Vale of White Horse
Encyclopedia
The Vale of White Horse is a local government district
of Oxfordshire
in England
. The main town is Abingdon
, other places include Faringdon
and Wantage
. There are 68 parishes within the district. The current Leader of the Council is Matthew Barber.
It is a geographically distinct region, lying between the Berkshire Downs
and the River Thames
, named after the prehistoric Uffington White Horse
. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972
, from the Municipal Borough of Abingdon
, Wantage Urban District, Abingdon Rural District
, Faringdon Rural District
and part of the Wantage Rural District
of Berkshire
. The southern border of the district roughly approximates the Ridgeway Path. The area is often referred to as the ‘Vale of the White Horse’.
, which flank it on the south. The numerous elm
trees, that once were a major feature of the Vale, were lost to Dutch Elm Disease
. To the North, a low ridge separates it from the upper Thames Valley
, holding back the soft Jurassic
sedimentary deposits (Greensand
, Gault and Kimmeridge Clay
) behind a hard corallian limestone
escarpment
ridge, in what is technically a hanging valley; but local usage sometimes extends the vale to cover all the ground between the Cotswolds
(on the north) and the Berkshire Downs. According to the geographical definition, however, the Vale is from two to five miles wide, and the distance by road from Abingdon to Shrivenham
at its head is 18 miles.
Wantage is the only town in the heart of the Vale (although Faringdon, on the northwestern rim, is also a "Vale" town), lying in a sheltered hollow at the foot of the hills, along which, moreover, villages are more numerous than elsewhere in the vale. There are numerous springs emanating from the chalk
hills, which allowed these settlements to thrive in former times.
, 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, the turf being removed to show the white chalky soil beneath. 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 Danes
by King Alfred
, who was born at Wantage, but the site of the Battle of Ashdown
(871 CE
), 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 hill fort
. It is named Uffington Castle
from the village in the vale below. Within a short distance are Hardwell Castle
, a near-square work and, on the southern slope of the hills near Ashdown House
, a small camp traditionally called Alfred's Castle
. Further to the West, there is Liddington Castle
.
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 Dragon Hill
, the traditional scene of St George's victory
over the dragon
, the blood of which made the ground bare of grass for ever. But the name may derive from Celt
ic Pendragon ("dragon's head"), which was a title for a king, and may point to an early place of burial.
To the West of White Horse Hill lies a long barrow
called Wayland's Smithy
, said to be the home of a smith who was never seen, but who shod the horses of travellers if they were left at the place with payment. The legend is elaborated, and the smith appears as a character, in Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth
, and in Rudyard Kipling
's Puck of Pook's Hill
. The Vale as a whole appears at the beginning of Tom Brown's Schooldays
, as the scene of innocent Saxon boyhood adventures, before the eponymous hero is sent away to school at Rugby
. Rosemary Sutcliff
's 1977 historical novel Sun Horse, Moon Horse
takes place in the vale, telling the tale of the White Horse's creation in ancient celtic times
.
The White Horse has been carefully cleared of vegetation from time to time. The figure has remained clear of turf throughout its long existence, except for being covered as a precaution during the Second World War. The cleaning process, known as the Scouring of the White Horse, was formerly made the occasion of a festival. Sports of all kinds were held, and keen rivalry was maintained, not only between the inhabitants of the local villages, but between local champions and those from distant parts of England. The first of such festivals known took place in 1755 and they died out only subsequently to 1857.
, from the Chilterns to Goring
and Streatley
on the River Thames. It links The Wash
and Salisbury Plain
, and would have been an important artery for trade.
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 Early English cruciform building at Uffington, that has a hexagonal tower and is known as The Cathedral of the Vale.
.
Natural mineral
resources are mined (quarried) in the Vale. These include sand
, gravel
and (formerly) Fuller's Earth
.
With the closure of the MG
works at Abingdon, there is no motor industry, apart from some specialist car makers and component factories.
The length of the Vale is traversed by the main line of the Great Western Railway
, between Didcot
and Swindon
. There used to be a station on this line (Challow Station), situated on the A417 road
, a little to the East of Stanford in the Vale
. This was closed by Dr Beeching
, in the early 1960s. The nearest main line stations are now Swindon
, Oxford
and Didcot Parkway
.
At one time Amey plc
had its head office in Sutton Courtenay
, Vale of White Horse.
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The main town is Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
, other places include Faringdon
Faringdon
Faringdon is a market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of the Thames Valley, between the River Thames and the Ridgeway...
and Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
. There are 68 parishes within the district. The current Leader of the Council is Matthew Barber.
It is a geographically distinct region, lying between the Berkshire Downs
Berkshire Downs
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in southern England, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
and the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, named after the prehistoric Uffington White Horse
Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure, 110 m long , formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk...
. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, from the Municipal Borough of Abingdon
Municipal Borough of Abingdon
Abingdon was a municipal borough in the county of Berkshire from 1835 to 1974. From 1894 it was nearly entirely surrounded by Abingdon Rural District. It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and merged with other districts to form the new Vale of White Horse district of...
, Wantage Urban District, Abingdon Rural District
Abingdon Rural District
Abingdon was a rural district in the administrative county of Berkshire from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on that part of the Abingdon rural sanitary district which was in Berkshire...
, Faringdon Rural District
Faringdon Rural District
Faringdon was a rural district in the administrative county of Berkshire from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on that part of the Faringdon rural sanitary district which was in Berkshire, however it also included for a time Lechlade a small market town in...
and part of the Wantage Rural District
Wantage Rural District
Wantage was a rural district of Berkshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was created in 1894 as a successor to the Wantage rural sanitary district. It was named after Wantage, which formed a separate urban district entirely surrounded by the rural district....
of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. The southern border of the district roughly approximates the Ridgeway Path. The area is often referred to as the ‘Vale of the White Horse’.
Geography
It is the valley of the Ock, a stream which joins the Thames from the West at Abingdon. The Vale is almost flat and well-wooded; its green meadows and foliage contrasting richly with the bald summits of the Berkshire DownsBerkshire Downs
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in southern England, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, which flank it on the south. The numerous elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
trees, that once were a major feature of the Vale, were lost to Dutch Elm Disease
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
. To the North, a low ridge separates it from the upper Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
, holding back the soft Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
sedimentary deposits (Greensand
Greensand
Greensand or Green sand is either a sand or sandstone, which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment, that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called glauconies and consist of a mixture of mixed-layer clay...
, Gault and Kimmeridge Clay
Kimmeridge Clay
The Kimmeridge Clay Formation is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Jurassic age. It occurs in Europe.Kimmeridge Clay is arguably the most economically important unit of rocks in the whole of Europe, being the major source rock for oil fields in the North Sea hydrocarbon...
) behind a hard corallian limestone
Corallian Limestone
Corallian Limestone is a coralliferous sedimentary rock, laid down in Jurassic times. It is a hard variety of "coral rag". Building stones from this geological structure tend to be irregular in shape. It is often found close to seams of Portland Limestone...
escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
ridge, in what is technically a hanging valley; but local usage sometimes extends the vale to cover all the ground between the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
(on the north) and the Berkshire Downs. According to the geographical definition, however, the Vale is from two to five miles wide, and the distance by road from Abingdon to Shrivenham
Shrivenham
Shrivenham is a large village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, close to the boundary with Wiltshire. It is in the Vale of White Horse, between Swindon and Faringdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Character:Shrivenham features many...
at its head is 18 miles.
Wantage is the only town in the heart of the Vale (although Faringdon, on the northwestern rim, is also a "Vale" town), lying in a sheltered hollow at the foot of the hills, along which, moreover, villages are more numerous than elsewhere in the vale. There are numerous springs emanating from the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hills, which allowed these settlements to thrive in former times.
Sites of interest
Towards the West, above UffingtonUffington, Oxfordshire
Uffington is a village and civil parish about south of Faringdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. Uffington is most commonly known as the location of the Uffington White Horse hill figure....
, 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, the turf being removed to show the white chalky soil beneath. 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.
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
by King Alfred
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, who was born at Wantage, but the site of the Battle of Ashdown
Battle of Ashdown
The Battle of Ashdown, in Berkshire , took place on 8 January 871. Alfred the Great, then a prince of only twenty-one, led the West Saxon army of his brother, King Ethelred, in a victorious battle against the invading Danes.Accounts of the battle are based to a large extent on Asser's "Life of...
(871 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
), has been variously located. Moreover, the figure has been dated to the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron 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 hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
. It is named Uffington Castle
Uffington Castle
Uffington Castle is all that remains of an early Iron Age hill fort in Oxfordshire, England. It covers about 32,000 square metres and is surrounded by two earth banks separated by a ditch with an entrance in the eastern end...
from the village in the vale below. Within a short distance are Hardwell Castle
Hardwell Castle
Hardwell Castle or Hardwell Camp is classed as an Iron Age valley fort, although, like nearby Cherbury Camp, it is not clearly in a strategic or easily defended position. It lies halfway down the scarp slope of the White Horse Hills and is tucked away in a curve, invisible from most angles...
, a near-square work and, on the southern slope of the hills near Ashdown House
Ashdown House, Oxfordshire
Ashdown House is a 17th century country house in the civil parish of Ashbury in the English county of Oxfordshire. Until 1974 the house was in the county of Berkshire, and the nearby village of Lambourn remains in that county....
, a small camp traditionally called Alfred's Castle
Alfred's Castle
Alfred's Castle is a small Iron Age hill fort, situated at , behind Ashdown Park in the civil parish of Ashbury in Oxfordshire . It lies 2-3 km south of the Ridgeway and is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument....
. Further to the West, there is Liddington Castle
Liddington Castle
Liddington Castle, locally called Liddington Camp, is a late Bronze Age and early Iron Age hill fort in the English county of Wiltshire....
.
Dragon Hill, Uffington
Dragon Hill is a small hillock immediately below the Uffington White Horse on the border of the civil parishes of Uffington and Woolstone in the English county of Oxfordshire...
, the traditional scene of St George's victory
Saint George and the Dragon
The episode of Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance...
over the dragon
European dragon
European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.In European folklore, a dragon is a serpentine legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων,...
, the blood of which made the ground bare of grass for ever. But the name may derive from Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic Pendragon ("dragon's head"), which was a title for a king, and may point to an early place of burial.
To the West of White Horse Hill lies a long barrow
Long barrow
A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs...
called Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy is a Neolithic long barrow and chamber tomb site located near the Uffington White Horse and Uffington Castle, at Ashbury in the English county of Oxfordshire ....
, said to be the home of a smith who was never seen, but who shod the horses of travellers if they were left at the place with payment. The legend is elaborated, and the smith appears as a character, in Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth
Kenilworth (novel)
Kenilworth. A Romance is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published on 8 January 1821.-Plot introduction:Kenilworth is apparently set in 1575, and centers on the secret marriage of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and Amy Robsart, daughter of Sir Hugh Robsart...
, and in Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's Puck of Pook's Hill
Puck of Pook's Hill
Puck of Pook's Hill is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. The stories are all narrated to two children living near Burwash, in the area of Kipling's own house Bateman's, by people...
. The Vale as a whole appears at the beginning of Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
, as the scene of innocent Saxon boyhood adventures, before the eponymous hero is sent away to school at Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
. Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
's 1977 historical novel Sun Horse, Moon Horse
Sun Horse, Moon Horse
Sun Horse, Moon Horse is a historical novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1977.It takes place in Bronze Age Britain, telling the tale of a chieftain's son of the Iceni who is caught up in a conflict with the neighboring Attribates, and plays an instrumental part in...
takes place in the vale, telling the tale of the White Horse's creation in ancient celtic times
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
.
The White Horse has been carefully cleared of vegetation from time to time. The figure has remained clear of turf throughout its long existence, except for being covered as a precaution during the Second World War. The cleaning process, known as the Scouring of the White Horse, was formerly made the occasion of a festival. Sports of all kinds were held, and keen rivalry was maintained, not only between the inhabitants of the local villages, but between local champions and those from distant parts of England. The first of such festivals known took place in 1755 and they died out only subsequently to 1857.
The Ridgeway
A grassy track represents the Ridgeway, claimed as the oldest road in Europe, perhaps five thousand years old or more. It travels along the crest of the hills, far above what would then have been marshy lowlands or forests, continuing Icknield StreetIcknield Street
Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in Britain that runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire to Templeborough in South Yorkshire...
, from the Chilterns to Goring
Goring-On-Thames
Goring-on-Thames is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, about south of Wallingford.-Geography:...
and Streatley
Streatley, Berkshire
Streatley is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England.-Location:Streatley is about from Reading and from Oxford. It is in the Goring Gap on the River Thames and is directly across the river from the Oxfordshire village of Goring-on-Thames...
on the River Thames. It links The Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
and Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, and would have been an important artery for trade.
Other earthworks, in addition to those near the White Horse, overlook the Vale, such as Letcombe Castle (also known as Segsbury Camp
Segsbury Camp
Segsbury Camp or Segsbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort on the crest of the Berkshire Downs, near the Ridgeway above Wantage, in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. It is in Letcombe Regis civil parish and is also called Letcombe Castle.The fort has extensive ditch and...
) above Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
. At the foot of the hills, not far East of the Horse, is preserved the so-called Blowing Stone
Blowing Stone
The Blowing Stone is a perforated sarsen stone, located at in a garden at the foot of Blowingstone Hill just south of the Icknield Way , at Kingston Lisle, near Uffington, in the English county of Oxfordshire .-Notability:...
of Kingston Lisle
Kingston Lisle
Kingston Lisle is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. Kingston Lisle was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire.-Location:...
, a mass of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
(a sarsen
Sarsen
Sarsen stones are sandstone blocks found in quantity in the United Kingdom on Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, in Kent, and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire...
) 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 Early English cruciform building at Uffington, that has a hexagonal tower and is known as The Cathedral of the Vale.
Economy
The Vale used to have a thriving dairy industry, especially in the 1960s. That has dwindled to just a few herds of dairy cows, in the first years of the 21st century. Farming is now mostly arableAgronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
.
Natural mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
resources are mined (quarried) in the Vale. These include sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
, gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
and (formerly) Fuller's Earth
Fuller's earth
Fuller's earth is any non-plastic clay or claylike earthy material used to decolorize, filter, and purify animal, mineral, and vegetable oils and greases.-Occurrence and composition:...
.
With the closure of the MG
MG (car)
The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
works at Abingdon, there is no motor industry, apart from some specialist car makers and component factories.
The length of the Vale is traversed by the main line of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, between Didcot
Didcot
Didcot is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire...
and Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. There used to be a station on this line (Challow Station), situated on the A417 road
A417 road
-Streatley - Gloucester :It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 to Wantage, over the picturesque Berkshire Downs. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place -Streatley - Gloucester (M5):It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 (between Reading and Wallingford) to Wantage,...
, a little to the East of Stanford in the Vale
Stanford in the Vale
Stanford in the Vale is a large village and civil parish about south-east of Faringdon and north-west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire....
. This was closed by Dr Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
, in the early 1960s. The nearest main line stations are now Swindon
Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station is in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station entrance is on Station Road, to the south of the line.It is approximately from the central bus station and the town centre...
, Oxford
Oxford railway station
Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, northwest of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road, and on the line linking with . It is also on the line for trains between and Hereford via...
and Didcot Parkway
Didcot Parkway railway station
Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire in England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844, and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 to reflect its role as a park and ride railhead....
.
At one time Amey plc
Amey plc
Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a United Kingdom based infrastructure support service provider. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange but since 2003 it has been a subsidiary of Spanish company Grupo Ferrovial, S.A....
had its head office in Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon and northwest of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Today:...
, Vale of White Horse.
See also
- Pendon MuseumPendon MuseumPendon Museum, located in Long Wittenham near Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, displays scale models of typical scenes on the Great Western Railway of the 1920s centred on working scale model railways....
– the main exhibit is an extensive model featuring scale replicas of buildings from the Vale.