Meysey Hampton is a village

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 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...

, approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the south-east of Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

. It lies in the south 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...

, 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...

.

Toponymy

Meysey Hampton was listed as Hantone 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...

 of 1086, derived from the Old English hām-tūn meaning "home farm" or "homestead". It was recorded in 1287 as Meseishampton, this alteration showing the influence of a local family called de Meisi. By 1868, it was known as Meysey Hampton, with an alternative spelling of Maisey Hampton.

Governance

Meysey Hampton has a three-member parish council. The village is part of the Hampton Ward of the district of Cotswold

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....

 and is currently represented by Councillor

Councillor

A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...

 David Fowles, a member of the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

. Meysey Hampton is part of the constituency of Cotswold

Cotswold (UK Parliament constituency)

The Cotswolds is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

, represented at parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 by Conservative MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. It is part of the South West England

South West England (European Parliament constituency)

South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...

 constituency of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

.

Geography

Meysey Hampton lies in the southern part 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...

, a range of hills 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...

. Close to the border with Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, it is approximately 30 miles (48 km) south-east of Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

. Situated on the A417, it is about 6 miles (10 km) east of Cirencester

Cirencester

Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...

 and 2 miles (3.5 km) west of Fairford

Fairford

Fairford is a small town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswolds on the River Coln, about east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park.-Schools:...

. Villages nearby include Poulton

Poulton, Gloucestershire

Poulton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire, approximately to the south-east of Gloucester. It lies in the south of the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, the parish had a population of 398.-History:Poulton was...

, Ampney St. Peter, Ampney St. Mary, Down Ampney

Down Ampney

Down Ampney is a medium-sized village located in Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, in England.It is off the A417 which runs between Cirencester and Faringdon on the A420, and about 5 km north of Cricklade,...

, Marston Meysey

Marston Meysey

Marston Meysey, pronounced and sometimes also spelt Marston Maisey, is a village in Wiltshire, England, lying three miles north east of Cricklade on the county boundary with Gloucestershire....

, Totterdown and Honeycombe Leaze.

Education

Meysey Hampton has one primary school; Meysey Hampton Church of England Primary School, a voluntary controlled school

Voluntary controlled school

A voluntary controlled school is a state-funded school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which a foundation or trust has some formal influence in the running of the school...

 for children from the age of 5–11. In 2006, the school had 102 pupils.

Church

Meysey Hampton's church

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Meysey Hampton

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is an Anglican church in Meysey Hampton, a Cotswolds village in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Gloucester and the archdeaconry of Cheltenham...

 is dedicated to St. Mary. Consecrated

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 in 1269, it is thought to have been financed by the Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

. The 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...

was enlarged in the 14th century.