Purton is a village on the east bank of the River Severn, 3 miles north of Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Hinton. It lies opposite the hamlet of Purton on the west bank of the river.
The name of the place derives from the Old English pirige tun, meaning "pear orchard".[1]
There was a ferry across the river to the other Purton by 1282. In the late 18th and early 19th century, there was also a ford across the river here. The ferry, known as Purton Passage, continued in use until 1879, when it was replaced by the Severn Railway Bridge.[2]
The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal passes through the village.
In the early 20th century, a number of old vessels were run aground along the bank of the Severn, near Purton, to create a makeshift tidal erosion barrier to reinforce the narrow strip of land between the river and canal.[3][4] Barges, Trows and Schooners were "hulked" at high tide, and have since filled with silt. More boats have been added, including the schooner "Katherine Ellen" which was impounded in 1921 for running guns to the IRA, the Kennet Canal barge "Harriett", and Ferrous Concrete Barges built in World War II.[5]
There is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Purton Passage.[6]
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