Wotton-under-Edge is a market town within the Stroud district of
Gloucestershire, England. Located near the southern end of the Cotswolds, the
Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the town. Standing on the
B4058 Wotton is about 5 miles from the M5 motorway. The nearest railway station
is Cam and Dursley, 7 miles away by road, on the Bristol to Birmingham line.
History The first record of the town is in an
Anglo-Saxon Royal Charter of King Edmund I, who in AD 940 leased four hides of
land in Wudetun to Eadric. The name Wudetun means the enclosure, homestead
or village in or near the wood. The "Edge" refers to the limestone
escarpment of the Cotswold Edge which includes the hills of Wotton Hill and
Tor Hill that flank the town. "The Edge" has also become a term used by locals to
describe the area. In the 1086 Domesday Book listing, Wotton was in the hundred
of Dudstone. Kingswood Abbey was founded in 1139, but
all that remains is a 16th-century Cistercian gatehouse. Nearby historical
buildings include the Tudor houses of Newark Park and Owlpen Manor. The
medieval former public house The Ancient Ram Inn dates back to 1145.
St. Mary the Virgin was consecrated in 1283, and is the oldest and largest
church in the town. The Katharine Lady Berkeley's Grammar
School was established in 1384 and is now a comprehensive named Katharine Lady
Berkeley's School although the present modern building is a little outside of
the town on the way to the village of Kingswood. The British School was
established in the village in 1835. Overlooking the town on the top of
Wotton Hill are a collection of trees planted in the 19th century to
commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. These are situated on the site that
housed one of the early warning beacons used to warn England of the approach of
the Spanish Armada in 1588. New Mills, founded in 1810, prospered by
supplying both sides in the Napoleonic wars but after a century of decline the
mill was near to closing in 1981 when it was acquired by Renishaw plc.
The town's corporation status was abolished in 1886 following the
Municipal Corporations Act of 1883 The Wotton-under-Edge BT Tower formed
part of the microwave communication network.
Governance An electoral ward with the same name
exists. The ward mainly covers Wotton-under-Edge but also stretches to
North Nibley. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was
6,510. Facilities
The town is relatively well served for a town of its size, the town contains a
Kebab, Pizza, Chinese and British Takeaways as well as an Indian
restaurant and take-away, there are also three public houses, the town can be
quite lively at night compared to many others of its size.
In 1958, local people and school students built the town swimming pool,
which was completed in 1961. Subsequently the pool has had solar and
electric heating installed. In 1999 with the fund raising support of community
groups, a retractable enclosure was fitted in order to prolong the swimming
season. In 2002, following the closure of the
local cinema, a group of volunteers raised funds for a refurbishment to
become one of the first digital cinemas in the UK. It re-opened in 2005 as a
100-seat facility inside an old stable yard, once part of the Crown Inn which
closed in 1911. Films were first shown in the old Banqueting Hall of the Inn
and moved to the stable yard some years later, due to the popularity of films.
The Wotton Electric Picture House is now a thriving venue
Gallery Notable people
More Adey - art critic Ian Alexander - footballer
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley John Biddle - Unitarian
Charles Blagden - physician U. A. Fanthorpe - poet
Sir Matthew Hale - Lord Chief Justice Matthew Blagden Hale - bishop
Evan Hayward - Member of Parliament Mark Horton - archaeologist
Catherine Johnson - playwright Richard Knill - missionary
Sir Isaac Pitman - creator of Pitman Shorthand, Pitman Place is named after
him Mark Porter - doctor
Sean Rigg - footballer Ian MacDonald - music journalist
Further reading E.S. Lindley. Wotton under Edge: Men and
Affairs of a Cotswold Wool Town. Published by Museum Press, 1962
Simon Herrick. Under the Hill.. ISBN 0-904387-36-4
References External links
Official website BBC archive film of Wotton-under-Edge
from 1977 Wotton-under-Edge at DMOZ
Electric Picture House Cinema Wotton-under-Edge Swimming Pool
Local Garage