Bagpath is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) 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. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England, in the

Ozleworth Ozleworth is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately south of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. History Ozleworth was known as in 940, derived from the Old English words ...

valley south of the village of Kingscote and forming part of Kingscote

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

. The hamlet consists of two separate settlements of Bagpath and Newington Bagpath, although residents of both frequently refer to both as Bagpath. The hamlet falls under the authority of

Cotswold District Council The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames, Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the be ...

and is represented by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP,

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Sir Geoffrey Robert Clifton-Brown (born 23 March 1953)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 538 is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Th ...

. The hamlet is sparsely populated with a population of about 100, and a small number of farms. Almost all of the area is pasture or woodland.

History

A variation in spelling "Neunton & Pagpath" appears in 1418, when William Stoke was the parson of the church. Although the population is now only about 100,

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

records from the 1900s show it was once about 1,000. The parish had its own church and school, but the former school house is now a private home and, although in private ownership, the church is now abandoned. The parish of St Bartholomew was united with the neighbouring parish of

Owlpen Owlpen is a small village and civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England, set in a valley in the Cotswold hills. It is about east of Uley, and east of Dursley. The Owlpen valley is set around the settlement like an amphit ...

from medieval times to the late 19th century. The west tower is Norman work and the nave is medieval, with a chancel added by

Samuel Sanders Teulon Samuel Sanders Teulon (2 March 1812 – 2 May 1873) was an English Gothic Revival architect, noted for his use of polychrome brickwork and the complex planning of his buildings. Family Teulon was born in 1812 in Greenwich, Kent, the son of a ...

in 1858. The church was declared redundant in about 1973. Near the church is the site of a

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

dating to the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

era. The earthworks have an overall diameter of 150 ft. The mound rises to 4 ft above ground level and is surrounded by a ditch 5 ft below which fades out on the scarp side. There were indications of an entrance ramp on the north side. A pit dug into the top displayed rubble and possible vaulting. There is a rectangular building platform immediately to the north of the motte. The Revd Alan Gardner Cornwall of Ashcroft was rector of Bagpath in the early nineteenth century, and published a standard account of life in this rural area at that time. His sons,

Clement Francis Cornwall Clement Francis Cornwall (June 18, 1836 – February 15, 1910) was a Canadian parliamentarian and the third Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Cornwall was born at Ashcroft House, in Newington Bagpath, near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucester ...

and Henry Pennant Cornwall emigrated to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada while it was still a British colony during the gold rush. There they established a ranch and constructed a 'stopping house', Ashcroft Manor, on the Cariboo Gold Trail above the later site of the small town of

Ashcroft, British Columbia Ashcroft ( 2016 population: 1,558) is a village in the Thompson Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is downstream from the west end of Kamloops Lake, at the confluence of the Bonaparte and Thompson Rivers, and is in the Tho ...

, built for travellers in search of gold, giving them a place to stay and stable their horses. Photographs and maps of Bagpath and the surrounding area are held in the town's museum. The nearby

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Sus ...

long distance footpath is based on the route taken by King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

whilst on the run after defeat at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

. In 2003 the local community were united in opposition to a PPG7 planning application for a large country house in the valley, which they argued would spoil the unique countryside in the area. Since then a number of community events have taken place, including what are intended to become annual events: the Bagpath street party and a fireworks display for local residents.

References

{{reflist Cotswold District Hamlets in Gloucestershire