Cold Ash is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire

West Berkshire

West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...

 about 1 miles (1.6 km) north of Thatcham

Thatcham

Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon...

 and 2.5 miles (4 km) north east of Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

.

In the 2001 Census, Cold Ash had the highest proportion of women to men for any urban area in the United Kingdom.

History

The Church of England parish church

Church of England parish church

A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of Saint Mark was designed by the architect C.N. Beazley

Charles Beazley

Charles Nightingale Beazley , FRIBA was a British architect. His work spans the period 1853-1897.-Career:Beazley was articled to William Wardell in 1853 and was an RIBA student 1854-56. In 1856-58 he was an assistant to G.E. Street, who was the diocesan architect for the Church of England Diocese...

 and built in 1864-65.

Downe House School, a girls' boarding school

Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

, has been in Cold Ash since 1922. It was founded in 1907 by Olive Willis

Olive Willis

Olive Margaret Willis was an English educationist and headmistress. She founded Downe House School and was its head for nearly forty years, from 1907 to 1946.-Early life:...

 and moved to the Cloisters in Cold Ash when its original site, Downe House

Downe House

Downe House School is an independent girls' boarding school in Cold Ash, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11-18.-History:Downe House was founded in 1907 by Olive Willis, its first headmistress, as an all-girls' boarding school...

, Charles Darwin's former home near Bromley

Bromley

Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...

 in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, became too small for the school.

Cold Ash started off as a cattle track, which houses got built around and then a proper road (without foundations, so driving is sometimes slow around the area) was built. Many of the houses are from the Victorian era, when it was used for farm land. Whilst now the houses are mainly occupied by the elderly and doctors, there are still some, such as Ashmore Green Farm, in the area.

Amenities

Cold Ash has two public houses, the Castle Inn and the Spotted Dog, as well as The Sun in the Wood, in close-by (and in the same parish) Ashmore Green. The Sun in the Wood is a more restaurant, the Castle being very traditionally pub-like and the Spotted Dog a sort of mixture of the two. Cold Ash has a Women's Institute. Cold ash also has a primary school called St. Marks, from the name of the Parish, with roughly 150-200 pupils from the ages of 4-11.

The Acland Hall and recreational ground (commonly known as the 'rec') is also in Cold Ash. The Hall is used for many events, however they don't allow the residents to do 18th and 21st birthday parties, as the mess can be costly. The park is fairly small, although it also has 2 tennis courts. There is lots of land, used for football and cricket.

A quote from a resident: "there really isn't anything good in Cold Ash apart from the Post Office."
It is also quite well known for the housing, some of which dates back to early Victorian days, and there are several small businesses based in Cold Ash.