Most towns take great pride in their history and heritage, but few can claim to be the birthplace of one of England’s greatest ever rulers.

So, it is no surprise that Wantage chooses to celebrate its link with King Alfred the Great, who is believed to have been born there more than 1,000 years ago.

Before he was the great ruler who fought against Viking invaders, Alfred was born the youngest child of Æthelwulf, king of Wessex, in Wantage in 849.

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He would go on to become king of Wessex, and his military success against the Danes – as well as his social and educational reforms - would see him become the only English ruler known as 'the Great’.

Although his name appears in many of the history books, King Alfred’s legacy has particularly survived in the town of his birth.

There are monuments to him everywhere you look in Wantage, from a statue in the town centre, a school that bears his name, and an annual ‘AlfredFest’ celebration in his honour.

Oxford Mail:

The marble statue has stood in Market Place for almost 150 years after being commissioned by Col Robert Loyd-Lindsay to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the king's birth.

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It was sculpted by Count Gleichen, a relative of Queen Victoria, and unveiled on July 14, 1877, by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the future Edward VII and his wife.

In 2007, vandals cut off the statue’s right arm, which bears the battle-axe, and left the remains in pieces on the ground.

Mayor at the time Lorraine Todd described the incident as “an attack on the people of Wantage”.

A few days later, a 24-year-old man handed himself in to police.

Oxford Mail: The statue after the vandals attacked it

The town’s secondary school is called King Alfred’s Academy, although it has gone by various names over the years including King Alfred's Grammar School and King Alfred's School.

In 2014, the school strengthened its royal connection when a new hall block was opened by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

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Most recently, ‘AlfredFest’ was launched in 2021, which sees the town celebrate the king with an outdoor service and a concert each October in Market Place.

Oxford Mail:

At last year’s event, bakery Marco Polo prepared a communion loaf, which was carefully burned to commemorate the famous story of Alfred forgetting to watch the cakes of a peasant woman.

While this year’s festival has yet to be announced, there is no doubt that Wantage will continue to celebrate its connection with King Alfred long into the future.