Gloucester and The Forest of Dean

Towns & Villages

CHELTENHAM

St. Peter's Church, Cheltenham-
Photo: Terry Jacombs CCL

Cheltenham was founded as a spa town in 1716, when a spring was discovered and believed to have healing properties.


Tradition has it that curious locals tried the waters after noticing pigeons pecking at the salty deposits and found them to be a cure for many 18th century ailments.


The town received Royal patronage in 1788 when King George III came to drink the waters.

Cheltenham is one of the few English towns in which traditional and contemporary architecture complement each other.

From the neo-gothic styled Victorian school buildings such as Cheltenham College (1843 onwards) and Cheltenham Ladies' College (1873 onwards), through to modern commercial buildings like the Eagle Star UK headquarters in Bishops Cleeve.

Cheltenham also has many fine churches including the medieval St Mary's where John Wesley is said to have preached from the old cross in the churchyard.

Pittville Pump Room, Pittville Park -
Photo: Nigel Homer CCL

CINDERFORD

Sculpture Trail, Forest of Dean  -
Photo: Terry Jacombs CCL

Encircled by splendid woodland in the heart of the Forest of Dean, ancient Cinderford was for more than a century a major centre for coal mining until the pits closed in the 20th century.


It is unusual in having rows of terraced miners’ houses which give it a rather northern air.


A recreation area known as Linear Park attracts many visitors and open-air enthusiasts, as does the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail and Littledean Hall – reputedly the oldest inhabited house in England.

Saxon and Celtic remains have been found in the cellars of the house and two officers were killed in the dining room during the English Civil War. It probably dates from before the 11th century.

COLEFORD

The administrative centre of the Forest of Dean, Coleford is only a short distance from the Welsh border.




Nearby are the ancient Clearwell Caves and the Hopewell Colliery Museum.




An historic settlement, Coleford was a significant coal mining centre where the metallurgist Robert Forester Mushet perfected the Bessemer process of steel making.




He is buried at Staunton churchyard.




Street House is the venue for the ancient Verderer’s Court whose members help to run the forest.

Staunton Church, Gloucester -
Photo: Philip Halling CCL

Perrygrove Railway- Photo: Michael Crofts CCL

Steam train enthusiasts will no doubt head straight for the Perrygrove Steam Railway, which boasts four stations along its 1.5 mile route and uses the world’s first 15-inch narrow gauge locomotive, and the Great Western Railway Heritage Museum at Coleford Railway Yard.

 

The museum is the original Great Western Goods Station of 1883.

DURSLEY

A pleasant Georgian market town in the Forest of Dean, Dursley has a number of strange claims to fame, not the least of which is that Harry Potter’s surviving fictional relatives, the wicked Dursleys, were named after the place.




It was Dursley that gave us the safety bicycle, invented here by the Danish engineer Mikael Pedersen in the 1890s.




He died in poverty after returning to his homeland but his remains were later exhumed and shipped back to Dursley in a wine box for re-burial.




There is even a suggestion that William Shakespeare worked in the town as a schoolmaster.

Raglan House, Mikael Pedersen's Home -
Photo: Phil Champion CCL

Dursley - Photo: Phil Champion CCL

Just as curious is the fact that the tower of the 13th century parish church had to be replaced in the mid-18th century after it collapsed during a bell-ringing session.


Such oddities, however, fail to detract from Dursley’s natural charm.


Lying on the edge of the Cotswolds, it once had a thriving woollen industry and is still surrounded by picturesque countryside, overlooked by a hill from which there are splendid views.

GLOUCESTER

St. Michael's Gate, Gloucester -
Photo: David Stowell CCL

Gloucester began with Glevum, a Roman fort which guarded the lowest Severn crossing and the legions' routes into Wales; it became one of the four coloniae of Roman Britain. Anglo-Saxon Gleawcester was a royal burgh or fortified town in Alfred the Great's time and had its own mint.


The Norman and Angevin kings often made it their residence and it was here that William the Conqueror decided on the Doomsday survey.


The city has long been an inland port and has its own harbour master. Archaeological excavation has revealed the site of a complete Roman forum, which must have covered about 2 acres.


The site of the basilica or administrative building has been discovered as well as the flanking colonnades on the east and south sides.

Also in Westgate Street is a 16th Century timber-framed house reputed to have sheltered Bishop John Hooper before he was burnt at the stake in 1555 in the reign of Mary Tudor.




It now houses one of the best folk museums in the country with comprehensive collections of everything to do with early trades, crafts and industry as well as exhibits of historical interest.

Church of St. Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street - Photo: David Stowell CCL

Gloucester Cathedral - Photo: Nick Robinson CCL

The cathedral is still the chief glory of Gloucester. Its Norman plan and structure were preserved as the body of this magnificent church, to which the work of later periods was added.


It therefore affords an illustration of architectural development which can hardly be bettered any- where in Europe. The Norman pillars of the 174ft-long nave up to the stone screen remain as they were during the first building period of 1080 to 1100. The east window is the largest medieval stained glass window in England.

LYDNEY

The perfect place from which to mount expeditions into the Forest of Dean, Lydney has several attractions on its doorstep, including the Dean Forest Railway and the Forest of Dean Model Village.



Nearby, the five-acre estate Lydney Park - originally settled in the 1st century BC - contains an Iron Age hill fort, a mysterious Roman temple, picturesque gardens and the only surviving Roman iron workings in Britain.

Model village  - Photo: Ian Macnab CCL

Lydney Harbour - Photo: Nick Mutton CCL

The River Severn flows close to the town while Lydney Canal - once an important trading harbour – has been transformed into a haunt for pleasure craft.



It was in this area that ships were built to thwart the Spanish Armada using local oak trees.



Lydney’s church and tower date from the 13th century.

MITCHELDEAN

This large village lies in the Forest of Dean and developed during the Middle Ages through the working of locally mined iron ore.




Later it prospered thanks to beer making.




It still retains much of its original character and proudly boasts a 14th century church (one of the widest in England), some half-timbered cottages and an 18th century town hall.




One of its public houses, The George Inn, dates to the 17th century.
 

Mitcheldean Town Hall -
Photo: Pauline Eccles CCL

NEWENT

Church St. Newent - Photo: Pauline Eccles CCL

Unspoiled and unhurried, Newent – birthplace of London mayor Dick Whittington - lies on the outskirts of the Forest of Dean and possesses many buildings dating from the 13th century, including the local church.




Surrounding fields and woods have colourful displays of wild daffodils and an onion fair is staged here each September. Ten counties are said to be visible from nearby May Hill.

Top attractions include The Shambles - a series of Victorian buildings including shops and streets - the National Birds of Prey Centre and the Three Choirs vineyard.




The town dates back into prehistory when metalworking first took place.




The Romans later adopted the industry and were the first to substantially develop the area.

The Shambles - Photo: Pauline Eccles CCL

TEWKESBURY

Tower of Tewkesbury Abbey -
Photo: Phil Halling CCL

A stunningly beautiful market town near the confluence of the rivers Avon and Severn, Tewkesbury can justly claim to be a museum in itself.





Its numerous medieval alleyways overhung by the upper floors of half-timbered Tudor properties help to create one of Britain’s most lavish black-and-white townscapes.





In addition, Tewkesbury boasts one of England’s first Baptist churches and a 12th century abbey crowned by a 132ft Norman tower.




The abbey was only saved from Henry VIII’s plan to plunder the country’s monasteries when local people paid a handsome bribe to turn it into their parish church.

The Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 was one of the most savage incidents of the War of the Roses and the field where it took place is still known as ‘Bloody Meadow’.





The Black Bear pub dates from the early 14th century while diners at the Royal Hop Pole included Charles Dickens’ fictitious Pickwick Club.





Spanning the River Severn is Thomas Telford’s cast-iron Mythe Bridge while a second bridge, built from stone and spanning the River Avon, was built in the late 12th century.

Ye Old Black Bear - Photo: Bob Embleton CCL

WESTBURY ON SEVERN

Westbury Court Garden - Photo: David Smith CCL

This small town bounded by the swift-flowing River Severn is famous with sightseers wishing to glimpse the so-called Severn Bore tidal wave.

Westbury Court Garden is a unique Dutch-style water garden.

Restored by the National Trust, it has two canals set among formal flowerbeds and box hedges and was originally landscaped between 1696 and 1705.

Ashelworth Tithe Barn, a second National Trust ‘attraction’, is nearby.

The medieval Church of St Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street has been much restored. It has a peal of eight bells cast by Rudhall, the famous Gloucester bell founder.

Inside the church is the font where George Whitefield, the preacher, was baptised.

He was born in the city and attended the St Mary de Crypt Grammar School next to the church.