Information about Cirencester
gleaned from the Internet ahead of a planned visit in September 2004
Option to use full width of screen Home
Cirencester Park - 5 miles in a straight line
Monarch's Way - long distance path
Corinium Museum and Roman Remains
The Upper Thames - Lechlade and Kelmscott
Internet Guides to the Cotswolds
On right is the church, and behind it the open space of Abbey Grounds.
On left, Cirencester Park, laid out in the 18th century by Lord Bathurst, helped by the poet Alexander Pope. Under the "s" of "Mus" is Lord Bathurst's house. Broad Ride runs through the Park past "Pope's Seat".
Monarch's Way long distance footpath runs through the town north to south.
Notice Museum and Roman Amphitheatre.
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey
Get-a-map service.
Image reproduced with kind permission of
Ordnance Survey
and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
1. The Town in Brief ...
Map 1
Introduction - from www.cotswolds-calling.com
A rapid introduction to Cirencester.
Note that you can climb the church tower (162 feet), and look down on Lord Bathurst's park, house and yew hedge. The three uncaptioned pictures halfway down the page show the Abbey Gatehouse, the Abbey Grounds (an open space by the river, formerly occupied by the Abbey), and the remains of St John's Hospital in Spitalgate Lane.
Pictures - from www.cirencester.gov.uk
Some good quality pictures, which reinforce the points made so far.
Aerial View - from www.cotswolds.info
The aerial photo at the top of this web page could do with more focus,
but in the foreground you can make out Lord Bathurst's house
and his famous yew hedge (as high as two storeys of his house),
with just the tip of Cirencester Park. In the middle distance is
the church tower, with the Abbey Grounds behind it to the left.
Adjustable Map - from www.streetmap.co.uk
Map showing the area where the Park joins the Town.
Scroll down for the control which changes the scale.
2. Cirencester Park - 5 miles in a straight line ...
Map 1
Cirencester Park - from Cirencester Official Guide
Scroll down a little way, to reach a description of Cirencester Park.
It's the second item on the page.
The rides in the Park are not public rights of way, but the present Lord Bathurst has given the public permission to use the Park "on foot and on horseback" between 8am and 5pm, "or as stated on the gates". No bicycles, no motor vehicles. It's not clear from the brief mention in the Guide, whether this permission applies to the whole park, or only portions of it. I have no idea whether the full length of Broad Ride can be walked.
The people to contact would be the Bathurst Estate. Contact details can be found on our next web link (www.CirencesterPark.co.uk).
The Park is also used by Cirencester Athletics Club for cross country running, and by a Polo Club.
Cirencester House - from www.CirencesterPark.co.uk
This is the house behind the yew hedge, from a print published between 1812 and 1825.
The house was built in 1714-1718. According to Pevsner, when the house was finished, Lord Bathurst remarked to his friend Alexander Pope, "How comes it looks so oddly bad?" Though he doesn't seem to have minded at all !
The house was altered somewhat in 1830, so the print should show the house as the first Earl knew it.
1st Earl Bathurst - from www.BathurstArms.co.uk
Potted biography of the 1st Earl Bathurst (1684 - 1775).
This is the man who, in the 18th century, built the house, planted the yew hedge,
and laid out Cirencester Park, with its 5-mile dead straight Broad Ride.
The dates are significant here. The Earl took over the property when he was 30, and lived on to the age of 90. He had an unrivalled knowledge of trees and shrubs, and continued planting all his life.
The entire park is the result of one man's enthusiasm and reflects his personality and tastes - in defiance of the fashions of the time. Pevsner again:
"Planting started just when geometrical avenues were beginning to be thought old-fashioned, and continued till 1775, when Capability Brown's system of naturalism itself was being called into question."
Alexander Pope - from www.Richmond.gov.uk
Biography of the poet, Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744).
Pope was a friend of Earl Bathurst, and took an active part in the planning of the Park.
He seems to have done some of the spadework as well. "I am with Lord Bathurst at my bower . . . draw plans for houses and gardens, open avenues, cut glades, plant firs, contrive waterworks, all very fine and beautiful in our own imagination." (Pevsner quoting from Pope)
3. Monarch's Way long distance path ...
Map 1
The Monarch's Way - www.monarchsway.50megs.com
A web site devoted entirely to the Monarch's Way long distance path.
Strongly recommended - the enthusiasm of the author for her subject shines through.
The 610-mile long Monarch's Way is a path like no other. It's based on the ingenious idea of following the route taken by the future Charles II as he tried to make his way to the coast and find a boat to France, after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
Most LDPs go from A to B. This one twists and turns and sometimes doubles back on itself, as Charles tries desperately to outwit the pursuing Roundheads.
Charles II - from www.bbc.co.uk/History
The Merry Monarch needs no introduction, but what is he doing wandering up and down England
in disguise? He tried to re-start the Civil War after Cromwell thought he'd won,
lost the battle, and had to run for it.
The Battle of Worcester - from www.bbc.co.uk/HerefordAndWorcester
The battle was fought in and around the City of Worcester. Oliver Cromwell and Charles II
were both present in person, with Charles using the tower of Worcester Cathedral as an observation post.
The Royalists destroyed the bridges over the Severn, but left a plank or two in place, in case they wanted to nip back for anything. That was enough for the Roundheads to capture one of the bridges and put men across. Cromwell had a 2:1 numerical advantage, and once he could attack Worcester from two sides, Charles was doomed.
The Escape - from www.SealedKnot.org
At first, Charles is clearly improvising. It's all he can do to evade immediate capture,
and to find places to eat, sleep and hide. The Roundheads never quite manage to capture him,
but they seem to know roughly where he is, and they keep him boxed in.
Then Charles has a stroke of luck.
He turns up at Moseley Old Hall, near Wolverhampton, seeking shelter, still with no clear plan. But a plan already exists to smuggle out one fugitive. Set up for somebody else, all arrangements made, ready to go. The other fellow backs out, the king takes over, and the game is on.
Here's the plan. A lady, Jane Lane, has obtained a pass to travel, quite openly, to Bristol, with one servant. If the fugitive can disguise himself as the servant, and carry off the rôle successfully, he can travel openly too.
Charles' next stopover is Bentley Hall at Walsall. Here, on 10 September, 7 days after the battle, Charles takes on the identity of the servant, "William Jackson". From now on the small party rides openly, ignoring Roundhead soldiers, relying entirely on the disguise.
One day's riding takes them to Stratford-on-Avon, the next to Cirencester, the next to their destination near Bristol.
I'll leave the remaining twists and turns of this story (and there are plenty more) to the Sealed Knot.
The Fleece Hotel, Cirencester - www.FleeceHotel.co.uk
This is where Mistress Jane Lane of Bentley Hall, her "manservant, William Jackson",
and the rest of her party, are said to have found shelter for the night in Cirencester.
The Book of the Escape - from www.Amazon.co.uk
The Sealed Knot's account of the escape is exciting enough,
but here is a full-length book on the subject.
4. Corinium Museum and Roman Remains ...
Map 1
Corinium Museum - from www.cotswold.gov.uk
The museum is due to re-open on 15 September 2004, after extensive alterations.
Cirencester Amphitheatre - from www.liminae.co.uk
5. The Town in Detail ...
Map 1
Town Walk - from www.cirencester.co.uk
History of the Town - from Cirencester Official Guide
Map for Sapperton Tunnel and Source of the Thames ...
Map 2 At the top, the far end of Cirencester Park, with the last section of Broad Ride, and Sapperton Village.
By the time you reach the village, you are 5 miles from Cirencester.
Across the map, the whole length of Sapperton Tunnel, part of the former Thames and Severn Canal.
In the bottom right corner, Monarch's Way follows the old canal to Tunnel House Inn and Coates Portal.
The section of path between the Inn and Tarlton village is shared with Macmillan Way. After Tarlton village, Macmillan Way goes west and Monarch's Way goes south.
At the extreme bottom right corner, notice the word "Fort". The Source of the Thames is just off the map, south of this point. You can just make out the relevant path, following the edge of a small wood.
Top
Map 1 Cirencester
Map 3 Sapperton and the Valley Beyond
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey
Get-a-map service.
Image reproduced with kind permission of
Ordnance Survey
and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
6. Source of the Thames ...
Map 2
The Thames - from www.ThamesValleyGuide.co.uk
Scroll down to the first bullet point, for a description
of the first few miles of the Thames, just south of Cirencester.
The relevant passage begins,
"The Thames starts life in a remote Gloucestershire field, 3 miles south-west of Cirencester, bubbling up from the ground beside an old ash-tree."
The Source - from www.Bath.ac.uk
An article on "Some Ancient Wells, Springs and Holy Wells of the Cotswolds".
This connoisseur of muddy holes has some forthright opinions about the traditional
Source of the Thames.
Not only has Old Father Thames decamped to Lechlade, but:
"the ‘spring’ is now dry (although dowsers confirm that the water still flows below ground).
The stone-lined hollow under the tree which marks the former source of the Thames is today more normally full of leaves and litter." [See the author's item number 6, "Kemble"]
The author's verdict, writing in the late 1980s: "the site is barely worth a visit". He argues the case for a more vigorous spring further along the path, beyond the main road and heading on towards Kemble village.
A Picture - from www.Boots81.Freeserve.co.uk
This web page about the Wysis Way contains a clear picture of the Source of the Thames
(at the foot of the page). We told you it was just a hole in the ground !
The Thames Head Inn - from www.SwindonWeb.com
The Source of the Thames is connected by long distance paths
to the Monarch's Way and to Kemble rail station. The Thames Head Inn
is about 300 yards from the nearest LDP, along the busy A433 ("Fosse Way").
For a map showing the LDPs in great detail, use the Ordnance Survey
Get-a-map service,
with the postcode "GL7 6NZ".
7. The Upper Thames - Lechlade and Kelmscott ...
Top
Lechlade - from www.LechladeOnThames.co.uk
Lechlade (pronounced "Letchlade") is a small town on the Thames, 11 miles east of Cirencester.
It's the highest navigable point on the Thames,
and therefore the point at which the Thames and Severn Canal once joined the river.
On the For Visitors page, if you scroll down hard, you'll find a map of the town. Notice the old canal coming in on the left, and the two landmarks mentioned in the Thames Valley Guide website - the Round House, and St John's Lock, where the statue of Old Father Thames lies after needing to be rescued twice - from fire and then from vandals.
On the River Thames page, you'll find further details of these landmarks. The description of the Round House is particularly interesting - there are three rooms one on top of the other, and a spiral staircase.
Kelmscott Manor - from www.KelmscottManor.co.uk
Alternative Link
Visiting
About 3 miles further down the Thames beyond Lechlade,
is this very attractive Tudor manor house,
with strong associations with William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
For information on Kelmscott Manor as an inspiration to architects and craftsmen working in the Cotswolds, see our later section on The Arts and Crafts Movement.
For a detailed study of Kelmscott Manor itself, with further links for William Morris and his circle, see our companion page Notes on Kelmscott Manor.
8. Sapperton Tunnel - old canal ...
Map 2
Pictures of Sapperton Tunnel - from www.aardvark-world.org.uk
Most of the photos on this web page can be linked to exact locations on the map above.
In the bottom right hand corner of Map 2, look again at Monarch's Way coming in from the Cirencester direction. The path follows the south bank of the old canal as far as the tunnel entrance.
As we head west from the edge of the map, the first thing the path comes to is a railway bridge [Skew Bridge]. On the map, notice the round object in the wood, just after the railway bridge [Round House]. Next comes a road bridge [Tarlton Bridge], then a public house [Tunnel House Inn - from www.GreatBeer.co.uk].
The tunnel entrance is just behind the Inn [Boat at Coates Portal], [Coates Portal]. The boat trips into the tunnel appear to have been discontinued - see "Cotswold Canals Trust" below.
[Daneway Portal] is the entrance at other end of the tunnel, beyond Sapperton village.
THE WORKING CANAL
Hornblower "Legs" a Boat Through the Tunnel - from www.TWbookmark.com
I got this link from the Aardvark website,
but I must reproduce it here to prevent you from missing it.
This is simply brilliant! It's an extract from the novel, "Hornblower and the Atropos" by C.S.Forester. In it, the naval captain Hornblower travels as a passenger by narrow boat along the Thames and Severn Canal towards London, and volunteers to help "leg" the boat through Sapperton Tunnel. Vivid and engrossing.
"Horatio, whatever are you doing?"
"Just helping the boatman, dear."
HISTORY
Brief History of Sapperton Tunnel - from www.aardvark-world.org.uk
Sapperton Tunnel opened in 1789, the same year that the Thames and Severn Canal was completed.
Method of Construction - from www.Stroudwater.co.uk
Sapperton Tunnel is 2 miles long, 15 feet in bore, dead level,
and so straight that in theory one can see through it from one end to the other.
This fascinating web page takes us right inside the tunnel
and shows us how they did it, working for 5 years with hand tools and gunpowder.
History of the Whole Canal - from www.CotswoldCanals.com
Why did they put a canal here in the first place? What difficulties did they encounter?
Why and when did it close?
SIGHTS ALONG THE CANAL
The Thames and Severn Canal - from www.Stroudwater.co.uk
A web site covering all sections of the Thames and Severn Canal. See "Index".
Exceptionally well-informed and beautifully illustrated. I'll give just two examples.
Daneway Portal and Beyond - from www.Stroudwater.co.uk
What goes on beyond the Daneway Portal (the other end of the tunnel).
Scroll down for the Daneway Inn.
Thames Head to Coates Portal - from www.Stroudwater.co.uk
A lot more detail on the "Monarch's Way" section of the canal.
Right at the bottom of the page is more information about the Tunnel House Inn.
ODDS AND ENDS
Tunnel House Inn - from www.GreatBeer.co.uk
The Tunnel House Inn near one entrance to Sapperton Tunnel, and the Daneway Inn near the other,
have a great deal in common. Both were originally hostels for the workers who built
the tunnel, and both became places where canal workers, including "leggers", waited for custom.
Cotswold Canals Trust - from www.CotswoldCanals.com
The Cotswold Canals Trust are the people who used to run the boat trips into Sapperton Tunnel.
Map for Sapperton Village and the Valley Beyond ...
Map 3 Sapperton Village overlooks the upper reaches of the River Frome Valley. The river shares its narrow valley with the former Thames and Severn Canal.
Pinbury Park and Daneway House are old manor houses with strong links to the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Between the two, notice a house called "The Leasowes", one of three houses designed by three friends who lived and worked in Sapperton.
The Macmillan Way long distance footpath heads north-east. A mile off the map to the west, the Wysis Way will turn north and head for the hilltop village of Bisley.
The Crown at Frampton Mansell is just off the map at the bottom left hand corner.
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey
Get-a-map service.
Image reproduced with kind permission of
Ordnance Survey
and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
9. Sapperton Village ...
Map 2 Map 3
The Bell P.H. at Sapperton - from www.FoodAtTheBell.com
Sapperton is the village [
StreetMap
GL7 6LE ] at the far end of the Broad Ride through Cirencester Park.
Caution: buses could be dodgy. There is a service between Stroud and Cirencester, but it visits the smaller villages only at odd times. The bus stop in Sapperton is near a road called "The Glebe".
The village has given its name to two tunnels. There is a Sapperton Tunnel on the railway line from Swindon to Gloucester, and another on the old canal which used to link the Severn with the Thames. One end of the canal tunnel is close to the village, at a hamlet called Daneway, the other end well to the south, on the Monarch's Way.
Two long distance paths pass through Sapperton village: Macmillan Way and Wysis Way
Pictures of Sapperton - from www.Boots81.Freeserve.co.uk
This web page about the Wysis Way contains some good pictures of Sapperton village (scroll well down).
For more information about Sapperton village, see our later section on Sapperton architects.
10. Daneway House ... another Medieval Great Hall !!!
Map 3
Pictures of Daneway House - from www.SouthCotswoldRamblers.org.uk
A page of magnificent photographs, published by a Cotswold rambling club,
featuring Pinbury Park and Daneway House, both near Sapperton.
Let's begin by scrolling down to the bottom of the page for the pictures of Daneway House. There are 12 pictures on the page, and we need to look at numbers 10 and 12.
DANEWAY HOUSE
Let's take a close look at the last picture on the page. The photographer is standing on high ground west of the house, looking east. North is therefore on your left, south on your right. The house faces south.
You can make out six roof levels. The two closest to the camera are outbuildings. Of one, we can only make out a sliver of roof ridge and a chimney pot. The other is the building "with knobs on" in the foreground.
The centrepiece of the manor house itself is the building with the rich golden gable end. This building was begun in 1315 as a simple medieval hall house. The other bits and pieces were added over the centuries.
In the picture we can see the NW wing, to the left of the Hall, and to the right, one of two possibilities - either the house's "Pinocchio Nose" or its companion, the SW wing. (One of these is out of sight in the photograph.)
By "Pinocchio Nose" I mean a two storey porch, nearly as high as the original hall house, which extends a long way forward, with a new front door right at the end. Beside it is another extension to the house, about the same size, which fills the SW corner of the ensemble. Each of these has its own roof ridge, and I can't explain why we only see one in the Ramblers' photograph.
Finally, at the SE corner of the old hall house, we can see the five storey High Building, added in 1674 by a gentleman named William Hancox. This has one room per floor, connected by the square equivalent of a spiral staircase. The space between the "Pinocchio Nose" and the High Building is filled by a tiny walled courtyard.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
There is detailed information about the history and architecture of Daneway House in the relevant book in the Pevsner series (1st and 2nd editions written by David Verey, 3rd edition 1999 partly rewritten by Alan Brooks). Daneway House gets a full page write up (under "Sapperton").
Notice that the opinions expressed in the 2nd and 3rd editions differ dramatically. New research was carried out during a restoration in the 1990s. Dating by dendrochronology yielded the key dates "1315" and "1674".
In the Pevsner book, there is also a good photograph, taken from in front of the house, showing the layout clearly. (Number 29 in 2nd edition, number 6 in 3rd edition.)
THE MEDIEVAL GREAT HALL
Viewed from the south, Daneway House looks C17, a result of William Hancox's 1674 makeover. The medieval bits are now buried deep within the house, though apparently recognisable from outside to the north.
As first built in 1315, the hall house included a Great Hall with its "posh end" to the east, and its "business end" to the west. Beyond the "business end" were further rooms, presumably a kitchen range. A parlour was added to the "posh end", possibly early in the C15. The Hall was open to the rafters, with an open hearth: the author of the 3rd edition of the Pevsner book speaks of the roof timbers being encrusted with soot.
There were the usual two doorways, facing one another on opposite sides of the Hall, close to the wall dividing Hall from kitchen. Both are still in use, though what used to be the front door now leads from the oldest part of the building into the "Pinocchio Nose".
Their flooring-up was done in the C16, with consequent changes to the arrangement of windows, and insertion of a chimney.
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS CONNECTION WITH DANEWAY HOUSE
I quote from the 3rd edition of the Pevsner book:
In 1896 the house was restored by Ernest Barnsley for Lord Bathurst, and from 1902 to 1919 the High Building became a showroom for him and Gimson. They converted the C18 stables to the W into workshops, inserting a loft to form a drawing office.
Could the converted stable be the building "with knobs on" in the foreground of the Ramblers' photograph?
11. Pinbury Park ... right at the top of the upper Frome Valley
Map 3
Pictures of Pinbury Park - from www.SouthCotswoldRamblers.org.uk
A page of magnificent photographs, published by a Cotswold rambling club,
featuring Pinbury Park and Daneway House, both near Sapperton.
The pictures relevant to Pinbury Park are numbers 4, 5 and 6 out of 12.
Note the mention of the poet, John Masefield.
PINBURY PARK
A late C16 manor house, which later became the home of Sir Robert Atkyns (died 1711), who wrote a book called "The Ancient and Present State of Gloucestershire". In Sapperton church, his effigy still holds a copy of the book.
There are terraced gardens and, W of the house, the "Nuns' Walk", an ancient avenue of yew trees.
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS CONNECTION WITH PINBURY PARK
I quote from the 3rd edition of the Pevsner book:
The house was repaired and altered in 1894 by Ernest Barnsley, who, with his brother Sidney and with Ernest Gimson, took out a repairing lease from Lord Bathurst. Ernest occupied the main house with his family, while his brother and Gimson converted outbuildings into cottages for themselves.
There was an outbuilding to the E of the main house, which the three craftsmen used as their joint workshop. Sidney's cottage adjoined the workshop, while Gimson's was immediately NW of the big house.
They all moved to Sapperton in 1902-3.
JOHN MASEFIELD
John Masefield (1878-1967) - from www.sas.ac.uk
There's a mention here of John Masefield being at Pinbury Park, "for a number of years from 1933".
12. The Arts and Crafts Movement ...
Map 3
The best way to understand what this group of architects and craftsmen was trying to achieve is to look closely at the houses they loved.
WILLIAM MORRIS
William Morris (1834-1896) - from www.Digital-Brilliance.com/HyperG
The founder of the movement. Notice the mention of Selsley church,
just SW of Stroud, where examples of his work in stained glass can be found.
Kelmscott Manor - from www.KelmscottManor.co.uk
Alternative Link
Visiting
William Morris's manor house at Kelmscott is on the Thames, not far beyond Lechlade.
Morris loved the house as a work of true craftsmanship, totally unspoilt and unaltered, and in harmony with the village and the surrounding countryside. It looked to him as if it had ‘grown up out of the soil’, with ‘quaint garrets amongst great timbers of the roof where of old times the tillers and herdsmen slept’.
Other houses they loved: 1) Rodmarton Manor 2) Owlpen Manor
For a detailed study of Kelmscott Manor, with further links for William Morris and his circle, see our companion page Notes on Kelmscott Manor.
THE SAPPERTON GROUP
The names associated with Sapperton are Ernest Gimson, and the brothers Ernest and Sidney Barnsley.
| Ernest Barnsley | 1863-1926 | Architect |
| Ernest Gimson | 1864-1919 | Furniture Maker, Plasterwork and Metalwork |
| Sidney Barnsley | 1865-1926 | Furniture Maker |
All three were trained architects and versatile craftsmen, but they chose to focus their activities as shown above.
After their first attempt to run their own business in London had flopped, they came to the Cotswolds in 1893 and settled in Pinbury Park in 1894, using one building as a workshop and converting others as places to live. Their landlord was Lord Bathurst, and they paid the rent in part by restoring the old manor house. From 1896, Lord Bathurst further employed Ernest Barnsley as architect to restore Daneway House.
By 1902, they were ready to move into larger premises. From 1902 to 1919, they used the High Building at Daneway House as a showroom for Gimson's furniture and a converted stables there as a workshop and studio.
And from 1902-3, all three friends designed houses for themselves in Sapperton.
| Ernest Barnsley | "Upper Dorvel House" | immediately NE of the church |
| Sidney Barnsley | "Beechanger" | further NNE |
| Ernest Gimson | "The Leasowes" | yet further NE (marked on Map 3) |
They employed local materials and craftsmen, and Ernest Barnsley's house has echos of Daneway House.
All three are buried in Sapperton churchyard, "under the yews by the entrance gate".
Rodmarton Manor - from www.Rodmarton-Manor.co.uk
Ernest Barnsley's masterpiece, Rodmarton Manor was built between 1909 and 1929. House,
garden
and furniture were all designed to meet the
ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement.
One of the last country houses to be built and furnished in the old traditional style when everything was done by hand with local stone, local timber and local craftsmen. Ernest Barnsley and the Cotswold group of Craftsmen were responsible for the revival of many traditional crafts which were in danger of dying out. Over the 20 years that it took to build the house many people were involved.
Rodmarton is on the Monarch's Way, south of Sapperton Tunnel.
Theodate Pope Riddle - from www.valinet.com/~smithash/theodate
In 1920, a formidable American lady architect with the unlikely name of Theodate Pope Riddle
visited the Cotswolds in search of ideas for a project of her own.
She visited Rodmarton Manor while work was in full flow.
Local materials and labor were used exclusively - the stone and slate being quarried nearby and the oak used for roof timbers, exposed beams, floors, and furniture cut on the estate. All was fabricated by hand. Even planks were sawn in a pit, the time-saving circular saw being banished.
There are also the type of idiosyncrasies Theodate so much admired, such as the verses, taken from Oliver Goldsmith's The Deserted Village, carved crisply on the front of the house.
To find the relevant passage in this chapter from a biography of Theodate by Sharon Dunlap Smith, use Ctrl+F with the key word "Cotswolds".
NORMAN JEWSON
Norman Jewson (1884-1975) joined the Sapperton Group in 1907, as a young architect just down from Cambridge.
Owlpen Manor - from www.Owlpen.com
A hauntingly beautiful Cotswold manor house dating from 1450-1616.
Amazingly, a previous owner abandoned the building and left it to rot,
until it was rescued in 1925 by Norman Jewson.
Owlpen, somnolent and under a spell of enchantment, represented for Jewson all that was vital and enduring in the English tradition, "a symbol of the accumulated experience of the past". He engaged a team of craftsmen, and sought out the sources of traditional materials. The frail old house was sensitively and honestly repaired so that it should assume as near as possible its original beauty.
The manor is located south-west of Stroud, somewhere beyond Nailsworth, near the village of Uley.
It also has an extraordinary garden.
Norman Jewson at Owlpen - from www.Owlpen.com
This web page is a very detailed history of Owlpen Manor and its previous owners.
If you scroll down far enough, or use Ctrl+F with the key word "Sapperton", you'll find a great deal of detailed information about Norman Jewson's methods. Many of his craftsmen were from the Bisley area.
THE WIDER MOVEMENT
How they came to the Cotswolds - from www.ArtsAndCraftsMuseum.org.uk
Notice that if you scroll down, you come to a gazetteer of locations associated with the movement.
The definitive Arts and Crafts Movement collection in the UK is housed at Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum.
13. Wysis Way long distance path ...
Top
The Wysis Way - from www.Countryside-Matters.co.uk
The Wysis Way is a 55-mile trail linking the River Wye at Monmouth with the Source of the Thames.
"River Isis" is an alternative name for the upper reaches of the Thames,
so the name "Wysis" is a compression of "Wye to Isis".
Scroll well down for a map and a poem. That's right: poem.
The path hops across Gloucestershire from one panoramic viewpoint to the next. The landmarks along the route are: the Wye Bridge at Monmouth, the Kymin, May Hill, Gloucester, Robinswood Hill, the edge of the Cotswolds at Painswick Beacon, the Cotswold villages of Bisley and Sapperton, the old canal, and the Source of the Thames.
Monmouth Town - from www.Monmouth.org.uk
Neither the famous Old Monnow Bridge, featured strongly on Monmouth's web site,
nor the New Monnow Bridge, is the Wye Bridge.
The Wye Bridge - from www.GTJ.org.uk
This is the Wye Bridge, where the Wysis Way starts.
The Kymin - from www.Monmouth.org.uk
The Kymin is a hill just outside Monmouth, barely a mile from the town, offering spectacular views.
The Kymin - from freespace.virgin.net/Paul.Benham/Aber
A hiker's view of the Kymin.
The photos on this page fill in some details left vague by those on our other link.
May Hill - from www.SouthCotswoldRamblers.org.uk
May Hill is at the edge of the Forest of Dean, about half way between Monmouth and Gloucester.
The South Cotswold Ramblers publish a web site which contains some of the finest photographs on the Internet. On the web page I've linked to here, the 5th photo down shows the trig point at 976 feet. The 7th photo down shows the distinctive ring of trees, which enables May Hill to be recognised from miles away.
Gloucester and Robinswood Hill - from www.Boots81.freeserve.co.uk
Robinswood Hill is just outside Gloucester.
Painswick Beacon - from www.SouthCotswoldRamblers.org.uk
Painswick Beacon is on the edge of the Cotswolds, overlooking Gloucester,
with a distant view of the Malvern Hills.
14. The Hilltop Village of Bisley ...
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www.Bisley-Glos.net
The hilltop village of Bisley, Gloucestershire, is the Cotswold Capital for Silly Stories.
Try this one for size:
King Henry VIII left his 9-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, with a Bisley household for safe keeping while he went hunting. Sadly, the princess fell ill and died.
No one dared tell the king. Instead, they tried to find a child from the village who could be substituted.
In the time available, the nearest match they could find was a boy. This individual was dressed in the princess's clothes, and duly handed over. The villagers kept their heads down for a while, but no comment was ever made.
Years later, the princess came to the throne as Queen Elizabeth I. Only the people of Bisley, on their tiny, isolated hilltop, knew that the Queen of England was really a man in drag.
If you fall for this story, the villagers are ready with several more wild tales.
People fall into wells and drown. The entire village is excommunicated, and people have to be buried miles away. Things fall off pub walls without explanation. There are secret tunnels. Rival law courts meet in rival pubs.
Don't let anyone from Bisley buy you a drink!
Example pages from the village web site: Legends Tunnel Folk Down Wells Law Other Sights in Village
There are two present-day rival public houses: The Stirrup Cup The Bear. The Bear has a History, a secret tunnel in the cellar, a priest's hole up the chimney - and a poltergeist.
ANOTHER TALL STORY
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The Monarch's Way long distance path uses the story of King Charles II's escape from the Roundheads as an explanation for the route it follows.
Let's see if we can invent a background story for the Wysis Way, based on the legend of the Bisley Boy.
How about this?
The Bisley Boy Comes Home
With stubble on her chin, and a voice beginning to break, the 16-year-old Princess Elizabeth had been showing signs of teenage misery for some time.
One day, walking by the Thames near Hampton Court, the princess came across a poor girl in rags, who wailed, "If only I could have a life like yours!" Nothing prepared the girl for the princess's reaction.
"Fan-TAS-tic!", whooped the princess, in a voice which alternated between a deep baritone and a shrill falsetto. "I've done my stint. Seven years is long enough. Come to the palace tomorrow, and we'll fix you up."
It was a bargain that suited them both. The waif exchanged her poverty for a life of luxury, and the Bisley Boy regained his gender and his freedom.
After seven years of pretending to be Princess Elizabeth right under the nose of the short-tempered King Henry VIII, he had forgotton most of his early childhood. He knew that he was from Gloucestershire, but he couldn't remember which village. He decided to begin by following the Thames back to its source.
That part of his journey presented few problems. As he stood and gazed at the hole in the ground, full of dead leaves and empty cigarette packets, which counted as the Source of the Thames, he felt a sense of desolation. From now on he was on his own.
He looked around desperately for a canal to follow, but they hadn't built one yet.
But he was an intelligent lad, and a plucky one. He decided to head for the hills, climb as high as he could, and get a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. Perhaps he would spot something he recognised.
At first he headed for Sapperton. Beyond that village, he found a deep valley with steep wooded sides, and beyond that again was a hill with a tall spire on top. It seemed as good a place as any to head for.
The spire belonged to the village of Bisley. The Bisley Boy didn't know it, but he was coming home.
As he reached the village, he met an old man sitting on the edge of a well. As luck would have it, this was one of the original conspirators who had handed him over to Henry VIII all those years ago.
The old man jumped to his feet a little too quickly, swaying dangerously. Pointing a wavering finger at the newcomer, he quavered "It's him ... It's him ...", and fell backwards into the well.
The whole village was promptly excommunicated. (Excommunication is a dire penalty, which the authorities found it necessary to impose on Bisley from time to time, in a vain attempt to reduce the body count.)
For a while, the villagers could only rush from the Bear Inn to the Stirrup Cup and back, trying to sort out their legal problems. They were too busy doing this to notice what happened to their young guest.
The Bisley Boy walked on.
After travelling up hill and down dale, or, as folk from hill top villages generally put it, "down dale and up hill", he reached Painswick Beacon. Before him lay the Severn valley, and in the middle distance a goodly city. The Bisley Boy decided to seek his fortune there.
No work was to be found, but the boy did meet some sailors, who told him that if he wanted to leave his past behind and start a new life, the thing to do was to go west. "Westward Ho!, young man", they said.
The Bisley Boy took this very literally, and began walking more or less due west, through the Forest of Dean. Once again, he aimed for high places where he could get a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.
Eventually, he wound up in Monmouth. Here, he met some quack students of Leonardo da Vinci, who were looking for someone to assist them in dangerous experiments with a flying machine.
Unfortunately, the Bisley Boy had inherited the genetic defect which caused Bisley folk to be unusually prone to falling backwards into wells, and on one of his first flights, he fell backwards out of his machine and was killed.
Fearing instant excommunication, the people of Monmouth hushed the whole thing up. But some trace of these events must have lingered in folk memory, because the Wysis Way long distance path does in fact end in Monmouth.
The Wysis Way retraces the route taken hundreds of years ago by a poor village boy, who had an unexpected opportunity to become Queen of England, but chose to become an aviator instead.
15. Internet Guides to the Cotswolds ...
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www.digital-brilliance.com/hyperg/towns
16. Books and Paintings ...
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Walking Books for the Cotswolds
Couldn't resist this one.
A chance to spend all your money on books, before you even start walking!
Fothergills Gallery - Cotswold Paintings
Scroll well down for the paintings. There are several other interesting pages on this site.
17. Buses in the Area ...
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Bus timetables on the Internet should be checked against printed timetables before travelling.
Alexcars of Cirencester
Kemble Station and Tetbury
Mainly a coach company (excursions), but they run a bus service to meet the trains
at Kemble station, continuing to Tetbury on the Monarch's Way.
Beaumont Travel of Gloucester
Some very useful timetables on this bus company's web site (take link "Routes").
Route 55 (Moreton-in-Marsh to Kemble) links some very well known Cotswold villages to Cirencester: Moreton, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton, Northleach.
Bus Timetables from www.CotswoldsAONB.com
This looks promising.
Page from www.carlberry.co.uk
Another page
Horribly out of date (Sep 2001), but a possible starting point for further research.
[ 31 August 2004 ]
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