Coberley

Coberley

Seven Springs
Coberley
 Coberley shown within Gloucestershire
Population 351 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSO9615
Civil parishCoberley
DistrictCotswold[2]
Shire countyGloucestershire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Cheltenham
Postcode district GL53
Dialling code 01242
Police Gloucestershire
Fire Gloucestershire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire

Coordinates: 51°51′14″N 2°02′28″W / 51.854°N 2.041°W

Coberley is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire in England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Cheltenham.

The village is in a valley at the confluence of a number of streams (Seven Springs) that form the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. In medieval times the village was closer to the main road, near a spring to the east of Coberley Court. A short distance to the east are the sites of the mediaeval and modern villages of Upper Coberley.

History

The parish has two long barrows: one about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) west of the parish church and the other about 2 miles (3.2 km) west-northwest of the church.[3] A skeleton was discovered in the later barrow before 1779.[3]

The valley north of Coberley is the site of a Roman villa complex that has been the source of numerous archaeological finds, including coins, tiles, pottery and mosaics.[4] The site was excavated by Channel 4's Time Team in 2007 for an episode that was broadcast on 3 February 2008.[4]

The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles had Norman features until the architect John Middleton rebuilt it in 1869-72.[5] Middleton retained the Decorated Gothic south chapel, built in 1340 as a chantry to Saint Mary.[5] He retained also the Perpendicular Gothic bell tower.[5]

Dowmans Farm house was built in the 17th century.[6] The present rectory was designed by Richard Pace and built in 1826.[7] Its predecessor sheltered the future Charles II of England for the night on 10 September 1651, as he was fleeing from defeat in the Battle of Worcester disguised as a groom.[8]

The village school was designed by David Brandon and built in 1857.[7] It is now Coberley Church of England Primary School.[9]

Byename/Surname

People have been labelled "de Coberley" or "of Coberley" since 1100, although early uses of the name were probably temporary descriptions rather than as an hereditary surname. It is not until the late 13th century that the name is likely to have been used by one, or several different, families as a surname. Uses of the name seem to have moved away from Coberley in the early 14th century, possibly to places such as Birlingham, Worcestershire and Devon, although no definite links have been found, and there are several places in Britain with a similar name. Over time the spelling of the name has mutated and possible variations include Coberley, Coberly, Cubberley, Cubberly, Cobleigh and Cobley.

References

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011.Retrieved 23 March 2015".
  2. ↑ "Neighbourhood Statistics: Full dataset view: Area selected: Cotswold (Non-Metropolitan District)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Verey, 1970, page 192
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Coberley, Gloucestershire First screened 3 February 2008". TimeTeam. Channel 4. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Verey, 1970, page 190
  6. ↑ Verey, 1970, pages 191-192
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Verey, 1970, page 191
  8. ↑ Christopher Winn: I Never Knew That about the Thames (London: Ebury Press, 2010), p. 11.
  9. ↑ Coberley C of E Primary School

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coberley.