Chedworth
| Chedworth | |
 View over Chedworth |
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  Chedworth Chedworth shown within Gloucestershire | |
| OS grid reference | SP051122 |
|---|---|
| Shire county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
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Chedworth is a village in Gloucestershire, England, in the Cotswolds and is known as the location of Chedworth Roman Villa, administered since 1924 by the National Trust.
Chedworth Parish is bounded by the Foss Way (spelled Foss locally not Fosse as it is in Warwickshire) to the east and River Coln to the north while the southern boundary straggles from The Hare and Hounds Inn at Foss Cross to the River Churn North of Marsden, including the hamlet of Chedworth Laines but not the Industrial Estate of Fossecross or the hamlet of Calmsden.
Roman villa
The villa is a 1,700-year-old 'stately home' between Yanworth and Withington and some miles from Chedworth Village by road although it sits to the south of the River Coln and so is within Chedworth Parish and accessible by footpath from the 7 Tuns Inn in Chedworth by the fit and agile. It was discovered by accident in 1864[1] It is the remains of one of the largest Romano-British villas in England featuring several mosaics, two bathhouses, hypocausts (underfloor heating), a water-shrine and a latrine. The water shrine became very special as the Romans used it to worship the goddess of the natural spring that gives it an endless amount of water.
History
The oldest house in the village is the manor house, which is situated near the parish church. The village which lines a street over a mile long was formerly three distinct settlements "Upper, Middle and Lower Chedworth" which later merged through infilling and has many attractive Cotswold stone houses, and many unattractive Bradstone Houses. From 1920 until 1960 development was confined to ribbon development along Fields Road to the south of the Village where modern bungalows were erected.
A railway line once served the village – the Midland & South Western Junction Railway (later part of the Great Western Railway), opened in 1891 and closed in September 1961. It ran through Chedworth Tunnel, 494 yards in length, and Chedworth railway station was in a deep cutting. Train services ran from Cheltenham (Midland) station to Southampton Terminus until 1957 when the only surviving train was diverted to Cheltenham St James Station and worked by a Southern Region locomotive from Eastleigh Shed.
During the Second World War there was an RAF airfield at RAF Chedworth. The remnants of this can be seen today.
Chedworth was mentioned in author Craig Thomas' first novel "Rat Trap" published in 1976.
Chedworth Silver Band
Chedworth Silver Band is a traditional Brass Band of some 25 players approximately from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire based in Chedworth which plays at a variety of Concerts, Fete's and Church services in the East Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire areas. The Band has a website www.chedworthsilverband.co.uk which lists the bands forthcoming engagements,fees and other news.
Chedworth organisations
Chedworth Singers perform occasionally at village concerts and church services, Mezzo Soprano Victoria Jess often performs as guest soloist with Chedworth Singers.
Chedworth Drama Group have performed a number of plays at Chedworth Village Hall, most recently "Rumours" A comedy by Neil Simon directed by John Robson in November 2013.
Chedworth Village Hall was built in 1976 and is a popular facility. Bookings can be made through the www.chedworth.org Website
A project team "Chedworth Remembers" has been established to commemorate the men of the village who died or returned safely from WW1. The team is looking to contact relatives of Chedworth families from that era. Details are on the main village website www.chedworth.org.
Chedworth Parish Council was formed under the Local Government Act of 1894 with the first preliminary meeting held 4 December 1894 and the first proper meeting held on 3 January 1895 chaired by the Rev Sackett Hope. 15 candidates stood for election to the seven seats available. Subsequently in 1904 again 15 candidates stood for the 7 seats and none of the previous incumbents were re elected. The last opposed Chedworth Parish Coumcil election was in 1991 when 13 candidates stood for the 7 available seats. The council holds monthly meetings generally on the Second Monday of each month at 7.30 at the Village Hall. The Parish Council has its own website www.chedworth-pc.org.uk/ which gives contact details.[2][3]
Seven Tuns Inn
The Seven Tuns Inn is positioned close to the church at the far western "upper" end of the village. Named after 7 Tuns, variously Chimneys, or Barrels both of which have featured on the pub sign at different times.[4]
Post Office and Shops
Chedworth had a post office and village store for over 120 years before the final postmistress Miss Lait closed her Fields Road establishment in 1993 leaving Chedworth with no retail outlets. Following a vigorous campaign by local residents a farm shop trading as Chedworth Farm Shop and later as Cotswold Farm Fayre opened in 2006 using former dairy buildings at Denfurlong Farm some quarter mile from the A429 Foss Way. The Farm shop also features a cafe and is open daily as of 01.01.2014. Phone 01285 720265 to check opening times.[5]
Chedworth Nature Reserve
Fuller information may be found in the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves handbook.[6]
This is a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserve situated on the South side of the Coln Valley and midway between the villages of Chedworth and Withington and next to the Roman Villa owned by the National Trust. The reserve is a section of the disused Cheltenham to Cirencester railway line. The track bed includes both cuttings and embankments. The Trust purchased the reserve in 1969, the line having been closed in 1961. The reserve takes the form of a woodland ride, with expanses of beech woods on either side of the railway line bed. The reserve in 1800 yards long passing through ancient woodland until it reaches the closed Chedworth tunnel. The reserve passes through Chedworth Woods, the second largest woodland block in the Cotswolds.
Chedworth is of interest to geologists and biologists. The former railway cuttings especially those adjacent to Fields Road used to show a geological sequence in the Bajocian stage of the Middle Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago) before neglect allowed the site to become cloaked in vegetation. Fossils could be found in the limestone scree at the base of the cuttings.
See also
References
- ↑ Chedworth - Roman Retreat, Angharad Moran, Supplement to the British Connection, Archant, 2011
- ↑ Minutes Chedworth Parish Council
- ↑ Westlake, Howard (2007). The Chedworth Story. Trafford Publishing. pp. 100/1. ISBN 978-1-4251-2178-5.
- ↑ Westlake, Howard (2007). The Chedworth Story. Trafford Publishing. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-1-4251-2178-5.
- ↑ Westlake, Howard (2007). The Chedworth Story. Trafford Publishing. pp. 345/368. ISBN 978-1-4251-2178-5.
- ↑ Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al, 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust'
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chedworth. |
- Photos of Chedworth Roman villa and surrounding area on geograph
- Photos of Chedworth and surrounding area on geograph
- Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust