Adlestrop
Encyclopedia
Adlestrop is a village and civil parish
in the English county of Gloucestershire
. It is known as Tedestrop in the Domesday Book
.
The civil parish also includes the village of Daylesford
. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 153.
This small Gloucestershire village deep in the heart of the Cotswolds
is renowned for its surrounding countryside and fine walks. Situated off the main A436 Stow-on-the-Wold
road it is an isolated community, with the village post office being the main source of shopping and communication.
Adlestrop was immortalised by Edward Thomas
's poem "Adlestrop" which was first published in 1917. The poem describes an uneventful journey Thomas took on 24 June 1914 on an Oxford
to Worcester
express. The train made an unscheduled stop at Adlestrop station. He did not alight from the train, but describes a moment of calm pause in which he hears "all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire". The railway station
closed in 1966; however, the local bus shelter contains a bench that was originally on the platform. A plaque on the bench quotes Thomas’s original poem.
Novelist Jane Austen
visited Adelstrop House, formerly the rectory, at least three times between 1794 and 1806 when the occupant was Rev. Thomas Leigh, cousin of Jane Austen's mother. She is thought to have drawn inspiration from the village and its surroundings for her novel Mansfield Park
.
Adlestrop's cricket club plays in Adlestrop Park. The village has a thriving Post Office
and shop near the church.
The Adelstrop bells are hung in the traditional
English fashion. As well as the cracked tenor bell, however, the bell-frame is time expired and suffers from dry rot
and woodworm
infestation, and the remaining uncracked bells may be rung only very cautiously. The bells are officially listed as "unringable". An appeal, to re-hang the bells and make them fully ringable once more, has been launched.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the English county of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. It is known as Tedestrop in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
The civil parish also includes the village of Daylesford
Daylesford, Gloucestershire
Daylesford is a small village in Gloucestershire, England, on the border with Oxfordshire. It is situated off the A436 near Stow-on-the-Wold and five miles west of Chipping Norton. The village is on the north bank of the small River Evenlode...
. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 153.
This small Gloucestershire village deep in the heart of the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
is renowned for its surrounding countryside and fine walks. Situated off the main A436 Stow-on-the-Wold
Stow-on-the-Wold
Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is situated on top of an 800 ft hill, at the convergence of a number of major roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way . The town was founded as a planned market place by Norman lords to take...
road it is an isolated community, with the village post office being the main source of shopping and communication.
Edward Thomas (poet)
Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh writer of prose and poetry. He is commonly considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences. Already an accomplished writer, Thomas turned to poetry only in 1914...
's poem "Adlestrop" which was first published in 1917. The poem describes an uneventful journey Thomas took on 24 June 1914 on an Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
to Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
express. The train made an unscheduled stop at Adlestrop station. He did not alight from the train, but describes a moment of calm pause in which he hears "all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire". The railway station
Adlestrop railway station
Adlestrop railway station was a railway station serving the village of Adlestrop in Gloucestershire, England. It was on what is now called the Cotswold Line. The station was immortalised by the poet Edward Thomas when his train made an unscheduled stop there shortly before the First World...
closed in 1966; however, the local bus shelter contains a bench that was originally on the platform. A plaque on the bench quotes Thomas’s original poem.
Novelist Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
visited Adelstrop House, formerly the rectory, at least three times between 1794 and 1806 when the occupant was Rev. Thomas Leigh, cousin of Jane Austen's mother. She is thought to have drawn inspiration from the village and its surroundings for her novel Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park may mean:* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen* Mansfield Park , based on the novel, directed by Patricia Rozema, starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, and Sheila Gish in 1999...
.
Adlestrop's cricket club plays in Adlestrop Park. The village has a thriving Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and shop near the church.
The Church Bells
The five bells of the church of St. Mary were last all rung together in about 1975. The bells lay unrung completely until 2007, when two local couples wishing to marry asked for bells to be rung at their weddings. The bells are:- Treble (smallest bell), note F: cast in 1711 by Abraham Rudhall (Gloucester)
- 2nd bell, note E flat: cast in 1711 by Abraham Rudhall
- 3rd bell, note D: cast in 1711 by Abraham Rudhall
- 4th bell, note C: cast in 1711 by Abraham Rudhall
- Tenor (largest bell), note B flat (but cracked and toneless): cast in 1838 by Thomas Mears (Gloucester).
The Adelstrop bells are hung in the traditional
English fashion. As well as the cracked tenor bell, however, the bell-frame is time expired and suffers from dry rot
Dry rot
Dry rot refers to a type of wood decay caused by certain types of fungi, also known as True Dry Rot, that digests parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness...
and woodworm
Woodworm
A woodworm is not a specific species. It is the larval stage of certain woodboring beetles including:*Ambrosia beetles *Bark borer beetle / Waney edge borer *Common furniture beetle...
infestation, and the remaining uncracked bells may be rung only very cautiously. The bells are officially listed as "unringable". An appeal, to re-hang the bells and make them fully ringable once more, has been launched.
Further reading
- Harvey, Anne (compiler & editor) (1999) Adlestrop Revisited: an Anthology Inspired by Edward Thomas's Poem, Stroud: Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-2289-3