Wotton-under-Edge explained

Static Image Name:St MaryTheVirginChurchWootton-under-Edge.jpg
Static Image Caption:Church of St Mary the Virgin,
Wotton-under-Edge
Country:England
Coordinates:51.638°N -2.349°W
Official Name:Wotton-under-Edge
Population:5,632
Population Ref:(2021 Census)[1]
Shire District:Stroud
Shire County:Gloucestershire
Post Town:WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE
Postcode District:GL12
Postcode Area:GL
Dial Code:01453
Region:South West England
Os Grid Reference:ST758933
Constituency Westminster:Cotswold

Wotton-under-Edge is a market town and civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Near the southern fringe of the Cotswolds, the Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the town.

History

The first record of the town is in an Anglo-Saxon Royal Charter of King Edmund I, who in AD 940 leased four hides of land in Wudetun to Eadric.[2] The name Wudetun means the enclosure, homestead or village (tun) in or near the wood (wude). The "Edge" refers to the limestone escarpment of the Cotswold Edge which includes the hills of Wotton Hill and Tor Hill that flank the town. In the 1086 Domesday Book listing, Wotton was in the hundred of Dudstone.[3] Kingswood Abbey was founded in 1139,[4] but all that remains is a 16th-century Cistercian gatehouse. Nearby historical buildings include the Tudor houses of Newark Park and Owlpen Manor, both open to the public at set times. The medieval former public house The Ancient Ram Inn dates back to 1145.[5] The original town was burnt down during the reign of King John (1199–1216); it was rebuilt in 1252 and a charter granted to Johanna de Berkeley authorising her to hold a market and a three-day annual fair on the Feast of the Cross. In 1272 the inhabitants of the borough were authorised to elect one of their members as a Mayor, a practice that continued every year until 1886.[6] [7]

St. Mary the Virgin was consecrated in 1283, and is the oldest and largest church in the town.[8] The Katharine Lady Berkeley's Grammar School was established in 1384 and is now a comprehensive named Katharine Lady Berkeley's School although the present modern building is a little outside of the town on the way to the village of Kingswood. The British School was established in the village in 1835.

The Battle of Nibley Green occurred near the Ancient Ram Inn in 1470 (or 1469 under the calendar of the time), when the building was owned by Thomas Talbot, 2nd Viscount Lisle. William de Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley led the forces that beat the Viscount, and after the battle his men sacked the manor. Overlooking the town on the top of Wotton Hill are a collection of trees planted in the 19th century to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. These are situated on the site that housed one of the early warning beacons used to warn England of the approach of the Spanish Armada in 1588.[9] New Mills, founded in 1810, prospered by supplying both sides in the Napoleonic wars but after a century of decline the mill was near to closing in 1981 when it was acquired by Renishaw plc.[10]

Wotton-under-Edge Town Hall was substantially rebuilt in 1872. The town's corporation status was abolished in 1886 following the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883.[11]

Governance

An electoral ward with the same name exists. The ward mainly covers Wotton-under-Edge but also stretches to North Nibley. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,510.[12]

Facilities

The town has several pubs and a hotel, and a range of takeaways and restaurants. It has several active social groups, such as Scouts,[13] a gardening club[14] and the Wotton Lions.[15] In 1958, local people and school students built the town swimming pool, which was completed in 1961.[16] Subsequently the pool has had solar and electric heating installed. In 1999 with the fund raising support of community groups, a retractable enclosure was fitted to prolong the swimming season.[17] In 2015, a skate park was opened to improve sporting facilities in the town, with traffic-free paved access.[18]

In 2002, following the closure of the local cinema, a group of volunteers raised funds for a refurbishment to become one of the first digital cinemas in the UK. It re-opened in 2005 as a 100-seat facility inside an old stable yard, once part of the Crown Inn which closed in 1911. Films were first shown in the old Banqueting Hall of the Inn and moved to the stable yard some years later, due to the popularity of films. The Wotton Electric Picture House (the original name) is now a thriving venue.[19]

On the hills immediately to the east, the Wotton-under-Edge BT Tower formed part of the microwave communication network between Bristol, Corsham and London during the Cold War before decommissioning, and remains a prominent local landmark (albeit without its distinctive horn aerials). Nearby Newark Park is operated by the National Trust as a heritage attraction within walking distance of the town, along with the Neolithic long barrow on a prominent position atop Blackquarries Hill.[20]

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Heart West, Greatest Hits Radio South West and Edge Radio, a community based station which started broadcasting during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. [21] The town is served by the local newspaper, Gazette Series. [22]

Transport

Road

Wotton-under-Edge is on the B4058 road and is from the M5 motorway.

Rail

Brunel's Bristol and Gloucester Railway passes within 2miles of Wotton-under-Edge, following a curve to the west to stay on the gentler Vale of Berkeley and avoid Wotton Hill, Nibley Knoll and Stinchcombe Hill as it heads north. It carries a wide mix of local, intercity and freight trains.

Charfield station, just to the west on flatter ground, was within walking distance from its opening in 1844.A branch line from Charfield to Wotton was authorised in 1899 under the Light Railways Act,[23] but never constructed.

Charfield station closed in 1965 during the Beeching cuts, leaving Wotton with no rail access.

Following the successful reopening of neighbouring Yate in 1989 and Cam & Dursley in 1994, plans to reopen Charfield station were developed by the West of England Combined Authority in 2021; a planning application was submitted in September 2022,[24] with planning permission granted in March 2023.[25] A "Greenway" is also proposed to allow traffic-free walking and cycling between Wotton, Kingswood and Charfield.[26]

The nearest railway station to the town is Cam & Dursley, from the town centre.

Bus

Bus services link the town to Charfield, Dursley, Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Nailsworth, Stroud, and Thornbury, but run infrequently.[27] Wotton is not part of WECA, but Katherine Lady Berkeley's school is served by the WESTlink on-demand bus, a short walk from the town centre and available to the public Monday-Saturday.[28]

Hiking routes

Notable people

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WOTTON . City population . 25 October 2022.
  2. Web site: Anglo-Saxon Charters . 2011-09-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402124702/http://ascharters.net/charters/467?q=&page= . 2 April 2012 . dmy-all .
  3. http://opendomesday.org/place/SO8520/wotton/ Open Domesday: Wotton
  4. Web site: Deeds of Kingswood Abbey . Archives Hub . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081833/https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/fb89c810-5609-3cb3-9972-c642433bcb8d?terms=Kingswood+Abbey+Deeds . live .
  5. Web site: Stroud District Council . 14 March 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120927192027/http://www.stroud.gov.uk/info/conservation/wotton_conservation_2.pdf . 27 September 2012 . dmy-all .
  6. Book: Wright, William Horace. Historical Notes Relating to the Borough of Wotton,, And a List of Mayors of the Borough from 1660. 1872. 3 December 2017. 27 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081849/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Z7UWSZw7xAQC&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en_GB&pg=GBS.PP1. live.
  7. Book: Rudge, Thomas. The history of the county of Gloucester. 1803. 249. Gloucester, Printed for the author by G. F. Harris.
  8. Web site: Director of Music and Organist . St Mary the Virgin, Wotton-under-Edge . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081834/http://wottonparishchurch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/St-Marys-DOM-organist-Job-Description.pdf . live .
  9. Web site: Wotton-under-Edge Wedding Fairs . Gloucestershire Wedding Fairs . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081835/https://gloucestershireweddingfairs.co.uk/area/006Y/wotton-under-edge . live .
  10. Web site: Tubbs Online . Tubbs Lewis & Company . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081835/http://www.tubbspubs.org.uk/theTubbs/Tubbs-Lewis.cshtml . live .
  11. Book: Municipal Corporations Act 1883 (46 & 46 Vict. Ch. 18) . 1883 . 21 December 2021.
  12. Web site: Ward population 2011. 31 March 2015.
  13. Web site: www.wottonscoutgroup.org – 1st Wotton-under-Edge Scout Group Log in . www.wottonscoutgroup.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090923031519/http://www.wottonscoutgroup.org/ . 2009-09-23.
  14. Web site: Gloucestershire Federation of Gardening Societies . 4 March 2019 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081901/http://www.gfgs.org.uk/clubs/wotton/default.htm . live .
  15. Web site: Wotton Lions | Serving our community . 4 March 2019 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081840/https://wottonlions.org/ . live .
  16. Web site: Construction and early years . Wotton Pool . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081840/https://wottonpool.co.uk/history/construction/ . live .
  17. Web site: Wotton Swimming Pool Ltd. . Wotton Pool . Wotton Pool . 14 March 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100815011820/http://wottonpool.co.uk/history.php . 15 August 2010 . dmy-all .
  18. Web site: Wotton Skate Park . 2022-04-13 . Wotton Community PARC . en-GB.
  19. Web site: The Electric Picture House – A Short History. . The Electric Picture House . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081907/https://www.wottoncinema.com/history . live .
  20. Web site: MNA140747 Blackquarries Hill Long Barrow, Newark Park, Glos . 2023-02-20 . National Trust Heritage Records . en.
  21. Web site: Wotton's new radio station set to entertain through lockdown. Matty. Airey. 16 April 2020 . Gazette Series. 27 March 2024.
  22. Web site: Gloucestershire County Gazette. 10 June 2014. British Papers. 27 March 2024.
  23. Web site: Wotton-under-Edge Light Railway . 2023-04-30 . catalogue.gloucestershire.gov.uk . en-gb.
  24. Web site: Charfield train station . 2023-02-20 . South Gloucestershire Council.
  25. Web site: jw47 . 2023-03-07 . Charfield Station plans approved . 2023-04-30 . Newsroom . en-GB.
  26. Web site: Housebuilder in Charfield donates funds to support Greenway project . 2023-04-30 . Gazette Series . en.
  27. Web site: Wotton-under-Edge . 2023-02-20 . bustimes.org.
  28. Web site: Home . 2023-06-05 . WESTlink . en-US.
  29. Web site: Slow Ways has the walks for Wotton-under-Edge, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England . 2022-04-13 . beta.slowways.org . en.
  30. Web site: Waymarked Trails - Hiking . 2023-04-30 . hiking.waymarkedtrails.org.
  31. Web site: Adey, More . Sorensen . Lee . Dictionary of Art Historians . 3 July 2018 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081904/https://arthistorians.info/adeym . live .
  32. Web site: Where Are They Now? Bristol Rovers Division Three Champions 1989–90 . 24 March 2017 . The football league paper . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081904/https://www.theleaguepaper.com/featured/7722/where-are-they-now-bristol-rovers-division-three-champions-1989-90/ . live .
  33. Web site: Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley . Geni . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081842/https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-de-Berkeley-5th-Baron-Berkeley/6000000000615178001 . live .
  34. Biddle, John. 3.
  35. Web site: Sir Charles Blagden . Oxford Reference . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081856/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095510717 . live .
  36. News: Yanagihara . Hanya . Bruce Chatwin: One of the Last Great Explorers . 27 August 2020 . New York Times . 7 September 2017.
  37. News: Walker . Skip . Tributes are paid to poet UA Fanthorpe . 27 August 2020 . Gazette . 6 May 2009 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081847/https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/4343856.tributes-are-paid-to-poet-ua-fanthorpe/ . live .
  38. Web site: Hale Family of Alderley . National Archives . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081847/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/2f5a4204-b341-493d-b531-bb7b70a33dec . live .
  39. Web site: Griffiths . Bill . First World War Heroes of Wotton-under-Edge . Wotton Heritage . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081858/https://www.wottonheritage.com/FCKfiles/File/First_World_War_Heroes_of_Wotton_under_Edge.pdf . live .
  40. Web site: America's first Thanksgiving (1619) . Wotton-under-Edge Historical Society Museum & Heritage Centre . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081857/https://www.wottonheritage.com/m/americas-first-thanksgiving-1619-e70 . live .
  41. Web site: Mamma Mia! writer Catherine Johnson returns to her roots in Wotton-under-Edge at Wotton Electric Picture House event . Gazette . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081854/https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/10951849.mamma-mia-writer-catherine-johnson-returns-to-her-roots-in-wotton-under-edge-at-wotton-electric-picture-house-event/ . live .
  42. News: Williams . Richard . Obituary: Ian MacDonald . . London . 8 September 2003 . 3 July 2018 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081849/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/sep/08/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries . live .
  43. Web site: Pitman House . National Heritage List for England . Historic England . 27 August 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081859/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1088884 . live .
  44. News: Hughes . Janet . Celebrity Cotswolds GP Dr Mark Porter leaves BBC to spend more time with his patients . 27 August 2020 . Gloucestershire Live . 30 January 2020 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081854/https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/cotswolds-gp-dr-mark-porter-3791741 . live .
  45. News: Williams . David . FOOTBALL: Wotton-under-Edge's Sean Rigg signs for League Two side Newport County . 27 August 2020 . Gazette . 21 June 2016 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081900/https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/sport/14570449.football-wotton-under-edges-sean-rigg-signs-for-league-two-side-newport-county/ . live .
  46. News: Stephens . Jamie . Jamie Stephens from Wotton-under-Edge is released by Liverpool after his contract expires . 27 August 2020 . Stroud News and Journal . 8 June 2013 . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827081916/https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/sport/10472842.jamie-stephens-from-wotton-under-edge-is-released-by-liverpool-after-his-contract-expires/ . live .

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