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Wantage, Grove & the villages of the Vale of White Horse · OX12
Guide · updated 2 October 2026

King Alfred statue in Wantage: the story and a town walk

King Alfred's statue in the Market Place, Wantage

The King Alfred statue in Wantage stands in the middle of Market Place, the open square at the centre of town. This page is for anyone coming to look at it, and for residents who want the story straight. You will find out where it is and what you are looking at, who gave it and who carved it, what the oldest written account says about Alfred being born here, and how to spend an hour in town starting at the plinth.

The short version

  • The statue stands in Wantage Market Place, outdoors, in a public square.
  • It is marble, sculpted by Count Gleichen, and was unveiled on 14 July 1877 by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
  • It was a gift to the town from Colonel Sir Robert Loyd-Lindsay VC, later Lord Wantage.
  • The earliest life of Alfred names Wantage as his birthplace in 849, but nobody can point to the spot.
  • From the square you can walk the town and brook route, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) and easy, or head south for the Downs.

Where to find the King Alfred statue in Wantage

Market Place is the square at the heart of the town, and the statue is in the middle of it. Walk in from any direction and you will see it, because the figure sits on a tall plinth above the level of the paving. Shops, pubs and cafes face the square on most sides, so this is also where people stop, sit and meet.

The white marble statue of King Alfred on its rocky plinth in Wantage Market Place
The white marble statue of King Alfred on its rocky plinth in Wantage Market Place Photo: Ballista, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alfred is carved in white marble. He holds an axe in one hand and a scroll in the other, the fighter and the scholar in one figure, which is how Victorian Britain liked to remember him. The plinth carries an inscription recording who gave the statue and who unveiled it, so it is worth walking right round the base rather than taking one photograph and moving on.

There is nothing to book and nothing to pay. It is a street monument in a working market square, open at any hour, in any weather. For how the town fits together and what else sits within a few minutes’ walk, see the Wantage town page.

Was King Alfred born in Wantage?

The claim is old and it is the reason the statue is here. The earliest account of Alfred’s life, written in the 890s by Asser, a monk who worked in the king’s household, says Alfred was born at the royal estate of Wantage in 849. That single line is the basis of everything the town says about him.

What the record does not give is a spot. No royal hall or palace survives above ground, and nothing in the town centre can be tied to a ninth century estate. So the honest answer is that Wantage has the oldest written claim to Alfred’s birth, and no building to attach it to. Historians treat Asser as useful evidence rather than proof.

One detail trips people up. Asser places Wantage in Berkshire, and that was right until 1974, when the Vale of White Horse moved into Oxfordshire. Same town, different county line.

Who gave the statue and who carved it

The statue was presented to the town by Colonel Sir Robert Loyd-Lindsay VC, who later became Lord Wantage. The sculptor was Count Gleichen. The Prince and Princess of Wales unveiled it on 14 July 1877, which made it a day out for the whole area as well as a gift to the square.

The bronze plaque on the statue's plinth recording its unveiling on 14 July 1877
The bronze plaque on the statue's plinth recording its unveiling on 14 July 1877 Photo: Philip Jelley, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The monument is on the National Heritage List for England. The Historic England list entry records the gift and the 1877 unveiling, and Wantage Town Council keeps its own page about it. Both are good places to check a date before you repeat it.

Alfred and the Wantage Statue

  1. 849Asser records Alfred born at Wantage royal estate
  2. 871Alfred becomes king of Wessex
  3. 878Alfred defeats Danish army at Edington
  4. 899Alfred dies, buried at Winchester
  5. 14 Jul 1877Marble statue unveiled in Market Place by Prince and Princess of Wales
  6. 1974Wantage moves from Berkshire into Oxfordshire
From Alfred's birth claim in 849 to the 1877 unveiling, six dates tell the full story behind the Wantage statue.

A short timeline of Alfred and his statue

  1. 849: Asser’s life of Alfred gives Wantage as his birthplace.
  2. 871: Alfred becomes king of Wessex.
  3. 878: Alfred defeats the Danish army at Edington and the war turns his way.
  4. 899: Alfred dies and is buried at Winchester.
  5. 14 July 1877: the marble statue is unveiled in Market Place by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
  6. 1974: Wantage moves from Berkshire into Oxfordshire.

An hour in town starting at the plinth

If you have come in for a look and want to make a morning of it, this order works well on foot and keeps you in the centre.

  1. Start at the statue and walk round the base, reading the inscription on the plinth.
  2. Do a slow circuit of the square, looking up at the first floor frontages rather than the shop signs.
  3. Pick up the brook: the mapped town and Letcombe Brook walk is 1.8 miles (2.9 km), graded easy, and starts in town.
  4. Finish with coffee and something to eat near the square.

Tip: the brook route is flat, so it suits pushchairs and shorter legs far better than the climbs up on the Downs.

For somewhere to sit down afterwards, the directory list of cafes in the area is the page to open; these are the ones in town.

Markets and events around the square

Market Place is not just a setting for the statue; it is where a lot of town life happens. Markets, stalls, fundraising days, guided walks and seasonal events all use the square, and the statue tends to end up as the meeting point because everyone can find it.

Dates move about through the year, so it is better to check a live list than to plan around a fixed day. The next dates in and around town are on the What’s on listings.

SAT24OCTFestivalsAlfredfest 2026Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 October · Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, the Market Place and the Vale & Downland Museum · WantageChildren's workshop and talks free; lunch…

Dates change: check with the organiser. Everything on What's on.

What is planned for Market Place

Plans for the square itself are worth knowing about if you are coming for the statue. A town centre scheme for Wantage Market Place improvements was in planning at the last check, in September 2026, and that page carries the current status and dates.

It matters in a practical way. Work in or around the square can change where you can walk, where you can park and whether a market or event runs as usual, so a quick look before a special trip saves a wasted journey.

What Wantage is known for, besides the statue

Alfred comes first, and his name is spread across the town. The secondary school is King Alfred’s Academy, and the eastern link road is called King Alfred Way; the King Alfred Way page recorded it as complete at the last check, in December 2024. People still call the place King Alfred’s town, and that is why you see the name on signs, clubs and school gates.

Beyond Alfred, three things define the area. The chalk escarpment of the Downs rises behind the town, with the Ridgeway running along the top. The Letcombe Brook threads through the middle of Wantage and out towards Grove. And the old Wantage Arm of the Wilts and Berks Canal still shapes the land to the north, which you can follow on a href=”https://wantage.com/walks/wantage-canal-grove-top-lock/”>the Wantage Arm canal walk, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) and easy, from East Challow.

Good to know: for school pages, inspection grades and the month each was last checked, use the schools and nurseries section rather than word of mouth.

Wantage, Winchester and Alfred’s grave

Wantage is not the only town with an Alfred. Winchester has a large bronze statue of him, put up in the city most closely tied to his reign and his burial. The two monuments tell different halves of the same story: Wantage claims the birth, Winchester the kingship and the grave.

As for his remains, nothing has been confirmed. Alfred was buried at Winchester, and his bones were later moved to Hyde Abbey on the edge of the city. The abbey was destroyed after the Dissolution and the ground was dug over and built on, so the grave was lost. Bones recovered from the site at different times have never been proved to be his.

Walks out from King Alfred’s town

The statue makes a sensible start or finish for a walking day, because the square is the easiest place in town to meet. From there the routes fan out south to the chalk and east along the spring line.

For contrast, compare three: the Ridgeway from White Horse Hill to Wantage is 9.7 miles (15.6 km) and challenging; Segsbury Camp and the Wantage Monument is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) and moderate from Letcombe Bassett; and the short loop at White Horse Hill, Uffington Castle and Dragon Hill is 1.7 miles (2.7 km) from Uffington, about 9.5 km west of the Market Place.

Check before you go, and where to look next

The King Alfred statue in Wantage needs no planning at all: it is outdoors, in the open, and it is not going anywhere. Everything around it does change, so check opening patterns with a business before you travel, and check event dates on the listings rather than on a poster you saw last month.

If the history has caught your interest, the local history section goes further into the town, its places and the people in them, and the other local guides cover eating out, days out and the new estates. This site is an independent local guide, and every page invites corrections if you spot a detail that has moved on.

Frequently asked questions

Does King Alfred's bloodline still exist?

Descent survives, even though his line of kings does not. The male line of Alfred’s house ended in the eleventh century, but his descendants married into other royal and noble families, and genealogists trace later English and European royalty back to him. After more than a thousand years, a great many ordinary families in Britain will also have some descent from him somewhere.

Are there any remains of King Alfred the Great?

None have been confirmed as his. Alfred was buried at Winchester, and his bones were later moved to Hyde Abbey outside the city walls. The abbey was pulled down after the Dissolution and the site was dug over and built on, so the grave was lost. Bones found there at various times have never been firmly identified as Alfred’s.

Is this the same as the King Alfred statue in Winchester?

No, they are two separate monuments. Winchester’s Alfred is a large bronze in the city where he was buried. Wantage’s is white marble, on a plinth in the middle of the market square, and dates from 1877. If you are comparing the two, Wantage claims his birth in 849 and Winchester claims his reign and his grave.

How long does the town walk from the statue take?

The mapped town route follows the Letcombe Brook, is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) and is graded easy, starting in Wantage. At a steady pace that is roughly an hour of walking, longer if you stop in the square or have small children with you. It stays low and flat, which makes it very different from the climbs on the Ridgeway.

Is the statue a good stop with children?

It works as a short stop rather than a day out. The square is flat and paved, the figure is easy to see from the ground, and there is nothing to book. Children tend to want the story more than the sculpture, so the axe and the scroll give you something to point at. Link it with the brook walk or a cafe stop.

What else in Wantage carries Alfred's name?

The town’s secondary school is King Alfred’s Academy, and the eastern link road is King Alfred Way, recorded as complete at the last check in December 2024. Local groups, signs and events use the name too, and people often call the place King Alfred’s town. The marble figure in Market Place is the most visible reminder of all.

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