| Thatcham | |
|---|---|
| Market town andcivil parish | |
 Thatcham town centre | |
  Thatcham Location withinBerkshire | |
| Area | 21.76 km2 (8.40 sq mi) |
| Population | 25,464 (2021 Census) |
| • Density | 1,170/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU5167 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THATCHAM |
| Postcode district | RG18, RG19 |
| Dialling code | 01635 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°24′18″N1°15′50″W / 51.405°N 1.264°W /51.405; -1.264 | |
Thatcham is amarket town andcivil parish inWest Berkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of theRiver Kennet 3 miles (4.8 km) east ofNewbury, 14 miles (23 km) west ofReading and 54 miles (87 km) west ofLondon. The town has a long history dating back to prehistoric times, a claimant to the title of oldest continuously inhabited place inGreat Britain. As of 2021, it had a population of 25,464, though it is part of a built-up area comprising itself and neighbouring Newbury of over 70,000 residents.[1] It is on the route of theA4 Bath Road, the historic main road between London andBristol.
Thatcham straddles theRiver Kennet, theKennet and Avon Canal and theA4. The parish currently covers the town of Thatcham, with its suburb of Dunstan Park and the villages ofCrookham, Henwick andColthrop includingCrookham Common and the eastern ranges of the oldRAF Greenham Common airfield. The historic parish once also coveredMidgham,Cold Ash,Ashmore Green andGreenham.Thatcham Reed Beds, just to the south of the town, is asite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[2]
The name may have been derived from that of aSaxon chief calledTace (or perhapsTac orTec), who established a village in around 500 AD.[3] The settlement might have been known asTaceham -ham meaning village in Saxon. However, some of the earliest written references, in c.951 and c.975,[3][4] records it as Thaecham. The Thaec comes from the Saxonþæc orthaec meaning roof-covering[5] and the ham has been speculated to be a shortened hamm which would mean a river meadow.[6] InDomesday Book of 1086, following theNorman Conquest, the name had altered slightly toTaceham before going through several minor changes until the current form was adopted in the 16th century.
The area has evidence of occupation dating fromprehistoric times[7] and was listed in theGuinness Book of Records as the strongest claimant to being the oldest continuously inhabited place inBritain. The well-preserved remains of aMesolithic settlement, dating from 8400 to 7700 BCE,[7] have been found in its vicinity. Evidence also exists ofBronze andIron Age settlements and ofRomano-British activity.
The town had a period of great prosperity around 1304,[8] when the Chapel ofSt. Thomas the Martyr on the A4, now called theOld Bluecoat School, was granted permission to hold services. At that time the population was larger than that of Newbury.[3] The chapel is a Grade Ilisted building.[9]
There is aNormanparish church ofSt. Mary, which was largely reconstructed in 1857. This is believed to be built on the same site as an earlierAnglo-Saxon church. It was previously known asSt. Luke's. The church is a Grade II* listed building.[10]
In 1121,Henry I foundedReading Abbey and endowed it with many gifts of land, including theManor of Thatcham. At the same time ThatchamHundred ceased to exist: the western part was transferred to Faircross Hundred, and the remainder to the Hundred ofReading. In 1141 Thatcham church, previously the property of theDiocese of Salisbury, was granted to Reading Abbey by theEmpress Matilda, who at the same time confirmed her father's gift of the manor to the abbey.
DuringWorld War II, Thatcham housed one of the biggestPrisoner of War camps in the South, known as camp 1001. Thatcham's population grew rapidly in the second half of the 20th century: from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961 to 22,824 in 2001.[citation needed]
On 20 July 2007, parts of Thatcham were flooded during a period of sustained heavy rain, during which three times the average July monthly rainfall hit the town in just 24 hours. While the rivers did not flood, the quantity of water flowing down the hills from Cold Ash andBucklebury made many roads impassable and stranded hundreds of pupils atKennet School who tried to wade with rope across Stoney Lane. About 1,100 properties were affected; many residents moved out into mobile homes.[11]
Although there are manyprimary schools in the area, the onlysecondary school in Thatcham is theKennet School.
The motor insurers' automotive research centre is located at Colthrop.[12] The 'Thatcham categories' issued there are the industry standard for vehicle immobilisers and alarms.[13]
TheInternational Seismological Centre, an organisation for the final collection, definitive analysis and publication of global seismicity, is located in Pipers Lane, Thatcham.[14]
Thatcham railway station is on theReading to Taunton line, with regular services betweenReading andNewbury and betweenPaddington andBedwyn, operated byGreat Western Railway. The main east–west road through the town is the A4 Bath Road, which runs betweenLondon andBristol. This road has been superseded as a long-distance route by theM4 motorway which runs almost parallel to the A4, about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north. The closest junction to the town is theChieveley interchange at Junction 13.
Thatcham is home to non-league football clubThatcham Town, who play their matches at Waterside Park, 300 metres (330 yd) south of the Thatcham railway station. The club won theFA Vase in the2017–18 season, becoming the first Berkshire side to reach a national football cup final. Thatcham Town Cricket Club play in theThames Valley Cricket League with its main ground based on Brownsfield Road, next to the town council offices. The Henwick Worthy Sports Ground is the home of the Newbury and Thatcham Hockey Club and the Thatcham Rugby Union Football Club, and plays host to a number of amateur and youth sports.
The town is divided into fourwards forWest Berkshire Council elections: Thatcham Central, Thatcham North, Thatcham South & Crookham and Thatcham West. Seven councillors represent Thatcham on the West Berkshire Council with theLiberal Democrats having seven councillors.[15] These wards are used in town council elections, with eighteen Liberal Democrats sitting on the town council.[16] At national level it is represented, since 2024, by theLiberal DemocratMP forNewbury,Lee Dillon.
Thatcham istwinned withNideggen,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Local employment is chiefly in light industrial premises, sales and distribution, retail and public sectors.[citation needed]
| Output area | Homes owned outright | Owned with a loan | Socially rented | Privately rented | Other | km2 roads | km2 water | km2 domestic gardens | Usual residents | km2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil parish | 2,640 | 4,629 | 1,439 | 1,160 | 65 | 0.871 | 0.676 | 2.323 | 25,267 | 21.78 |
| Unitary authorities | |
|---|---|
| Major settlements (cities in italics) | |
| Topics | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
