Minchinhampton

Minchinhampton is an ancient Cotswolds market town, on a hilltop 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. Its common offers wide views over the Severn estuary into Wales and further into the Cotswolds.

Minchinhampton

Market Square
Minchinhampton
Location within Gloucestershire
Population2,875 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSO871008
Civil parish
  • Minchinhampton
District
  • Stroud
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTROUD
Postcode districtGL5, GL6
Dialling code01453
PoliceGloucestershire
FireGloucestershire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

Amenities and features
Minchinhampton Market House and War Memorial

The main square has a war memorial, and a 17th-century Market House, given to the town in 1919 by the Lord of the Manor, Lt Col. H. G. Ricardo, and restored in 1944.[1]

A market is held every Thursday.[1] There is a twice-yearly craft fair at Gatcombe and an annual summer visit by Gifford's Circus.[2] Minchinhampton Country Fayre is held every other year.[3]

Sports facilities

Horse trials

Minchinhampton is near to a residence of the Princess Royal, Gatcombe Park, which hosts the Gatcombe Horse Trials in late summer each year.

Rugby
The Minchinhampton war memorial

The rugby club has three adult teams, minis and juniors from under 6 to under 16, and a large touch-rugby section. Minchinhampton RFC plays in the league Gloucester 2 North.[4] In 2014, the club's players were joined by Gatcombe Park resident Mike Tindall, a 2003 Rugby World Cup winner and ex-England and Gloucester RFC rugby international married to Zara Phillips, the daughter of the Princess Royal.[5]

Golf

Minchinhampton Golf Club has three courses.[6] The Cherington and Avening courses lie near villages of the same names, south-east of Minchinhampton. The Old Course is on Minchinhampton Common.

Governance

The Minchinhampton electoral ward stretches eastwards to Aston Down. It had a population of 4,357 according to the 2011 census.[7] The town is twinned with Nkokoto, Tanzania.[8]

Churches
The parish church, Minchinhampton, with its unusual "coronet" tower

Minchinhampton has two places of worship: the Anglican parish church of the Holy Trinity Church, and Minchinhampton Baptist Church.

The spire of the parish church was pulled down for safety reasons in 1563, after the nave arches supporting it were found to be failing. The stub was then surmounted by a coronet structure.[9] James Bradley, the Astronomer Royal, was buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity in 1762.

Minchinhampton Baptist Church in Tetbury Street dates from 1834.[10] The original Chapel Lane Baptist chapel dating from 1765 is now a private house.[11]

The Common
Main article: Minchinhampton Common

Minchinhampton Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[12] It offers an area of 580 acres (230 ha) for walkers and golfers. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1913, but only managed by it since 2000. The Common is also used as summer grazing land for cows. It has long parallel ditches and mounds known as the Bulwarks, which formed part of a large Iron Age fort.[13] There are wide views from the Common, west over the Severn estuary into Wales, and east to the Golden Valley and further into the Cotswolds.

The limestone Longstone of Minchinhampton is supposedly the burial site of a Danish leader.[14][15]

Aston Down
Main article: Aston Down

Minchinhampton is close to the former Royal Air Force airfield, Aston Down, formerly a major employer, but now closed and used only for gliding. In 2005, after a Freedom of Information request, the local newspaper revealed that Aston Down is contaminated with arsenic, hydrocarbons and radium.[16] Since the site lies above a vulnerable aquifer, local residents have formed an Aston Down Action Group aimed at persuading local and central government agencies to implement more stringent safety regulations.

Notable residents

In birth order:

  • James Bradley (1693–1762), astronomer and university professor, was buried here.
  • Mary Deverell (1731–1805), religious writer and poet, was born and buried here.
  • Flora Annie Steel (1847–1929), writer, died in Minchinhampton.
  • Jenny Joseph (1932–2018), poet, lived in the town.[17]
  • Keith Allen (born 1953), actor, lives in the parish.[18]
  • Robert Addie (1960–2003), actor – his ashes are interred in Holy Trinity churchyard.

References
  1. "Minchinhampton Country Market". Minchinhamptoncountrymarket.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  2. "Gifford's Circus - Dates". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  3. "Stroud News, Views and Information - Gloucestershire Live". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014.
  4. "Minchinhampton RFC". Pitchero.com.
  5. "Former England and Gloucester centre Mike Tindall plays for his local club Minchinhampton". BBC Sport. 27 October 2014.
  6. "Home – Minchinhampton Golf Club". Minchinhamptongolfclub.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  7. "Ward population 2011". Ukcensusdata.com. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  8. "Stroud district twinning links". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  9. "Welcome to Holy Trinity, Minchinhampton". Minchchurch.org.uk.
  10. "Minchinhampton Baptist Church". Minchbc.org.uk.
  11. "Minchinhampton Baptist Church: Church buildings". Minchbc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "The Bulwarks – East 1 and 2 – Minchinhampton". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  14. Partridge, J. B. (1912). "Cotswold Place-Lore and Customs". Folklore. 23 (3): 339–341. JSTOR 1255154.
  15. Darvill, Timothy (2013). Prehistoric Gloucestershire: Forests and Vales and High Blue. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445619941.
  16. Toxic threat to water supply, Stroud News and Journal. 17 August 2005.
  17. "Jenny Joseph 'When I'm Old I Shall Wear Purple...'". Stroudcommunity.tv. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  18. "Keith Allen loves life in Gloucestershire". Archive.is. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
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