Minchinhampton

Minchinhampton

Coordinates: 51°42′21″N 2°11′10″W / 51.70578333°N 2.185980556°W / 51.70578333; -2.185980556

Minchinhampton
Minch market square.JPG
Market Square, Minchinhampton
Minchinhampton is located in Gloucestershire
Minchinhampton

 Minchinhampton shown within Gloucestershire
OS grid reference SO871008
Parish Minchinhampton
District Stroud
Shire county Gloucestershire
Region South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STROUD
Postcode district GL6
Police Gloucestershire
Fire Gloucestershire
Ambulance Great Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament Stroud
List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire

Minchinhampton is an ancient market town, located on a hilltop 4 miles (6.4 km) south-south-east of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, in the Cotswolds. The town is twinned with Nkokoto, in Tanzania.[1]

Nearby is Minchinhampton Common, a recreation area for walkers and golfers, 580 acres (2.3 km2) of which is managed by the National Trust. The Common is also used as grazing land for the cows of local farmers in the summer. On the Common are long parallel ditches and mounds which formed part of a large Iron Age fort. There are good views from the Common, west over the Severn estuary into Wales, and east to the Golden Valley and further into the Cotswolds.

Minchinhampton Market House and War Memorial

The town's shops are clustered in and around the High Street and comprise a general store, two hairdressers, Boots the Chemist, a ladies' boutique, a butcher's shop, a local organic dairy outlet, two restaurants, a cafe, a Post Office, an electrical retailers, an antiques shop, an estate agency and several charity shops, together with The Crown Inn. There is also a doctors' surgery, library, dentist, school, youth club and sports facilities.

The main square has a War Memorial and an early Market House, where a market is held every Thursday.[2] The 17th-century Market House was given to the town in 1919 by the Lord of the Manor Lt. Col. H. G. Ricardo. It was restored in 1944.

Contents

Churches

The parish church, Minchinhampton, with its unusual "coronet" tower

There are two churches in Minchinhampton – Holy Trinity (Anglican) and Minchinhampton Baptist Church. The spire of the parish church of the Holy Trinity was pulled down for safety reasons in 1863 and now the stub has been completed with a "coronet" structure.

Aston Down

Minchinhampton is close to the former Ministry of Defence airfield, Aston Down, formerly a large employer in the area, now closed down and used for gliding. In 2005, following a Freedom of Information request, the local newspaper revealed that Aston Down is contaminated with arsenic, hydrocarbons and radium.[3] Since the site is located above a vulnerable aquifer, local residents have formed a pressure group, the Aston Down Action Group, in an effort to persuade local government and central government agencies to implement more stringent safety regulations.

Residents

Minchinhampton is close to Gatcombe Estate, the home of the Princess Royal, which hosts the Gatcombe Horse Trials in late summer each year. There is a twice-yearly craft fair at Gatcombe, and a summer visit by Gifford's Circus every other year.[4]

Minchinhampton was both the birthplace and country residence of novelist Joanna Trollope. The actor Keith Allen lives within the parish.[5] Musician Lily Allen has also purchased a house close to the town.[6]

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Minchinhampton — Original name in latin Minchinhampton Name in other language Minchinhampton State code GB Continent/City Europe/London longitude 51.70675 latitude 2.18502 altitude 191 Population 2500 Date 2011 03 03 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Minchinhampton Priory — was a priory in Gloucestershire, England. References This article about a Gloucestershire building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it …   Wikipedia

  • Aston Down — Location map Gloucestershire lat=51.71171 long= 2.123039 width=180 float=right caption= Aston Down shown within Gloucestershire (gbmapping|SO9101)Aston Down is a former Royal Air Force airfield near Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, South West… …   Wikipedia

  • No. 6 Squadron RAAF — No. 6 Squadron Active 1917–1919 1939–1945 1948–present Branch Royal Australian Air For …   Wikipedia

  • No. 1 Wing RAAF — Active 1917–1919 1942–1945 Country  Australia …   Wikipedia

  • Gloucestershire — County of Gloucester redirects here. For other uses, see Gloucester County (disambiguation). Gloucestershire …   Wikipedia

  • Stroud, Gloucestershire — infobox UK place country = England official name= Stroud latitude= 51.7443 longitude= 2.2151 civil parish= Stroud population = 12,690 [UK 2001 census data for Stroud Civil Parish. Source: [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadT… …   Wikipedia

  • Flora Annie Steel — Flora Annie Steel, ca. 1903 Born 2 April 1847(1847 04 02) Sudbury, Middlesex, England Died 12 April 1929 …   Wikipedia

  • Proceratosaurus — Animalia Proceratosaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 165 Ma …   Wikipedia

  • Colin Walker (cellist) — Colin Walker Born 8 July 1949 (1949 07 08) (age 62) Origin Minchinhampton, England Genres Rock music Classical music …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”