Didcot

town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, UK; formerly in Berkshire

Didcot is a town in Oxfordshire about 10 miles (16 km) south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was part of Berkshire.

Didcot
Population25,231 
OS grid referenceSU525900
• London54.7m
Civil parish
  • Didcot
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDIDCOT
Postcode districtOX11
Dialling code01235
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteDidcot Town Council
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
Didcot - a railway town.

History and economy

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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

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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

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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

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  • 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.

Other websites

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