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GLOUCESTERSHIRE
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Page 135
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GLOUCESTERSHIRE , a See also: county of the See also:west midlands of See also:England, bounded N. by See also:Worcestershire, N.E. by See also:Warwickshire, E. by See also:Oxfordshire, S.E. by See also:Berkshire and See also:Wiltshire, S. by See also:Somerset, and W. by Monmcuth and See also:Herefordshire. Its See also:area is 1243.3 sq. m. The outline is very irregular, but three See also:physical divisions are well marked—the hills, the vale and the See also:forest. (1) The first (the eastern See also:part of the county) lies among the uplands of the Cotteswold Hills (q.v.), whose westward See also:face is a See also:line of heights of an See also:average See also:elevation of 700 ft., but exceeding loon ft. at some points. This line bisects the county from S.W. to N.E. The See also:watershed between the See also:Thames and See also:Severn valleys lies See also:close to it, so that Gloucestershire includes Thames See also:Head itself, in the See also:south-See also:east near See also:Cirencester, and most of the upper feeders of the Thames which join the See also:main stream, from narrow and picturesque valleys on the See also:north. (2) The western Cotteswold line overlooks a See also:rich valley, that of the See also:lower Severn, usually spoken of as " The Vale," or, in two divisions, as the vale of See also:Gloucester and the vale of See also:Berkeley. This See also:great See also:river receives three famous tributaries during its course through Gloucestershire. Near See also:Tewkesbury, on the See also:northern border, the See also:Avon joins it on the See also:left and forms the county boundary for 4 M. This is the river known variously as the Upper, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, See also:Stratford or See also:Shakespeare's Avon, which descends a lovely See also:pastoral valley through the counties named. It is to be distinguished from the See also:Bristol Avon, which rises as an eastward flowing stream of the Cotteswolds, in the south-east of Gloucestershire, sweeps southward and westward through Wiltshire, pierces the hills through a narrow valley which becomes a wooded See also:gorge where the See also:Clifton suspension See also:bridge crosses it below Bristol, and enters the Severn See also:estuary at Avonmouth. For 17 M. from its mouth it forms the boundary between Gloucestershire and See also:Somersetshire, and for 8 m. it is one of the most important commercial waterways in the See also:kingdom, connecting the See also:port of Bristol with the See also:sea.The third great tributary of the Severn is the Wye. From its mouth in the estuary, 8 m. N. of that of the Bristol Avon, it forms the county boundary for 16 m. northward, and above this, over two See also: short reaches of its beautiful winding course, it is again the boundary. (3) Between the Wye and the Severn lies a beautiful and historic See also:tract, the forest of See also:Dean, which, unlike the See also:majority of See also:English forests, maintains its See also:ancient See also:character. Gloucestershire has thus a See also:share in the courses of five of the most famous of English See also:rivers, and covers two of the most interesting physical districts in the See also:country. The See also:minor rivers of the county are never See also:long. The vale is at no point within the county wider than 24 m., and so does not permit the formation of any considerable tributary to the Severn from the Dean Hills on the one See also:hand or the Cotteswolds on the other. The Leadon rises east of See also:Hereford, forms part of the north-western boundary, and joins the Severn near Gloucester, watering the vale of Gloucester, the northern part of the vale. In the See also:southern part, the vale of Berkeley, the Stroudwater traverses a narrow, picturesque and populous valley, and the Little Avon flows past the See also:town of Berkeley, joining the Severn estuary on the left. The See also:Frome runs south-See also:
The pre-See also: Cambrian is represented by the gneissic rocks at the south end of the See also:Malvern Hills and by grits at Huntley. At Damory, Charfield and See also:Woodford is a patch of greenstone, the cause of the upheaval of the Upper See also:Silurian See also:basin of Tortworth, in which are the See also:oldest stratified rocks of the county. Of these the Upper See also:Llandovery is the dominant stratum, exposed near Damory See also:
The great marine series known as the See also:
The pastures producing Gloucester See also: cheese are on the clays of the Lower Lias. The more calcareous See also:Middle Lias or marlstone forms hillocks flanking the Oolite escarpment of the Cotteswolds, as at See also:Wotton-under-Edge and Churchdown. The Cotteswolds consist of the great limestone series of the Lower Oolite. At the base is a transition series of sands, 30 to 40 ft. thick, well See also:developed at Nailsworth and Frocester. Leckhampton hill is a typical See also:section of the Lower Oolite, where the sands are capped by 40 ft. of a remarkable See also:pea grit. Above this are 147 ft. of freestone, 7 ft. of oolite See also:marl, 34 ft. of upper freestone and 38 ft. of ragstone. The Painswick See also:
Near the latter town and Lechlade is a small tract of See also: blue See also:Oxford Clay of the Middle Oolite. The county has no higher Secondary or See also:Tertiary rocks; but the See also:Quaternary series is represented by much northern See also:drift See also:gravel in the vale and Over Severn, by accumulations of Oolitic detritus, including See also:post-Glacial See also:extinct mammalian remains on the flanks of the Cotteswolds, and by submerged forests extending from Sharpness to Gloucester. See also:Agriculture.—The See also:climate is mild. Between three-quarters and seven-eighths of the See also:total area is under cultivation, and of this some four-sevenths is in permanent pasture. See also:Wheat is the See also:chief See also:grain See also:crop. In the vale the deep rich black and red loamy See also:soil is well adapted for pasturage, and a moist mild climate favours the growth of See also:grasses and See also:root crops. The See also:cattle, See also:save on the frontier of Herefordshire, are mostly shorthorns, of which many are fed for distant markets, and many reared and kept for See also:dairy purposes. The rich grazing tract of the vale of Berkeley produces the famous " See also:double Gloucester " cheeses, and the vale in See also:general has long been celebrated for cheese and See also:butter. The vale of Gloucester is the chief grain-growing district. Turnips, &c., occupy about three-fourths of the green crop acreage, potatoes occupying only about a twelfth. A feature of the county is its See also:apple and See also:pear orchards, chiefly for the manufacture of See also:cider and See also:perry, which are attached to nearly every See also:farm. The Cotteswold district is comparatively barren except in the valleys, but it has been famous since the 15th See also:century for the breed of See also:sheep named after it.Oats and See also: barley are here the chief crops. Other See also:Industries.—The manufacture of woollen See also:cloth followed upon the See also:early success in sheep-farming among the Cotteswolds. This See also:industry is not confined to the hill country or even to Gloucestershire itself in the west of England. The description of cloth principally manufactured is broadcloth, dressed with teazles to produce a short close See also:nap on the face, and made of all shades of See also:colour, but chiefly black, blue and See also:scarlet. The principal centre of the industry lies in and at the See also:foot of the south-western Cotteswolds. See also:Stroud is the centre for a number of manufacturing villages, and south-west of this are Wotton-under-Edge, North Nibley and others. ,Machinery and tools, paper, See also:furniture, pottery and See also:glass are also produced. Ironstone, clay, limestone and sandstone are worked, and the coal-See also:fields in the forest of Dean are important. Of less extent is the field in the south of the county, N.E. of Bristol. See also:Strontium sulphate is dug from shallow pits in the red marl of Gloucestershire and Somersetshire. Communications.—Railway communications are provided principally by the Great Western and Midland companies. Of the Great Western lines, the main line serves Bristol from See also:London.It divides at Bristol, one section serving the south-western counties, another South See also: Wales, See also:crossing beneath the Severn by the Severn See also:Tunnel, 42 m. in length, a remarkable See also:engineering See also:work. A more See also:direct route, by this tunnel, between London and South Wales, is provided by a line from Wootton Bassett on the main line, See also:running north of Bristol by See also:Badminton and Chipping Sodbury. Other Great Western lines are that from See also:Swindon on the main line, by the Stroud valley to Gloucester, crossing the Severn there, and continuing by the right See also:bank of the river into Wales, with branches north-west into Hereford-See also:shire; the Oxford and See also:Worcester See also:trunk line, crossing the north-east of the county, connected with Cheltenham and Gloucester by a See also:branch through the Cotteswolds from Chipping See also:Norton junction; and the line from Cheltenham by Broadway to Honeybourne. The west-and-north line of the Midland railway follows the vale from Bristol by Gloucester and Cheltenham with a branch into the forest of Dean by Berkeley, crossing the Severn at Sharpness by a great bridge 1387 yds. in length, with 22 See also:arches. The coal-fields of the forest of Dean are served by several branch lines. In the north, Tewkesbury is served by a Midland branch from Ashchurch to Malvern. The Midland and South-western Junction railway runs east and south from Cheltenham by Cirencester, affording communication with the south of England. The East Gloucester line of the Great Western from Oxford terminates at Fairford. The Thames and Severn See also:canal, rising to a See also:summit level in the tunnel through the Cotteswolds at Sapperton, is continued from Wallbridge (Stroud) by the Stroud water canal, and gives communication between the two great rivers. The Berkeley See also:Ship Canal (162 in.) connects the port of Gloucester with its outport of Sharpness on Severn. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 795,709 acres, with.a population in 1891 of 599,947 and in 1901 of 634,729. The area of the administrative county is 805,482 acres.The county contains 28 hundreds. The municipal boroughs are—Bristol, a See also: city and county See also:borough (pop. 328,945) ; Cheltenham (49,439) ; Gloucester, a city and county borough (47,955) ; Tewkesbury (5419). The other See also:urban districts are—Awre (1096), Charlton See also:Kings (3806), Circenester (7536), Coleford (2541), Kingswood, on the eastern outskirts of Bristol (11,961), Nailsworth (3028), Newnham (1184), See also:Stow-on-the-Wold (1386), Stroud (9153), Tetbury (1989), Westburyon-Severn (1866). The number of small ancient See also:market towns is large, especially in the southern part of the vale, on the outskirts of the forest, and among the foot hills of the wolds. Those in the forest district are mostly connected with the coal See also:trade, such as Lydney (3559), besides Awre and Coleford; and, to the north, besides Newnham, Cinderford and Mitcheldean. South from Stroud there are See also:Minchinhampton (3737) and Nailsworth; near the south-eastern boundary Tetbury and See also:Marshfield; Stonehouse (2183), Dursley (2372), Wotton-under-Edge (2992) and Chipping Sodbury along the western line of the hills; and between them and the Severn, Berkeley and Thornbury (2594). Among the uplands of the Cotteswolds there are no towns, and villages are few, but in the east of the county, in the upper Thames basin, there are, besides Cirencester, Fairford on the Coln and Lechlade, close to the head of the See also:navigation on the Thames itself. Far up in the Lech valley, remote from railway communication, is Northleach, once a great posting station on the Oxford and Cheltenham road. In the north-east are Stow-onthe-Wold, See also:standing high, and Moreton-in-the-See also:Marsh: near the head-waters of the Evenlode. In a northern prolongation of the county, almost detached, is Chipping Campden. See also:Winchcomb (2699) lies 6 m.N.E. of Cheltenham. In the north-west, Newent (2485) is the only considerable town. Gloucestershire is in the Oxford See also: circuit, and assizes are held at Gloucester. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions, and is divided into 24 See also:petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Bristol, Gloucester and Tewkesbury have See also:separate commissions of the See also:peace and courts of quarter sessions. There are 359 See also:civil parishes. Gloucestershire is principally in the See also:diocese of Gloucester, but part is in that of Bristol, and small parts in those of Worcester and Oxford. There are 408 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly, or in part within the county, There are five See also:parliamentary divisions, namely, Tewkesbury or northern, Cirencester or eastern, Stroud or 'See also:mid, Thornbury or southern, and Forest of Dean, each returning one member. The county also includes the boroughs of Gloucester and Cheltenham, each returning one member; and the greater part of the borough of Bristol, which returns four members. See also:History.—The English See also:conquest of the Severn valley began in 377 with the victory of See also:Ceawlin at Deorham, followed by thecapture of Cirencester, Gloucester and Bath. The Hwiccas who occupied the district were a West Saxon tribe, but their territory had become a dependency of See also:Mercia in the 7th century, and was not brought under West Saxon dominion until the 9th century. No important settlements were made by the Danes in the district.Gloucestershire probably originated as a shire in the Loth century, and is mentioned by name in the Anglo-Saxon See also: Chronicle in Io16. Towards the close of the Irth century the boundaries were readjusted to include Winchcomb, hitherto a county by itself, and at the same See also:time the forest district between the Wye and the Severn was added to Gloucestershire. The divisions of the county for a long time remained very unsettled, and the See also:thirty-nine hundreds mentioned in the Domesday Survey and the thirty-one hundreds of the See also:Hundred Rolls of 1274 differ very widely in name and extent both from each other and from the twenty-eight hundreds of the See also:present See also:day. Gloucestershire formed part of Harold's earldom at the time of the See also:Norman invasion, but it offered slight resistance to the Conqueror. In the See also:wars of See also:Stephen's reign the cause of the empress Maud was supported by See also:Robert of Gloucester who had rebuilt the See also:castle at Bristol, and the castles at Gloucester and Cirencester were also garrisoned on her behalf. In the barons' See also:war of the reign of See also:
In 1535 the deanery of Bitton had been absorbed in that of Hawkesbury. In 1541 the diocese of Gloucester was created, its boundaries being identical with those of the county. On the erection of Bristol to a see in 1542 the deanery of Bristol was transferred from Gloucester to that diocese. In 1836 the See also: sees of Gloucester and Bristol were See also:united; the archdeaconry of Bristol was created out of the deaneries of Bristol, Cirencester, Fairford and Hawkesbury; and the deanery of the forest was transferred to the archdeaconry of Gloucester. In 1882 the archdeaconry of Cirencester was constituted to include the deaneries of Campden, Stow, Northleach north and south, Fairford and Cirencester. In 1897 the diocese of Bristol was recreated, and included the deaneries of Bristol, Stapleton and Bitton. After the Conquest very extensive lands and privileges in the county were acquired by the See also:
The chief officer of the forest of Dean was the See also: warden, who was generally also See also:constable of St Briavel Castle. The first See also:justice-seat for the forest was held at Gloucester Castle in 1282, the last in 1635. The hundred of the duchy of See also:Lancaster is within the jurisdiction of the duchy of Lancaster for certain purposes. The physical characteristics of the three natural. divisions of Gloucestershire have given rise in each to a See also:special industry, as already indicated. The forest district, until the development of the See also:Sussex mines in the 16th century, was the chief iron-producing area of the kingdom, the mines having been worked in Roman times, while the abundance of See also:timber gave rise to numerous tanneries and to an important ship-See also:building trade. The hill district, besides fostering agricultural pursuits, gradually absorbed the woollen trade from the big towns, which now devoted themselves almost entirely to See also:foreign See also:commerce. See also:Silk-See also:weaving was introduced in the 17th century, and was especially prosperous in the Stroud valley. The abundance of clay and building-stone in the county gave rise to considerable manufactures of See also:brick, tiles and pottery. Numerous minor industries sprang up in the 17th and 18th centuries, such as See also:flax-growing and the manufacture of pins, buttons, See also:lace, stockings, rope and See also:sailcloth. Gloucestershire was first represented in parliament in 1290, when it returned two members. Bristol and Gloucester acquired See also:representation in 1295, Cirencester in 1572 and Tewkesbury in 162o. Under the Reform See also:Act of 1832 the county returned four members in two divisions; Bristol, Gloucester, Cirencester, Stroud and Tewkesbury returned two members each, and Cheltenham returned one member.The act of 1868 reduced the representation of Cirencester and Tewkesbury to one member each. Antiquities.—The cathedrals of Gloucester and Bristol, the magnificent abbey church of Tewkesbury, and the church of Cirencester with its great Perpendicular See also: porch, are described under their separate headings. Of the abbey of Hayles near Winchcomb, founded by Richard, earl of Cornwall, in 1246, little more than the See also:foundations are left, but these have been excavated with great care, and interesting fragments have been brought to See also:light. Most of the old market towns have See also:fine See also:parish churches. At Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special See also:interest on See also:account of the pre-Norman work they retain. The Perpendicular church at Lechlade is unusually perfect; and that at Fairford was built (c. 1500), according to tradition, to contain the remarkable series of stained-glass windows which are said to have been brought from the See also:Netherlands. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, and are one of the finest series in the country. The great Decorated Calcot See also:Barn is an interesting relic of the monastery of Kingswood near Tetbury. The castle at Berkeley is a splendid example of a feudal stronghold. Thorn-bury Castle, in the same district, is a fine Tudor ruin, the pre-tensions of which evoked the See also:jealousy of See also:Cardinal See also:Wolsey against its builder, Edward See also:Stafford, See also:duke of See also:Buckingham, who was beheaded in 1521. Near Cheltenham is the fine 15th-century See also:mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone.Memorials of the de la Bere See also: family appear in the church at Cleeve. The mansion contains a tiled See also:floor from Hayles Abbey. Near Winchcomb is Sudeley Castle, dating from the 15th century, but the inhabited portion is chiefly Elizabethan. The See also:chapel is the See also:burial See also:place of See also:Queen See also:Catherine See also:Parr. At Great Badminton is the mansion and vast domain of the Beauforts (formerly of the Botelers and others), on the south-eastern boundary of the county. See See also:Victoria County History, Gloucestershire; See also:Sir R. Atkyns, The Ancient and Present See also:State of Gloucestershire (London, ?712; 2nd ed., London, r'768) ; See also:Samuel See also:Rudder, A New History of Gloucestershire (Cirencester, 1779) ; See also:Ralph Bigland, See also:Historical, Monumental and Genealogical Collections relative to the County of Gloucester (2 vols., London, 1791 ) ; See also:
A. Hyett, Bibliographers' See also: Manual of Gloucestershire (3 vols., London, 1895–1897); W. H. See also:Hutton, By Thames and Cotswold (London, 1903). See also Trans-actions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society.Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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