| Eastleach | |
| Civil parish | |
|---|---|
| Status: | Parish |
| Governance: | Parish council |
| Main settlements: | Eastleach Martin, Eastleach Turville |
| Administration | |
| Primary council: | Cotswold |
| County: | Gloucestershire |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | The Cotswolds |
| European Parliament: | South West England |
| Website Eastleach Parish Council |
|
Eastleach is a civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It was created in 1935 when the separate parishes of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin were combined as the civil parish of Eastleach.[1] Today the two villages of the parish—Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin—are separated only by the narrow River Leach, which is crossed by a stone road bridge[2] and a stone slab clapper footbridge.[3]
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On the east bank of the Leach is Eastleach Martin, the smaller of the two villages. Today, the two principal structures are the church of St. Michael & St Martin, and Eastleach House, a stately home with a formal garden and extensive grounds occasionally open to the public.[4] Eastleach Martin was also known as Bouthrop or Burthrop.
A Grade I listed structure,[5] St. Michael & St. Martin is of early Norman in origin. Founded by Richard Fitz Pons, it was given to Great Malvern Priory in 1120, later passing to Gloucester Abbey. The present church is mostly 13th century; there are a Perpendicular font and some decorated Gothic windows terminating in tiny carved heads, but the interior is relatively plain. Although no longer used for worship, the church is maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust.[6]
The larger of the two villages today, Eastleach Turville has a plethora of listed houses and farm structures,[7] in addition to the parish church of St. Andrew.
Also a Grade I listed structure,[8] St. Andrew sits directly across the Leach from St. Michael & St. Martin. Decoratively the more interesting of the two churches, St. Andrew's most prominent feature is the Christ in Majesty tympanum over the west door of the church. The lectern is said to have come from Tewkesbury Abbey. The 13th- or 14-century tower of the mostly-Norman church has a simple gable roof known as a saddleback.[9] St. Andrew remains a functioning parish church.[10]
John Keble was curate of St. Michael & St. Martin, Eastleach Martin, in the early 19th century, where he founded a Sunday School; the clapper footbridge over the Leach is named after him. The priest and antiquary Peter Bailey Williams also served in Eastleach Martin, early in the 18th century.
The journalist, diplomat and intelligence agent, Jona von Ustinov, father of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov, died in Eastleach in 1962.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Eastleach Eastleach] at Wikimedia Commons