Who Was He?

King Alfred the Great, best remembered for 'burning the cakes', was born in Wantage in 849 AD when King Ethelwulf's Court stayed at the royal palace in the town.

The area within the Parish of Ashbury has been continuously lived in for more than 5000 years. The Saxons in the 9th Century called it Aescaesbyries, the 'Camp of the Ash Trees'.

Ashbury, is a typical hill settlement, located at a spring line on the northern slopes of the Berkshire Downs (Map).

It lies close to the famous 'White Horse' and Ashdown House, said to be the setting for the decisive 'Battle of Ashdown' (800 AD) in which King Alfred  expelled the Danes from this area.

King Alfred Remembered

King Alfred's School was founded in 1849, the millenary of King Alfred's birth. An ancient building was being used as a school in 1534, but the first Grammar School was founded in 1598 and the building stood in the churchyard.

It was demolished in 1850 only the Norman doorway being incorporated into the present building.

King Alfred is still seen everywhere!