didcot Choral Society Archived 2017-05-16 at the Wayback Machine