Vale of White Horse

Vale of White Horse Vale of White Horse District
Non-metropolitan district
Characteristic landscape of farmland, hills and woodlands
Vale of White Horse shown within Oxfordshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Oxfordshire
Historic county	Berkshire
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Milton, Vale of White Horse
Incorporated	1 April 1974; 50 years ago (1 April 1974)
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Vale of White Horse District Council
• Executive	Liberal Democrat
• MPs	Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat) David Johnston (Conservative)
Area
• Total	223.4 sq mi (578.6 km2)
• Rank	65th (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	142,116
• Rank	160th (of 296)
• Density	640/sq mi (250/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 90.8% White 4% Asian 2.5% Mixed 1.7% Black 1.1% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 48.6% Christianity 41.7% no religion 6.1% not stated 1.4% Islam 0.9% Hinduism 0.5% Buddhism 0.5% other 0.2% Judaism 0.2% Sikhism
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	38UE (ONS) E07000180 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SU3462689188
Website	www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk

The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of the White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway National Trail in its far south, across the North Wessex Downs AONB at the junction of four counties. The northern boundary is defined by the River Thames. The name refers to Uffington White Horse, a prehistoric hill figure.

As well as being a local authority district, the Vale of White Horse is a geographical, historical and cultural region. The name "Vale of White Horse" predates the present-day local authority district, having been described, for example, in Daniel Defoe's 1748 travel account A Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain.^[2] There are references to the name as early as the 17th century; the Elizabethan antiquarian and historian William Camden referred to the "Vale of White Horse" in his 1610 topographical study on the British Isles.^[3] Traditionally, the Vale has been understood to cover an area wider than the present-day local authority district, stretching from Buscot, in the west, to Streatley, in the east.^[4] The Vale and Downland Museum, based in Wantage, stores and presents the cultural heritage of the region.