Dumbleton

Dumbleton

Village Drinking Fountain
Population 576 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference SP016360
• London 90 miles
Civil parish
  • Dumbleton
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Evesham
Postcode district WR11
Dialling code 01386
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament

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.[2]

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 successful Cricket Club, Garden Club, 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.[3]

Parish church

St Peter's Church and grave of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor

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.[4]

The travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor is buried in the churchyard with his wife Joan (née Eyres Monsell) and brother-in-law Lord Monsell; the merchant banker and political fundraiser Lord Hambro is also buried there. Inside St Peter's Church 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 also 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.[5][6]

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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Both the north and south portions of the Old Rectory are Grade II listed by English Heritage.[10][11]

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.[12]

The Hall became a hotel in 1959.

Dumbleton Hall is Grade II* listed by English Heritage.[13]

Governance

The village falls in the 'Isbourne' electoral ward. This ward runs east-west and stretches from the Worcestershire boundary to Teddington. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 1,955.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011.Retrieved 2 April 2015".
  2. ↑ "Open Domesday". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "CONSERVATION AREA Character Statement" (PDF). Tewkesbury Borough Council. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "English Heritage". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "Dumbleton Village Website". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Gloucester Parish Church Montages". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "Dumbleton Village Website". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  8. ↑ Verey and Brooks (2002). Pevsner Architectural Guide, Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean. Yale University Press. p. 343.
  9. ↑ "Dumbleton Village Website". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "English Heritage". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "English Heritage". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Nights in the Past". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "English Heritage". Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Isbourne ward 2011.Retrieved 2 April 2015".

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

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