Crowthorne

Crowthorne was only a small hamlet until Wellington College was opened in 1859 and Broadmoor Hospital in 1863. Crowthorne railway station, originally Wellington College for Crowthorne Station, opened in 1860 and burgeoned quickly. In the 1960s, the Transport Research Laboratory established by the UK Government as the Road Research Laboratory (RRL) opened in Crowthorne. It was privatised in 1996.

At the 2001 census the village had a population of 6,711,[6] which was estimated to have risen to 7,565 in 2019.[5]

Crowthorne is part of the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area. It lies 4 miles (6.5 km) NNE of Camberley and some 5 miles (8 km) SSW of Bracknell. The Crowthorne area spills over into the neighbouring parish of Wokingham Without. Most of Crowthorne is in the Bracknell Forest district. North of Crowthorne is Pinewood, which has a leisure centre, cafe and miniature railway.[7][8][9]

Crowthorne has a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and local nature reserve called Heath Lake along its northern edge.[10] Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths form an SSSI to the south-east with a nature reserve, Wildmoor Heath.[11][12]

Between the village and Sandhurst to the south is a local nature reserve called Edgbarrow Woods.[13]

Crowthorne houses Wellington College, a large co-educational boarding and day independent school, which opened in 1859 as a national monument in honour of the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), who had led British, Spanish and Portuguese forces in a succession of military victories in the Iberian Peninsula.[14] The school became fully coeducational in 2005.

Edgbarrow is a secondary school that serves the whole of Crowthorne, with five feeder schools: Hatch Ride Primary, New Scotland Hill, Crowthorne Church of England School, Wildmoor Heath (formerly Broadmoor Primary) and Oaklands Junior. There are a few pre-preparatory and preparatory schools, nurseries and childcare centres in the town accepting children between 3 months and 11 years old.

C. F. Taylor is a company that grew into a large international aeronautical fabrications business, later part of British Aerospace. It was born in a shed of the Buckler premises in Heath Hill Road shortly after World War II. Metal craftsman C. F. Taylor single-handedly produced aluminium racing fairings for motorcycles and bodies for early Buckler cars.

Crowthorne holds a biennial carnival, usually in early July, the whole being organised by the Crowthorne Carnival Association, with some individual events put up by local schools, groups and businesses.[15]

Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society was founded in 1978.[16]

The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Roscoe, gives three concerts a year, usually at Wellington College. It also holds an open workshop for full orchestra in September and a string workshop in May. The orchestra marked its 20th anniversary in 2011.[17]

The Crowthorne Natural History Group was founded in 1977, but held its final meeting in 2013, due to a diminishing and ageing membership.[18]

Crowthorne & Crown Wood Cricket Club was formed in January 2014 out of two existing clubs. It plays its home games in the grounds of Wellington College and at Crown Wood's established base at St Sebastian's. It belongs to the Saturday League Cricket in the Berkshire League and Sunday Friendlies. In 2013, Crowthorne CC fielded two Saturday teams for the first time, as well as a Sunday Team and a Midweek T20 team, while Crown Wood CC fielded two League teams and a youth setup. The 1st XI gained promotion from Division 2 in 2013 after winning the League. Crown Wood's existing youth set-up continues under the merged club.[19]

AFC Crowthorne is one of the local football teams that play their home games at the Morgan Recreation ground.

In order of birth:

• William Chester Minor (1834–1920), a major contributor of quotations to the Oxford English Dictionary, c. 1872–1902
• A. C. Benson (1862–1925), essayist and scholar, was born at Wellington College while his father, Edward White Benson, was its first headmaster.
• A. Duncan Carse (1875 or 1876–1938), artist[20]
• Freeman Dyson (1923–2020), theoretical physicist and mathematician born in the village
• Ronald Kray (1933–1995), English gangster
• Sir Anthony Seldon (born 1953), headmaster of Wellington College, political author

• About the parish
• Royal Berkshire History: Crowthorne
• St. Sebastians School