Local editions

Didcot

Didcot Town Oxfordshire

About Didcot

Welcome to the Didcot edition of The Oxford Magazine.

Didcot grew up as a gritty railway town that coalesced around Brunel’s Great Western Railway in the mid-1800s. For decades, its railway heritage and the cooling towers of the Didcot Power Station have been a landmark identifiable from miles around.

Alas, with hi-tech industries and research centres moving in and the decommissioning of the power station, Didcot is now all about innovation. It’s the gateway town to the Science Vale: three large science and technology centres in the surrounding villages of Milton (Milton Park), Culham (Culham Science Centre) and Harwell (Harwell Science and Innovation Campus).

And for tourists, the Didcot Railway Centre is just the ticket if you’d like to relive the halcyon days of steam locomotives. The attraction revolves around a massive engine shed, with more than 30 locomotives, four of which are operational on the museum’s a heritage line.

Local news & stories

Staff from local builder Persimmon Homes Wessex joined the annual Meet the Employer event at Didcot Girls’ School.
/ Education

Staff from local builder join annual Meet the Employer careers event in Didcot

Persimmon Homes Wessex was one of the organisations that attended a recent Meet the Employer careers day event at Didcot Girls’ School, where three of its employees spoke with groups of Year 13s in the area.
Local men’s mental health service releases Christmas single to support men in crisis
/ Health & Wellbeing

Local men’s mental health service releases Christmas single to support of men in crisis

The Cornermen – an Oxfordshire-based men’s mental health and suicide prevention service – has released a Christmas single to raise awareness and funds for the vital work it does supporting men in crisis, averaging five interventions a day in the local community.
The Rosalind Franklin Institute appointsProfessor Paul Matthews as new director
/ Education

The Rosalind Franklin Institute appoints Professor Paul Matthews as new director

The Rosalind Franklin Institute, based at Harwell Campus near Didcot, has appointed Professor Paul Matthews as its new Institute Director.
A historic ‘Milton Wonder’ sapling has been planted by the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire to commemorate His Majesty’s Coronation on the day of his 75th birthday.
/ Real Estate

‘Milton Wonder’ sapling planted at Milton Park on HM King’s birthday.

A historic ‘Milton Wonder’ sapling has been planted by the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire to commemorate His Majesty’s Coronation on the day of his 75th birthday.
The Didcot Powerhouse Fund Celebrates its second anniversary in supporting the Didcot community
/ Community

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund celebrates second anniversary of supporting Didcot community

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund is entering its third year of grant-giving to the local community and, from December 2023, will be inviting applications for its 2024 round of grant-giving.
Fusion technology company Oxford Sigma relocates HQ to Oxford Centre for Innovation. Image: Dr Thomas Davis, co-founder and CTO and Jonathan Musgrove, co-founder and CEO outside The Oxford Trust’s Oxford Centre for Innovation
/ Technology

Fusion technology company Oxford Sigma relocates HQ to Oxford Centre for Innovation

Oxford Sigma has relocated its HQ to The Oxford Trust’s Oxford Centre for Innovation to accelerate fusion materials technology commercialisation to help tackle climate change and resolve energy security.
UK’s first full-size electric autonomous bus takes to Oxfordshire’s roads
/ Technology

UK’s first full-size electric autonomous bus takes to the road at Milton Park

The UK’s first fully electric, full-size single-decker autonomous bus service has started operating between Didcot Parkway train station and Milton Park.
Oxford-based SpaceTech startup Open Cosmos raises $50m from leading impact investors.
/ Technology

Harwell-based SpaceTech business Open Cosmos raises $50m funding from impact investors

Open Cosmos – the leading space tech business making satellites that gather data to solve pressing global challenges – has raised $50m in Series B funding from three leading impact investors, ETF Partners, Trill Impact and A&G. 
Linden Homes teams with Sage Homes to offer new shared ownership scheme in Oxfordshire
/ Housing

Linden Homes teams with Sage Homes to offer new shared ownership scheme in Didcot

The housebuilder has teamed up with the country’s largest provider of new-build affordable homes to launch Home Stepper – a new shared ownership scheme – which includes five new homes at its Didcot Grove location in Didcot.
Two new church bells at All Saints first in country with the royal cyphers
/ Community

Two new church bells at All Saints first in country with the royal cyphers

Two new church bells at All Saints, North Moreton, have been cast as the first in the country with the royal cyphers of their Majesties, King Charles and Queen Camilla and were rung for the first time on the coronation on 06 May.