Awre Explained

Country:England
Region:South West England
Static Image Name:The War Memorial at Awre - geograph.org.uk - 2722989.jpg
Static Image Caption:The War Memorial at Awre
Population:1,714
Population Ref:(Civil parish, 2011)
Os Grid Reference:SO7008
Label Position:left
Post Town:Blakeney
Postcode Area:GL
Postcode District:GL15
Dial Code:01594
Constituency Westminster:Forest of Dean
Civil Parish:Awre
Shire District:Forest of Dean
Shire County:Gloucestershire
Website:Awre Parish Council home page

Awre is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Forest of Dean District of Gloucestershire, England, near the River Severn.

Both the parish and the electoral ward include Blakeney, Etloe, Gatcombe, Viney Hill, and Two Bridges.

According to the 2001 census, Awre had a population of 1,644, increasing to 1,714 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward gives similar figures[1]

Name

A number of etymologies have been proposed for the villages name. A possible derivation from an Old Welsh word for yellow or golden has been suggested, linking the village to its location in the ancient Cantref Coch and the colour of the sandy soil in the upland areas around the village. Another suggestion is that the village was named for Gilbert de Awre, a Norman knight who is said to have come over during the Norman Conquest of England. However, the name de Awre does not appear under this name in contemporary texts, suggesting that he took his name from the village.[2]

Today the name is commonly stated to derive from Old English; āfor "bitter or sour" and ēa "water-meadow or island" translating to "sour water-meadow".

History

The manor of Awre is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Together with Lydney and Alvington, the parish of Awre comprised Bledisloe Hundred.[3] Awre was a large parish which included the tithings of Blakeney, Bledisloe, Hagloe, and Etloe.[3] The manors were often in royal hands or in possession of great medieval magnates.[4] The whole of Awre parish was included within the jurisdiction of the Forest of Dean before 1228.[4]

The village was once larger, though probably always scattered in plan.[4] In the 17th century, shipbuilding was established in nearby Gatcombe, once an important anchorage on the Severn.[4] By the early 19th century, the industrial and trading village of Blakeney had replaced Awre as the principal centre.[4]

A church is mentioned in Domesday Book, and by the mid 12th century it was dedicated to St. Andrew.[4] It was rebuilt in the mid-13th century as a large building with a long chancel and a nave and north aisle of six bays. The porch was added in the 14th century and the upper part of the tower was reconstructed in the 15th century.

The church is a Victorian restoration of the 19th century with a 15th-century font and a 15th-century oak rood screen.[4] A medieval dugout chest stands under the tower.[4] The graveyard contains many burials of those drowned in the Severn as a result of shipwreck or other accident.[4]

From 1851 to 1959, the area was served by the Awre for Blakeney railway station.[5]

Notable people

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish & electoral ward 2011. 26 March 2015 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402141407/https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120254&c=GL15+4DD&d=16&e=62&g=6427165&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1427371746426&enc=1 . 2 April 2015 . dmy .
  2. Book: Rudge . Thomas . The History of the County of Gloucester Compressed and Brought Down to the Year 1803 . 1803 . Harris . 113.
  3. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol5/pp1-4 Bledisloe Hundred
  4. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol5/pp14-46 Awre
  5. Book: Mike Oakley . Gloucestershire Railway Stations . 2003 . Dovecote Press . Wimborne . 1-904349-24-2 . 16–17.
  6. http://johannes-urzidil.cz/bydliste_cz.html Johannes Urzidil: Chronology