Maidenhead
| Maidenhead | |
|---|---|
 Thames Riviera Hotel (left) and Maidenhead Bridge (built 1777) from across the River Thames |
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 Maidenhead
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| Maidenhead shown within Berkshire | |
| Population | 73,404 |
| OS grid reference | SU889811 |
| • London | 31 mi (50 km) |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MAIDENHEAD |
| Postcode district | SL6 |
| Dialling code | 01628 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Maidenhead is a large town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies south of the River Thames, but at Maidenhead, the river runs north-south and so the town is in fact on its west bank. The town has a population of 73,404. Its urban area (including the adjoining suburban villages of Bray, Holyport, Pinkneys Green, Taplow, Cox Green, White Waltham and Woodlands Park) has a population of just under 95,000. The mainline railway station was set to be the terminus of the Crossrail line until the announcement was made that Reading was to be the new terminus.
Maidenhead's name stems from the riverside area where the "New wharf" or "Maiden Hythe" was built, perhaps as early as Saxon times. It has been suggested that the nearby Great Hill of Taplow was called the "Mai Dun" by the Iron Age Brythons. The area of the town centre was originally known as "South Ellington" and is recorded in the Domesday Book as Ellington in the hundred of Beynhurst.
In 1280, a bridge was erected across the river to replace a ferry in what was then the hamlet of South Ellington. The Great West Road to Reading, Gloucester and Bristol was diverted over the new bridge. Previously, it had kept to the north bank and crossed the Thames by ford at Cookham, and medieval Maidenhead grew up around it. Within a few years a wharf was constructed next to the bridge and the South Ellington name was dropped with the area becoming known as Maidenhythe (literally meaning "new wharf"). The earliest record of this name change is in the Bray Court manorial rolls of 1296. The bridge led to the growth of Maidenhead: a stopping point for coaches on the journeys between London and Bath and the High Street became populated with inns. The current Maidenhead Bridge, a local landmark, dates from 1777 and was built at a cost of £19,000.
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