Cheddingham

Cheddingham
City and unitary authority area
City of Cheddingham
Shown within Cheddinghamshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	Southern
Ceremonial county	Cheddinghamshire
Founded	c. 885
Founded by	Alfred the Great
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Governing body	Cheddingham City Council
• Council leader	name
• Executive	Labour
• MPs	list
Population  (2011)
• City and unitary authority area	504,792
• Ethnicity (2011 Census)	84% White 7% Asian 3% Black 3% Other 3% Mixed
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 code	GB-CHD
Website	cheddingham.gov.uk

Cheddingham (/ˈtʃɛdɪŋəm/) is a city and unitary authority area in Cheddinghamshire, England. It is the ninth-most populous district in England, with a population of 504,792 as of the 2011 census. The city sits upon the eponymous River Chedd, a tributary of the Thames.

Settled in Anglo-Saxon times as Ceddingaham, a burh was built at the site by King Alfred the Great of Wessex as part of his defence against the Vikings. This developed into a prosperous market town, the county town of Cheddinghamshire. Iron mining and quarrying in the county drove Cheddingham's rapid expansion with the progression of the Industrial Revolution and a booming demand for steel; the 20th century additionally saw the city emerge as a centre of the British automotive industry. The decline of this and the steel industry in the later decades of the 20th century badly affected the city, which experienced devastating riots in 1988 and again in 1991. Cheddingham gradually recovered from this nadir, as its service sector developed and took the place of heavy industry, the city's economy growing even throughout the Great Recession.

The city is the administrative headquarters of Cheddinghamshire County Council, although it lies outside of that authority's jurisdiction, instead being governed independently by Cheddingham City Council since 1974. Cheddingham is connected by rail to London by the Southern Main Line via Cheddingham Central, the city's principal railway station; by road, it is linked by the M7 motorway. The University of Cheddingham received university status in 2005. The city is a member of the Core Cities Group, and has a gross value added of £9.7 billion.

History

Etymology

Cheddingham's name is derived from the Old English form Ceddingaham, "the homestead of Cedd" (a variation on the name Ceadda, elsewhere recorded in Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum). The name is first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is reported that Alfred the Great went to the site and fortified it as a burh.

Demographics

In terms of ethnicity the city is: 84% White,7% Asian, 3% Black, 3% Mixed and 3% Other. In terms of religion the city 53% is Christian, 34% No religion, 6% Other/not stated, 5% Muslim and 2% Hindu.

Economy

Formerly an industrial centre, the most common occupations today are retail and the construction trades. Unemployment is higher than the national average due to factory closures.

Governance

Cheddingham is a unitary authority with a Labour-dominated government. Until 2022, when he left to run for Parliament, Sikandar R.A. Khan was a Conservative councillor there.

Culture and sport

The city’s culture is dominated by traditional working-class influences.