Thatcham

Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England located 3 miles (5km) east of Newbury and 15 miles (24km) west of Reading. It covers approximately 8.75 square miles (23 km²) and has a population of 23,000 people (2003). This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961. There is a large secondary school, Kennet School, which ranks very well in the country.

Related Topics:
Town - Berkshire - England - 3 miles (5km) - Newbury - 15 miles (24km) - Reading - 8.75 square miles (23 km²) - 2003 - 1951 - 1961

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It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon Canal, the A4 road and the course of a Roman road. It is also served by Thatcham railway station on the line between Newbury and Reading. Employment is provided by a number of light industrial units and it is also a dormitory town for Newbury, Reading and London.

Related Topics:
River Kennet - Kennet and Avon Canal - A4 road - Roman road - Thatcham railway station - Dormitory town - London

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The area has been occupied continuously from prehistoric times - the well-preserved remains of a Mesolithic village dating from 7700 BC have been found in its vicinity. Indeed it is noted in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest continuously inhabited place in England. There is also evidence of Bronze and Iron Age settlements and of a Roman town.

Related Topics:
Mesolithic - Guinness Book of Records - Bronze - Iron Age - Roman

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The name may have been derived from that of a Saxon chief called Tace (or perhaps Tac or Tec), who established a village in around 500. The settlement was known as Taceham - ham meaning village in Saxon. It is also possible that the name may have come from the Saxon thaec (thatch). Wherever it came from, the name Taceham persisted until after the Norman Conquest in 1066 before going through several minor changes until the current one was adopted in the sixteenth century.

Related Topics:
Saxon - Village - 500 - Thatch - Norman Conquest - 1066 - Sixteenth century

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The town had a period of great prosperity around 1304, when part of the building now known as the Bluecoat School was constructed as a small chapel. At this time the population was larger than Newbury's but declined as a result of the Black Death which decimated the area in 1348. There is a Norman parish church of St. Mary which was largely reconstructed in 1857. This is believed to be built on the same site as an earlier Saxon Church. It was also previously known as St. Luke's. A local attraction is the Nature Discovery Centre situated at Thatcham Lake, a flooded gravel quarry.

Related Topics:
1304 - Bluecoat School - Chapel - Black Death - 1348 - Norman - Parish - Church - St. Mary - 1857 - Thatcham Lake

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The town is twinned with Nideggen, Germany.

Related Topics:
Nideggen - Germany

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