| Moreton-in-Marsh | |
Moreton-in-Marsh High Street |
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Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh shown within Gloucestershire |
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| Population | 3,198 (2001 Census) |
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| OS grid reference | SP2032 |
| District | Cotswold |
| Shire county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Moreton-in-Marsh |
| Postcode district | GL56 |
| Dialling code | 01608 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Cotswold |
| List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire | |
Moreton-in-Marsh is a town and civil parish in northeastern Gloucestershire, England. The town is at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the A44. The parish and environs are relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills. Just over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Moreton, the Four Shire Stone marks the boundary of the historic counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire.[1]
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The toponym is derived from Old English. Moreton means "Farmstead on the Moor" and "in Marsh" is from henne and mersh meaning a marsh used by birds such as moorhens.[2]
The Curfew Tower on the corner of Oxford Street is probably 16th century.[3] Its bell was cast in 1633 and its clock was built in 1648.[3]
The Church of England parish church of Saint David began as a chapel of ease for Bourton-on-the-Hill.[4] The early history of the church in Moreton is not clear, but there is a tradition that it was rebuilt and reconsecrated in the middle of the 16th century.[4] The nave was enlarged in 1790, most of the church was rebuilt in 1858 and the tower was replaced in 1860.[3] The chancel and south aisle were enlarged in 1892 and the east end of the south aisle has been used as a chapel since 1927.[3]
A nonconformist congregation started meeting in Moreton in 1796, was constituted as a Congregational church in 1801 and had a chapel built in 1817.[4] In 1860-61 the Congregationalists replaced the chapel with a new one on the same site[4] in a mixed neo-Grecian and Romanesque style.[5]
The Stratford and Moreton Tramway was built between 1821 and 1826, linking Moreton with the Stratford-on-Avon Canal at Stratford.[4] It was horse-drawn until 1859, when the section between Moreton and Shipston-on-Stour was converted to a branch line railway operated with steam locomotives. The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, built between 1845 and 1851, passes through Moreton. The railway station was opened in 1853. The Great Western Railway (GWR) took over the OW&W Railway in 1862 and the Shipston branch in 1868. The GWR withdrew passenger trains from the branch in 1929 and British Railways withdrew freight traffic and closed it in 1960. The OW&W Railway is now part of the Cotswold line.
The Redesdale Market Hall was designed by the architect Sir Ernest George and built in 1887.[5]
In 1940 during the Second World War a large area of level land east of the town was developed as RAF Moreton-in-Marsh and used by Wellington bombers. The former airfield is now the Fire Service College where senior fire officers from brigades all over the UK undergo operational, management and leadership training. The same complex is also now the headquarters of the Institution of Fire Engineers, the professional body for fire fighters, officers and civilians with an interest in fire engineering.
Moreton-in-Marsh and Batsford War Memorial is in the High Street and commemorates the dead of the First and Second World Wars.
In July 2007 Moreton was badly flooded.
Moreton was once the headquarters of the railway spot-hire company Cotswold Rail.
Moreton has many buildings in characteristic Cotswold stone, numbers of antique shops and several hotels. A Caravan Club site is a short walk east on the Broadway road (A44), past the Wellington Aviation Museum,[6] a museum of the history of the Vickers Wellington bomber. Other local attractions include Batsford Arboretum near Batsford village and the onion-domed Sezincote house and gardens.
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