Crowthorne

Crowthorne is also a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa

Coordinates: 51°22′12″N 0°47′31″W / 51.370°N 0.792°W / 51.370; -0.792

Crowthorne
The shops in Duke's Ride near Crowthorne Station
Crowthorne  Crowthorne shown within Berkshire
Population	6,711 (2001)
OS grid reference	SU841641
Civil parish	Crowthorne
District	Bracknell Forest
Shire county	Berkshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CROWTHORNE
Dialling code	01344
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Bracknell
List of places: UK • England • Berkshire

Crowthorne is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire. It has a population of 6,711.¹ Crowthorne is best known for Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, which lies in the village.

The village was only a small hamlet until Wellington College was opened to educate sons of British Army officers in 1859, followed by Broadmoor in 1863. Crowthorne railway station, originally known as Wellington College for Crowthorne station, was opened in 1860, and the village grew quickly. In the 1960s, the Transport Research Laboratory opened in Crowthorne, and this is now the main employer^{citation needed} for those who do not commute.

The Crowthorne urban area spills over into the neighbouring parish of Wokingham Without. (The parish of Wokingham Without consists of an area surrounding the town of Wokingham on its south-eastern side, but its name does not mean outside Wokingham. Historically when the parishes were church parishes, there was a local area which belonged to Wiltshire which was therefore known as Wokingham Without (i.e. outside) Berkshire, whereas the Town was ‘within’ Berkshire.)² But the majority of Crowthorne is in the Bracknell Forest district. Edgbarrow Woods are between Sandhurst and Crowthorne.

There is one secondary school which covers the whole of Crowthorne and Little Sandhurst, Edgbarrow School. There are also 4 feeder schools; Hatch Ride primary, Wildmoor Heath (originally called Broadmoor Primary), Oaklands junior and Crowthorne CofE primary. However, strongly CofE children are often sent to Ranelagh School in Bracknell and the very brightest in the village often gain places at Kendrick or Reading Grammar Schools.^{citation needed}

Local societies and community groups

The Crowthorne Natural History Society was founded in 1968.

Crowthorne holds a biennial carnival, usually taking place in early July. The 2008 theme was Fun & Fantasy; the 2010 theme was Rhythm of Life. The Carnival as a whole is organised by the Crowthorne Carnival Association, but individual events can be organised by local schools, groups and businesses.³ Due to all of these events Crowthorne was awarded with the 2nd best town in Europe in 2008.^{citation needed}

The Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society was founded in 1978.⁴

The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Roscoe, is based in the town. The orchestra gives three concerts a year, usually at Wellington College, and also holds an open workshop for full orchestra in September and a string workshop in May. The orchestra celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011.⁵

Crowthorne Cricket Club, plays its home games in the grounds of Wellington College. Playing Saturday League Cricket in the Berkshire League and Sunday Friendlies. The Club finished 5th in the Berkshire League Div 2 in 2011 with Richard Barron the leading Batsman and Ross Chalmers the leading bowler. Dan Partridge was Player of the year and Richard Hester was Fielder of the year⁶

Notable residents

• A. Duncan Carse, artist, 1931-1938⁷

• Dan Partridge, 1975-2003

References

1. ^ Office for National Statistics: Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: Bracknell Forest Retrieved 3 November 2010
2. ^ "Wokingham Without". Wokingham Borough Council. http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/communities/statistics/the-borough/wokingham-without/. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
3. ^ Carnival
4. ^ Crowthorne Amateur Theatrical Society
5. ^ The Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra
6. ^ Crowthorne Cricket Club
7. ^ Royal Academy Dictionary of Exhibitors: Summer Exhibition catalogue archives

External links

• Mountain Biking at Swinley Forest, Crowthorne.
• About the parish
• Crowthorne Bridge Club
• Royal Berkshire History: Crowthorne
• Welcome to Crowthorne