Iron Acton
Encyclopedia
Iron Acton is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire
, England. The village is about 2 miles (3 km) west of Yate
and about 9 miles (14.5 km) northeast of the centre of Bristol
. The B4058 road
used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north.
The "iron" part of the toponym
originates from the iron
that used to be mined near the village. "Acton" is derived from the Old English for "farm (or village) with oak
trees". Still today there is an oak wood in the village beside the River Frome
.
on Latteridge Lane is a restored Tudor
manor house
. In the 16th century, Nicholas Poyntz
added the east wing to the existing moated house. The addition was lavishly decorated to impress Henry VIII
. The king and his second wife, Anne Boleyn
, visited the house in 1535 during a tour of the West Country
.
Algars Court or Algars Manor, just south of the village, is also a Tudor house.
of Saint James the Less
is Perpendicular Gothic and includes a clerestory
, south aisle and south chapel, two-storey north porch and three-stage bell-tower. The nave
and south arcade
are of three bays
. The nave, chancel
and south chapel all have wagon roofs
and there is a fan vault
under the tower.
The church was restored
in 1878–79 under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect
Sir T.G. Jackson
. The high altar has a reredos
designed by F.C. Eden and made in about 1930. Behind the altar of the south chapel is a screen also designed by Eden.
, Bristol. Against the south wall is a 16th c. canopied tomb erected for a now unknown member of the Poyntz family. Of the three heraldic escutcheons comprised within the structure two are now blank and one bears the arms of the Acton family, from which the Poyntz's inherited the manor, A fess indented. No inscription survives. The tomb was covered with many layers of whitewash until this was removed in the 19th.c. restoration. Marking-off the Poyntz Chapel from the chancel is a pair of stone effigies set on slabs at floor level. The figures show an armed knight of the 14th.c. beside a female figure, possibly his lady, but perhaps of a slightly later date. The knight is believed to represent Sir John Poyntz(d.1376), son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz(d.1311) feudal baron
of Curry Mallet
, Somerset, by Matilda Acton, his 2nd wife, daughter and eventual heiress of Sir John Acton(d.1312) of Iron Acton. Buried beneath an incised slab set into the floor in the centre of the Poyntz Chapel is Robert Poyntz(1359-1439) between his two wives, 1st, Ann (family unknown), 2nd (marr. pre. 1389) Katherine FitzNichol, daughter of Sir Thomas FitzNichol of Hill, Gloucestershire
, many times MP for Gloucestershire
. Robert was MP for Gloucestershire
in 1415 and 1417 and Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1396-7. He was steward between 1405-1416 of the estates of Anne of Gloucester
(d.1438), dowager Countess of Stafford in Glos., Hants., and Wilts. and by 1439 was steward of the manor of her son Humphrey Stafford, 6th Earl of Stafford
(d.1460) at Thornbury Castle
. Robert's slab depicts a knight, almost life-size, wearing a helmet with the body in plate armour with a skirt of traces. He wears a gorget with slight traces of chain-mail, round shoulder pieces, brasserts on the arms, gauntlets with pointed cuffs, legs in plate. His feet rest on a dog. The slab is much worn and was broken in two places in the 19th.c. The ledger line contains the following inscription: Here lyeth Roberd poyntz Lord of Iren Acton and thys stepyl maked who deyde the fiftene day of Junne the year of oure Lord MCCCCXX...(last XIX worn away) of whos sowle God have mercy Amen. The church lacks a steeple today, and none is shown in a 19th.c. engraving of the church. The church tower itself appears to date from before the time of Robert, so surely cannot have been "the stepyl" referred to. It is however widely accepted that Robert erected the stone preaching cross in the church yard, which displays escutcheons bearing the arms of Acton and FitzNichol, the latter being the family of his second wife. The second slab is incised with the following words within a ledger line: Here lyeth Anne the firste wife of Roberd Poyntz of whos sowle God have mercy Amen. In the centre is shown a life-sized lady wearing a dress with tight-fitting body, low in the neck, laced from hands to waist with tight sleeves, full skirt and reticulated head-dress. The third slab retains only part of a female figure with a ledger line containing the words: ...erine the second wyfe of Robert Poyntz. The slab was re-incised with a Latin inscription to commemorate Elizabeth Poyntz(d.1631), wife of a much later Robert Poyntz. Two other tombstones commemorate Florence Poyntz(d.1598) and Hugh Poyntz(d.1604), son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz(d.1585/6) by Margaret Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby
.
opened its Thornbury Branch Line
in 1872, including Iron Acton railway station
to serve the village. The LMS
closed the station in 1944 and it was demolished in the 1960s, but the line still carries one freight train per week between a stone quarry at Tytherington
and the junction at Yate
with the Birmingham and Gloucester line
.
A freight-only branch serving an iron mine in Frampton Cotterell
joined the branch line at the station. This was closed in 1872 but a truncated section of the line served as a coal depot until closure on 10 June 1963.
Iron Acton station had a single platform and a large wooden station building. The remains of the platform survive, as does a crossing-keeper's cottage to the south of the station site.
fair and horticultural show. Other events are organised by Acton Aid, a community organisation made up of men of the village who work together to benefit the parish of Iron Acton. Money is raised by holding social events such as the annual fireworks display and the Proms in the Meadows, and working with other parish organisations at the annual May Day fair. An example of such an event is the Victorian evening, during which local residents dressed up in Victorian era clothing for a fair on the street, which is accompanied by a brass band.
The village has its own football club, which played home games on the field behind the Rose and Crown public house
on the High Street. The pub was closed and was turned into residential accommodation; Iron Acton F.C. now plays home games on Yate Common, Sunnyside Lane, Yate, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away.
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
, England. The village is about 2 miles (3 km) west of Yate
Yate
Yate is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, at the southwest extremity of the Cotswold Hills, 12 miles northeast of the city of Bristol. At the 2001 census the population was 21,789. The town of Chipping Sodbury is continuous with Yate to the east...
and about 9 miles (14.5 km) northeast of the centre of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The B4058 road
B4058 road
The B4058 is a minor road in southwest England. It starts in Eastville, a suburb of Bristol and ends at Nailsworth in the Cotswolds, passing through the counties of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire.- Route :...
used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north.
The "iron" part of the toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
originates from the iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
that used to be mined near the village. "Acton" is derived from the Old English for "farm (or village) with oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees". Still today there is an oak wood in the village beside the River Frome
River Frome, Bristol
The River Frome is a river, approximately long, which rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire, and flows in a south westerly direction through Bristol, joining the former course of the river Avon in Bristol's Floating Harbour. The mean flow at Frenchay is The name Frome is shared with...
.
Manors
Acton CourtActon Court
Acton Court is a recently restored Tudor house on Latteridge Lane, Iron Acton, South Gloucestershire, England.The Poyntz family owned the property from 1364 until 1680. Nicholas Poyntz added the East Wing onto the existing moated manor house shortly before 1535. Construction took about 9 months...
on Latteridge Lane is a restored Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
. In the 16th century, Nicholas Poyntz
Nicholas Poyntz
Sir Nicholas Poyntz was a prominent English courtier during the latter part of Henry VIII's reign. There is a portrait drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection and an oil portrait after the same artist based on the drawing in the National Portrait Gallery, London...
added the east wing to the existing moated house. The addition was lavishly decorated to impress Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The king and his second wife, Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, visited the house in 1535 during a tour of the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
.
Algars Court or Algars Manor, just south of the village, is also a Tudor house.
Parish church
The Church of England parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint James the Less
James the Less
James the Less is a figure of early Christianity. He is also called "the minor", "the little", "the lesser", or "the younger", according to translation. He is often confused with James the Great and may or may not be James the Just.- Sources :...
is Perpendicular Gothic and includes a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, south aisle and south chapel, two-storey north porch and three-stage bell-tower. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and south arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
are of three bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The nave, chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and south chapel all have wagon roofs
Barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
and there is a fan vault
Fan vault
thumb|right|250px|Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from local Bath stone, this is a [[Victorian restoration]] of the original roof of 1608....
under the tower.
The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1878–79 under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Sir T.G. Jackson
Thomas Graham Jackson
Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet RA was one of the most distinguished English architects of his generation...
. The high altar has a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
designed by F.C. Eden and made in about 1930. Behind the altar of the south chapel is a screen also designed by Eden.
Poyntz Chapel
The altar at the east end of the south aisle forms the focal point of the so-called Poyntz Chapel, which is not a separate chamber or structure. This is not to be confused with the Poyntz Chapel (formally termed "Chapel of Jesus") built by Sir Robert Poyntz(d.1520) within The Gaunt's ChapelSt Mark's Church, Bristol
St Mark's Church is an ancient small church on the north-east side of College Green, Bristol, England, built c. 1230. Better known to mediaeval and Tudor historians as the Gaunt's Chapel, it has also been known within Bristol since 1722 as the Mayor's Chapel. It is the only church in England...
, Bristol. Against the south wall is a 16th c. canopied tomb erected for a now unknown member of the Poyntz family. Of the three heraldic escutcheons comprised within the structure two are now blank and one bears the arms of the Acton family, from which the Poyntz's inherited the manor, A fess indented. No inscription survives. The tomb was covered with many layers of whitewash until this was removed in the 19th.c. restoration. Marking-off the Poyntz Chapel from the chancel is a pair of stone effigies set on slabs at floor level. The figures show an armed knight of the 14th.c. beside a female figure, possibly his lady, but perhaps of a slightly later date. The knight is believed to represent Sir John Poyntz(d.1376), son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz(d.1311) feudal baron
English feudal barony
In England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was a form of Feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. It must be distinguished from a barony, also feudal, but which existed within a county palatine, such as the Barony...
of Curry Mallet
Curry Mallet
Curry Mallet is a village and parish in Somerset, England. It is on the Fivehead River , east of Taunton in the South Somerset district...
, Somerset, by Matilda Acton, his 2nd wife, daughter and eventual heiress of Sir John Acton(d.1312) of Iron Acton. Buried beneath an incised slab set into the floor in the centre of the Poyntz Chapel is Robert Poyntz(1359-1439) between his two wives, 1st, Ann (family unknown), 2nd (marr. pre. 1389) Katherine FitzNichol, daughter of Sir Thomas FitzNichol of Hill, Gloucestershire
Hill, Gloucestershire
Hill is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, midway between the towns of Thornbury in South Gloucestershire and Berkeley in Gloucestershire. The parish stretches from the banks of the River Severn to an outcrop of the Cotswold escarpment....
, many times MP for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)
The constituency of Gloucestershire was a UK Parliamentary constituency. After it was abolished under the 1832 Electoral Reform Act, two new constituencies, West Gloucestershire and East Gloucestershire, were created....
. Robert was MP for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)
The constituency of Gloucestershire was a UK Parliamentary constituency. After it was abolished under the 1832 Electoral Reform Act, two new constituencies, West Gloucestershire and East Gloucestershire, were created....
in 1415 and 1417 and Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1396-7. He was steward between 1405-1416 of the estates of Anne of Gloucester
Anne of Gloucester
Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford was the eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester and Eleanor de Bohun.-Family:...
(d.1438), dowager Countess of Stafford in Glos., Hants., and Wilts. and by 1439 was steward of the manor of her son Humphrey Stafford, 6th Earl of Stafford
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG , an English nobleman, great grandson of King Edward III on his mother's side, was best known as a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and in the Wars of the Roses....
(d.1460) at Thornbury Castle
Thornbury Castle
Thornbury Castle is a castle in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. It was begun in 1511 as a home for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. It is not a true castle , but rather an early example of a Tudor country house, with minimal defensive attributes. It is now a grade I listed...
. Robert's slab depicts a knight, almost life-size, wearing a helmet with the body in plate armour with a skirt of traces. He wears a gorget with slight traces of chain-mail, round shoulder pieces, brasserts on the arms, gauntlets with pointed cuffs, legs in plate. His feet rest on a dog. The slab is much worn and was broken in two places in the 19th.c. The ledger line contains the following inscription: Here lyeth Roberd poyntz Lord of Iren Acton and thys stepyl maked who deyde the fiftene day of Junne the year of oure Lord MCCCCXX...(last XIX worn away) of whos sowle God have mercy Amen. The church lacks a steeple today, and none is shown in a 19th.c. engraving of the church. The church tower itself appears to date from before the time of Robert, so surely cannot have been "the stepyl" referred to. It is however widely accepted that Robert erected the stone preaching cross in the church yard, which displays escutcheons bearing the arms of Acton and FitzNichol, the latter being the family of his second wife. The second slab is incised with the following words within a ledger line: Here lyeth Anne the firste wife of Roberd Poyntz of whos sowle God have mercy Amen. In the centre is shown a life-sized lady wearing a dress with tight-fitting body, low in the neck, laced from hands to waist with tight sleeves, full skirt and reticulated head-dress. The third slab retains only part of a female figure with a ledger line containing the words: ...erine the second wyfe of Robert Poyntz. The slab was re-incised with a Latin inscription to commemorate Elizabeth Poyntz(d.1631), wife of a much later Robert Poyntz. Two other tombstones commemorate Florence Poyntz(d.1598) and Hugh Poyntz(d.1604), son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz(d.1585/6) by Margaret Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby was an English nobleman.At the age of thirteen, Edward received the titles and estates of his father, the 2nd Earl of Derby, and King Henry VIII took responsibility for bringing him up until he was of age...
.
Railway
The Midland RailwayMidland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
opened its Thornbury Branch Line
Thornbury Branch Line
The Thornbury Branchline is a railway line from Yate to Thornbury. It is now closed to passengers, and only remains to serve a quarry at Tytherington....
in 1872, including Iron Acton railway station
Iron Acton railway station
Iron Acton station opened on 2 September 1872, with the start of services on the Midland Railway branch from Yate to Thornbury. It closed to passenger services on 19 June 1944....
to serve the village. The LMS
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
closed the station in 1944 and it was demolished in the 1960s, but the line still carries one freight train per week between a stone quarry at Tytherington
Tytherington
Places in the United Kingdom known as Tytherington.*Tytherington, Cheshire*Tytherington, Gloucestershire*Tytherington, Wiltshire, a settlement on the boundary of the parishes of Heytesbury and Sutton VenyTytherington , Somerset, Near Frome...
and the junction at Yate
Yate railway station
Yate railway station serves the town of Yate in South Gloucestershire, in south west England. The station is located on the main Bristol to Birmingham line between Bristol Parkway and Cam & Dursley, and is operated by First Great Western....
with the Birmingham and Gloucester line
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England.It is one of the world's oldest main line railways and includes the famous Lickey Incline, a dead-straight stretch of track running up the 1-in-37 gradient of the Lickey Ridge...
.
A freight-only branch serving an iron mine in Frampton Cotterell
Frampton Cotterell
Frampton Cotterell is a village and parish, in South Gloucestershire, south west England on the River Frome. The village is continuous with Winterbourne to the south-west and Coalpit Heath to the east. The parish borders Iron Acton to the north and Westerleigh to the south-east, the large town of...
joined the branch line at the station. This was closed in 1872 but a truncated section of the line served as a coal depot until closure on 10 June 1963.
Iron Acton station had a single platform and a large wooden station building. The remains of the platform survive, as does a crossing-keeper's cottage to the south of the station site.
Amenities
Iron Acton hosts events throughout the year, including the annual May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
fair and horticultural show. Other events are organised by Acton Aid, a community organisation made up of men of the village who work together to benefit the parish of Iron Acton. Money is raised by holding social events such as the annual fireworks display and the Proms in the Meadows, and working with other parish organisations at the annual May Day fair. An example of such an event is the Victorian evening, during which local residents dressed up in Victorian era clothing for a fair on the street, which is accompanied by a brass band.
The village has its own football club, which played home games on the field behind the Rose and Crown public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on the High Street. The pub was closed and was turned into residential accommodation; Iron Acton F.C. now plays home games on Yate Common, Sunnyside Lane, Yate, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away.