Bourton-on-the-Water
Encyclopedia
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire
, England
that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village has a population of 3297 inhabitants (2009 est),making it a rather large village as its population actually exceeds those of nearby Stow-on-the-Wold
and Burford
, both of which are considered small market towns.
Bourton-on-the-Water parish is bounded by the Fosse Way
along the northwest, while the eastern boundary is defined by a series of streams, namely: Slaughter brook, the River Dikler, and the River Windrush; the southern boundary is associated with a watercourse that runs between Bourton Hill and Broadwater Bottom.
.
Salmonsbury Camp, a nearby Iron Age habitation, is designated an UK National Scheduled Monument (SAM 32392).
English Heritage
designates 117 buildings within Bourton-on-the-Water as having Grade II or higher listed status.
pottery (dated c. 4000 B.C.) was discovered. Moreover exavations of the Salmonsbury Camp give evidence of almost continuous habitation through the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age
and throughout England's Roman Period
(c. 43 to 410 A.D.). Roman pottery and coins discovered in the village itself give clear evidence of extended Roman occupation. By the 11th century a Christian church was established and the village had developed along the River Windrush much as it is today. Despite the long history of habitation almost every building is now of 17th century origin. The houses and shops in the village are constructed of the yellow limestone characteristic of the Cotswolds
and they have the embellishments that make Cotswold architecture so picturesque: projecting gables, string-courses, windows with stone mullions and dripmoulds, and stone hoodmoulds over the doors.
s:
Long-distance footpaths and local walks start, finish or pass through Bourton-on-the-Water. One such route that begins its 100-mile route north is the Heart of England Way
.
Bourton is also home to Bourton on the Water Primary School and the Cotswold School
, a co-educational comprehensive school.
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....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that lies on a wide flat vale within 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...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village has a population of 3297 inhabitants (2009 est),making it a rather large village as its population actually exceeds those of nearby 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...
and Burford
Burford
Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
, both of which are considered small market towns.
Description
The village of Bourton-on-the-Water is famous for its picturesque High Street, flanked by long wide greens and the River Windrush that runs through them. The river is crossed by several low, arched stone bridges. These arched bridges lending to Bourton-on-the-Water being called the “Venice of the Cotswolds”. Also like Venice, Bourton-on-the-Water often has more visitors than residents during peak times of the tourist season.Bourton-on-the-Water parish is bounded by the Fosse Way
Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
along the northwest, while the eastern boundary is defined by a series of streams, namely: Slaughter brook, the River Dikler, and the River Windrush; the southern boundary is associated with a watercourse that runs between Bourton Hill and Broadwater Bottom.
Special designations
The small historic core of Bourton-on-the-Water along with associated areas along the River Windrush have been designated an UK Conservation AreaConservation Area (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, the term Conservation Area nearly always applies to an area considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest, "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance," as required by the Planning ...
.
Salmonsbury Camp, a nearby Iron Age habitation, is designated an UK National Scheduled Monument (SAM 32392).
English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
designates 117 buildings within Bourton-on-the-Water as having Grade II or higher listed status.
History
The earliest evidence of human activity within the Bourton-on-the-Water area was found in the Slaughter Bridge gravel-spread, where NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
pottery (dated c. 4000 B.C.) was discovered. Moreover exavations of the Salmonsbury Camp give evidence of almost continuous habitation through the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and throughout England's Roman Period
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
(c. 43 to 410 A.D.). Roman pottery and coins discovered in the village itself give clear evidence of extended Roman occupation. By the 11th century a Christian church was established and the village had developed along the River Windrush much as it is today. Despite the long history of habitation almost every building is now of 17th century origin. The houses and shops in the village are constructed of the yellow limestone characteristic 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...
and they have the embellishments that make Cotswold architecture so picturesque: projecting gables, string-courses, windows with stone mullions and dripmoulds, and stone hoodmoulds over the doors.
Tourism
Bourton has a number of tourist attractionTourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
s:
- During the summer, a game of medieval football is played with goalposts set up in the River Windrush itself. Two teams play with a standard football, and a referee attempts to keep order. Crowds line the banks of the river, and the aim is to score as many goals as possible (while getting everyone else as wet as possible).
- The model villageMiniature parkA miniature park is an open space that displays miniature buildings and models, and is usually open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, or it can contain a number of different sets of models...
is a 1:9 replica of the village and includes a model of the model village itself (a model within a model). It was built by local craftsmen in the 1930s, and opened in 1937. - The Model Railway.
- The Cotswold Motoring MuseumCotswold Motoring MuseumThe Cotswold Motoring Museum is a museum located in the Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England, which features motoring history of the 20th century.- Collection :...
(home of BrumBrum (television)Brum is a children's TV programme about the adventures of a car of the same name. It was produced by Ragdoll Productions for HIT Entertainment and first broadcast in 1991. It was initially directed and written by Tom Poole and produced by Anne Wood, latterly directed and written by Vic Finch, Paul...
). - Birdland Park and Gardens, which has a collection of birds, from penguinPenguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s through parrotParrotParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s to passerinePasserineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
(perching) birds and a large pond full of salmonSalmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
which can be fed by the public. There are bird-of-prey displays and a penguin feeding demonstration. - The Dragonfly MazeKit WilliamsChristopher 'Kit' Williams is an English artist, illustrator and author best known for his book Masquerade, a pictorial storybook which contains clues to the location of a golden jewelled hare created by Williams and then buried "somewhere in Britain."Williams wrote another puzzle book with a bee...
- On the fourth Sunday of each month, there is a farmers' marketFarmers' marketA farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
.
Long-distance footpaths and local walks start, finish or pass through Bourton-on-the-Water. One such route that begins its 100-mile route north is the Heart of England Way
Heart of England Way
The Heart of England Way is a long distance walk of around through the Midlands of England. The walk starts from Milford Common on Cannock Chase and ends at Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds passing through the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire.The walk provides links...
.
Bourton is also home to Bourton on the Water Primary School and the Cotswold School
Cotswold School
The Cotswold School is an over-subscribed, outstanding, co-educational 11-18, comprehensive school, located in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England...
, a co-educational comprehensive school.