What is Wantage?
{{infobox UK place |country= England |official_name= Wantage |latitude= 51.5885 |longitude= -1.4265 | population = 9,767 | population_ref = (2001 census) |shire_district= [[Vale of White Horse]] |shire_county = [[Oxfordshire]] |region= South East England |constituency_westminster= [[Wantage (UK Parliament constituency)|Wantage]] |post_town= WANTAGE |postcode_district= OX12 |postcode_area= OX |dial_code= 01235 |os_grid_reference= SU399878 |london_distance= 72.3mi |website= [http://www.wantage.com Wantage community website] }} '''Wantage''' is a [[town]] in the [[Vale of White Horse|Vale of the White Horse]], near the [[Thames Valley]], in the [[England|English]] county of [[Berkshire]], and about {{convert|17|mi|km}} south-southwest of [[Oxford]]. It is famous for being the birthplace of [[Alfred the Great|King Alfred the Great]]. ==Local government== Wantage has a [[town council]] consisting of sixteen councillors, twelve of whom are [[Liberal Democrats]] (2007). It is also part of the district of the [[Vale of White Horse]]. ==Transport== [[Image:Wantage 20040424.jpg|thumb|left|A view of Wantage town centre, 2004. A statue of [[Alfred the Great]] stands in Market Place, which is used as a car park except on market days.]] Wantage sits at the crossing of the B4507 valley road, the A417 [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] to [[Cirencester]] road and the A338 [[Hungerford]] (and junction 14 of the [[M4 motorway|M4]] [[motorway]]) to [[Oxford]] road. Wantage is connected to [[Oxford]], [[Didcot]], [[Abingdon, Oxfordshire|Abingdon]] and [[Faringdon]] by regular bus services. The fastest public bus journey from Wantage to Oxford takes about 45 minutes, the slowest can take over 1 hour 15 minutes. ==History== King [[Alfred the Great]] was born here in the [[9th century]]. Wantage appears in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086. Its value was £61 and it was in the king's ownership until 1190. Troops of the king were stationed in Wantage during the [[English Civil War]]. Since 1848, Wantage has been home to the [[Commun