Northleach
Encyclopedia
Northleach is a small Cotswold
market town
in Gloucestershire
, England
. It constitutes the major part of the civil parish
of Northleach with Eastington
.
The nearest railway stations are Moreton-in-Marsh
, Kingham
and Shipton
on the Cotswold Line
.
1987.jpg)
The town is close to the A40
main road, and the Fosseway, now the A429
, The brook "the Leach" runs part-way through. The town was made wealthy by the medieval wool
trade of the 15th century, and the main church is of impressive size and quality in reflection of this fact.
The road which became the A40 ran through the town, and as the main road between Oxford
and Cheltenham
it contributed greatly to the town's development. The town was bypassed
in the mid 1980s, only after vibration damage had been detected in some of the fine 15th - 18th century houses on the main road.
The town has three pubs
: The Sherborne Arms, The Red Lion Inn, and The Wheatsheaf Inn. There is also a Sports and Social Club, a Snooker and Billiards club, a Mechanical Music museum, art and antique shops, a butchers, a bakers, a takeaway, a wine bar and other retail shops.
The Church of St Peter and St Paul in Northleach is known as The Cathedral of the Cotswolds and is a wool church
. The church dates from the early 12th century, and was built on the foundations of on an earlier building, also believed to have been a church. The church was built with stone dug from the quarry in the town itself and what is now the Market Square. The 12th century version was simple, consisting little more than an aisle
. That the chancels were a later addition is immediately apparent from the south eastern quoin
s visible in the Bicknell Chapel. Other changes have also left their mark. The scar on the steeply pitched roof of the tower wall indicates that the south aisle was widened twice. The overall style of the present church is known as the Late Medieval "Glass Cage" type in which the structure of the church is of less importance than the large, traceried stained-glass windows.
The present chancel was built in the 14th century, followed by the nave
, aisles and sacristy
in the 15th century. The finely decorated two-storey south porch
, with a pinnacled bell-cote surmounting it, was added circa 1480. The overall style of the present church is known as the Late Medieval
Glass Cage type in which the structure of the church is of less importance than the large, traceried stained glass
windows. The church features an array of brasses commemorating the wool merchants and benefactors whose wealth was derived from the local wool industry and invested in the church.
The modest size of the town of Northleach belies its former importance. The Abbey of Gloucester owned the area from AD 800, granting the town a charter in 1220 to hold a weekly market. The town was transformed by the wool trade and in 1340 to 1540 it flourished as the centre of a large sheep-rearing area.
.
The town also has a cricket
club, consisting of a first eleven, second eleven, junior team and ladies team.
The town also has teams for darts
, skittles
, snooker
and pool, running and a tennis
club. The majority of the clubs use the Northleach Pavilion, the Snooker Club is on the ground floor of the Cotswold hall and the Westwood Community Centre has a number of sports activities.
Northleach Primary School is one of the few Gloucestershire primary schools with its own swimming pool (outdoor). The pool is open to the public for a small charge over the summer holidays.
Northleach did have a "long standing" (Westwoods) Grammar School,now demolished. The westwood community centre now stands there. "Fallows" (a road nearby) honours a recent Headmaster.
The town celebrates "St Peterstide" every year.
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...
market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
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...
. It constitutes the major part of the 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...
of Northleach with Eastington
Northleach with Eastington
Northleach with Eastington is a civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire that includes the town of Northleach and the hamlet of Eastington, about 1½ miles SE of the town.It forms part of the Cotswold district.-References:...
.
The nearest railway stations are Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh railway station
Moreton-in-Marsh railway station is a railway station serving the town of Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the Cotswold Line between and stations....
, Kingham
Kingham railway station
Kingham railway station in Oxfordshire is between the Oxfordshire village of Kingham and the Gloucestershire village of Bledington, to which it is closer...
and Shipton
Shipton railway station
Shipton railway station serves the villages of Shipton-under-Wychwood and Milton-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire, England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by First Great Western.-Services:...
on the Cotswold Line
Cotswold Line
The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.-Route:The line comprises all or part of the following Network Rail routes:*GW 200 from Oxford*GW 310 from Wolvercot Junction*GW 300 from Norton Junction*GW 340 from Worcester Shrub Hill...
.
Location and history
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
main road, and the Fosseway, now the A429
A429 road
The A429 is a main road in England that runs in a north-northeasterly direction from junction 17 of the M4 motorway to Coventry in the West Midlands, by way of Malmesbury, Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, east of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and Kenilworth.For much of its length...
, The brook "the Leach" runs part-way through. The town was made wealthy by the medieval wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
trade of the 15th century, and the main church is of impressive size and quality in reflection of this fact.
The road which became the A40 ran through the town, and as the main road between 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...
and Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
it contributed greatly to the town's development. The town was bypassed
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
in the mid 1980s, only after vibration damage had been detected in some of the fine 15th - 18th century houses on the main road.
The town has three pubs
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...
: The Sherborne Arms, The Red Lion Inn, and The Wheatsheaf Inn. There is also a Sports and Social Club, a Snooker and Billiards club, a Mechanical Music museum, art and antique shops, a butchers, a bakers, a takeaway, a wine bar and other retail shops.
Northleach church
Wool church
A wool church is an English church built primarily from the proceeds of the mediaeval wool trade. Wool churches are common in the Cotswolds and in East Anglia, where enormous profits from the wool business spurred construction of ever-grander edifices....
. The church dates from the early 12th century, and was built on the foundations of on an earlier building, also believed to have been a church. The church was built with stone dug from the quarry in the town itself and what is now the Market Square. The 12th century version was simple, consisting little more than an aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
. That the chancels were a later addition is immediately apparent from the south eastern quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s visible in the Bicknell Chapel. Other changes have also left their mark. The scar on the steeply pitched roof of the tower wall indicates that the south aisle was widened twice. The overall style of the present church is known as the Late Medieval "Glass Cage" type in which the structure of the church is of less importance than the large, traceried stained-glass windows.
The present chancel was built in the 14th century, followed by 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...
, aisles and sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
in the 15th century. The finely decorated two-storey south porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
, with a pinnacled bell-cote surmounting it, was added circa 1480. The overall style of the present church is known as the Late Medieval
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
Glass Cage type in which the structure of the church is of less importance than the large, traceried stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows. The church features an array of brasses commemorating the wool merchants and benefactors whose wealth was derived from the local wool industry and invested in the church.
The modest size of the town of Northleach belies its former importance. The Abbey of Gloucester owned the area from AD 800, granting the town a charter in 1220 to hold a weekly market. The town was transformed by the wool trade and in 1340 to 1540 it flourished as the centre of a large sheep-rearing area.
Sporting traditions and amenities
The town has a football club, Northleach Town F.C., which runs a 1st and 2nd team with both teams playing in the Cheltenham LeagueCheltenham League
The Cheltenham Association League is a football competition based in England and has a total of six divisions. Its top division, Division One sits at level 14 of the English football league system. It is a feeder to the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League...
.
The town also has a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club, consisting of a first eleven, second eleven, junior team and ladies team.
The town also has teams for darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
, skittles
Skittles
Skittles may refer to:*Skittles , a small candy made in many flavors*Skittles , the game from which bowling originated*Skittles , a casual chess game in chess jargon...
, snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
and pool, running and a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
club. The majority of the clubs use the Northleach Pavilion, the Snooker Club is on the ground floor of the Cotswold hall and the Westwood Community Centre has a number of sports activities.
Northleach Primary School is one of the few Gloucestershire primary schools with its own swimming pool (outdoor). The pool is open to the public for a small charge over the summer holidays.
Northleach did have a "long standing" (Westwoods) Grammar School,now demolished. The westwood community centre now stands there. "Fallows" (a road nearby) honours a recent Headmaster.
The town celebrates "St Peterstide" every year.