Wantage
Wantage, town (parish), Vale of White Horse district, administrative county of Oxfordshire, historic county of Berkshire, south-central England.
It is an old market town and the birthplace of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great (871β899), whose statue stands in the marketplace. The town is a modest service centre in rural surroundings, but research establishments, including the atomic-energy research station at nearby Harwell, employ many people. Pop. (2001) 9,767; (2011) 11,327.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Citation Information
Article Title:
Wantage
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
29 August 2013
Access Date:
November 14, 2026