Kingscote, Gloucestershire
Encyclopedia
Kingscote is a village
and civil parish
in the Cotswold district
of Gloucestershire
, England
, set on the uplands near the south western edge of the Cotswold
hills. It is situated about two miles (3 km) east of Uley
, five miles (8 km) east of Dursley
and four miles (6 km) west of Tetbury
. The landscape is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
. The hamlet of Newington Bagpath lies to the west of the village; the parish lands extend near to the small village of Owlpen
.
with about 4000 acres (16.2 km²), was the property of the Kingscote family, originally tenants of the Berkeley family
of Berkeley Castle
, whose principal residence was Kingscote Park. This, on the site of the old manor house
, was demolished in the 1960s. The house today known as Kingscote Park was formerly known as Kingscote Cottage, the dower house where John Wedgwood (1766–1844)
, founder of the Royal Horticultural Society
, lived in the 1820s.
The parish is transected by a Roman road
and a Roman settlement was excavated centred on a field named The Chessalls 1977–. The site covers 30 hectares and was occupied from the late 1st century AD through to its heyday in the 4th century. It may have been a small town or villa estate, with evidence of a series of strip buildings replaced in the 4th century by a house within a walled compound. The house seems to have been of high status, with mosaic
floors, including a Venus
mosaic now displayed in the nearby Corinium Museum
, hypocausts and wall-plaster paintings.
The Rev. Alan Gardner Cornwall was rector of the adjoining ecclesiastical parish of Bagpath with Owlpen
from 1827 to 1842. His memoirs were published shortly after his death and are available online in .pdf format. They are a lively account of his early life with the Clapham Sect
in London
, his friendship with the Kingscote family, whose daughter Harriet he married, and of his ministry at a time of social distress following the decline of the local woollen cloth industry in the 1830s.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
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 Cotswold district
Cotswold (district)
Cotswold is a local government district in Gloucestershire in England. It is named after the wider Cotswolds region. Its main town is Cirencester....
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....
, 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...
, set on the uplands near the south western edge of the Cotswold
Cotswold
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in central England that give their name to:*Cotswold *Cotswold *Cotswold Chase, a horse race*Cotswold Games, annual games in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire...
hills. It is situated about two miles (3 km) east of Uley
Uley
Uley is a village in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated in a wooded valley in the Cotswold escarpment, on the road between Dursley and Stroud. The population is around 1,100, but was much greater during the early years of the industrial revolution, when the village was...
, five miles (8 km) east of Dursley
Dursley
Dursley is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. It is under the North East flank of Stinchcombe Hill , and about 6 km South East of the River Severn. The town is adjacent with Cam which, though a village, is a community of double the size...
and four miles (6 km) west of Tetbury
Tetbury
Tetbury is a town and civil parish within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census.In the Middle Ages,...
. The landscape is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
. The hamlet of Newington Bagpath lies to the west of the village; the parish lands extend near to the small village of Owlpen
Owlpen
Owlpen is a small village and civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England, set in a picturesque valley in the Cotswold hills. It is about one mile east of Uley, and three miles east of Dursley. The Owlpen valley is set around the settlement like an amphitheatre of wooded hills...
.
History
From the medieval period in the 12th century until 1956, the manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
with about 4000 acres (16.2 km²), was the property of the Kingscote family, originally tenants of the Berkeley family
Berkeley family
The Berkeley family has an unbroken male line of descent from a Saxon ancestor before the Norman conquest of England in 1066 to the present day.-History:...
of Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...
, whose principal residence was Kingscote Park. This, on the site of the old 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...
, was demolished in the 1960s. The house today known as Kingscote Park was formerly known as Kingscote Cottage, the dower house where John Wedgwood (1766–1844)
John Wedgwood (1766–1844)
John Wedgwood , the eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood, was a partner in the Wedgwood pottery firm from 1790-1793, and again 1800-1812....
, founder of the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
, lived in the 1820s.
The parish is transected by a Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
and a Roman settlement was excavated centred on a field named The Chessalls 1977–. The site covers 30 hectares and was occupied from the late 1st century AD through to its heyday in the 4th century. It may have been a small town or villa estate, with evidence of a series of strip buildings replaced in the 4th century by a house within a walled compound. The house seems to have been of high status, with mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floors, including a Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
mosaic now displayed in the nearby Corinium Museum
Corinium Museum
The Corinium Museum in the Cotswold town of Cirencester in England has a large collection of objects found in and around the locality. The bulk of the exhibits are from the Roman town of Corinium Dobunnorum, but the museum includes material from as early as the Neolithic and right up to Victorian...
, hypocausts and wall-plaster paintings.
The Rev. Alan Gardner Cornwall was rector of the adjoining ecclesiastical parish of Bagpath with Owlpen
Owlpen
Owlpen is a small village and civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England, set in a picturesque valley in the Cotswold hills. It is about one mile east of Uley, and three miles east of Dursley. The Owlpen valley is set around the settlement like an amphitheatre of wooded hills...
from 1827 to 1842. His memoirs were published shortly after his death and are available online in .pdf format. They are a lively account of his early life with the Clapham Sect
Clapham Sect
The Clapham Sect or Clapham Saints were a group of influential like-minded Church of England social reformers based in Clapham, London at the beginning of the 19th century...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, his friendship with the Kingscote family, whose daughter Harriet he married, and of his ministry at a time of social distress following the decline of the local woollen cloth industry in the 1830s.