Dumbleton

Dumbleton
Village Drinking Fountain
Population	600
OS grid reference	SP016360
- London	90miles
Shire county	Gloucestershire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Evesham
Postcode district	WR11
EU Parliament	South West England
List of places UK England Gloucestershire

Dumbleton is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire. The village is roughly 20 miles from the city of Gloucester. The village is known to have existed in the time of Ethelred I who granted land to Abingdon Abbey, and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book.^[1]

Dumbleton is situated on the edge of Dumbleton Hill, a foothill of the Cotswolds and is situated within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Dumbleton is mainly residential, although there is a local shop, an Infants’ School, a Social Club, a Village Hall, and an Estate Office. The village also contains the main entrance to Dumbleton Hall, which now functions as a hotel.^[2]

Parish Church

St Peter's Church

St Peter's Church is of Norman origin with mainly 13th-century additions. The chancel was rebuilt in 1862. In 1960 it was designated a Grade I Listed Building.^[3]

The travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor is buried in the churchyard with his wife Joan and there is a memorial to Arctic explorer Gino Watkins. A large painted monument dedicated to Sir Charles Percy son of the Earl of Northumberland and Dorothy Cocks, his wife, is to be found within the church. The colourful monument of two figures kneeling over their deceased child is situated within a deep round-headed niche flanked by free-standing Corinthian columns.^[4][5]

The redundant St Mary's Church, Little Washbourne is also in the parish of Dumbleton. The parish was in the possession of Abingdon Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory

The origin and development over the years of the Old Rectory is still subject to debate.^[6] The home as it stands today was constructed in the 17th century. It is notable that the home is now divided into two parts with what are called the north and south wings. The south wing incorporates a 16th-century timber-framed house with detailed decorative patterning.^[7] The wings have separate private owners.

A blocked window at the rear of the house has a painted trompe-l'oeil of another window from which the Revd. Charles Cocks is seen looking out. His likeness was copied from a painting found in Eastnor Castle.^[8]

Both the north and south portions of the Old Rectory are Grade II listed by English Heritage.^[9][10]

Dumbleton Hall

Dumbleton Hall

The original Dumbleton Hall can be traced from around 1534, as the home of the Cocks family for over 200 years. After the death of Sir Richard Cocks in the late 18th century, the Hall fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished.

Rebuilt in the mid 19th century using Cotswold stone, Dumbleton Hall became home to the Eyres family and in the 1930s, the Hall was well known for its popular house parties with regular guests including John Betjeman, later to become Poet Laureate.

During the Second World War, the Hall was allegedly considered as a suitable alternative venue for the House of Lords. It is also suggested that Hitler 'reserved' the Hall as a private residence upon his victory in Europe.^[11]

The Hall became a hotel in 1959.

Dumbleton Hall is Grade II* listed by English Heritage.^[12]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dumbleton.

• Dumbleton Society
• GENUKI Dumbleton

References

• David Verey, Gloucestershire: the Vale and the Forest of Dean, The Buildings of England series edited by Nicholas Pevsner, 2nd ed (1976) ISBN 0-14-071041-8

Coordinates: 52°01′21″N 1°58′41″W / 52.02242°N 1.97809°W / 52.02242; -1.97809