Birdlip is a village in
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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, in the
Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...
south of
Cheltenham and south east of
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
.
History
Some fine pre-Roman bronze art, including the famous Birdlip Mirror, from around AD 50, was found at Barrow Wake near Birdlip.
The village was once on the main road between Gloucester and
Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, now the
A417. The building of a bypass, which opened in December 1988, moved the main route away from the village.
Black Horse Ridge is a 17th-century building that until 1900 was a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
.
[Verey, 1970, page 112] A lodge adjacent to Black Horse Ridge was designed by
Richard Pace and built in 1822.
[ Birdlip's remaining pub is The Royal George Hotel, which was built in the 19th century.][
Birdlip House is a ]Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
house built late in the 18th century.[
The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary burned down in 1897, and was replaced in 1957 by a new church designed by the architect Harold Stratton-Davis. It was a small tin church with green painting. ][
On 31 December 2022, the 200-year old Air Balloon pub closed for the final time before demolition for upgrade work on the A417 road.
]
Amenities
Birdlip has a community primary school.
Birdlip is on the Cotswold Way
The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath, running along the Cotswold Edge escarpment of the Cotswold Hills in England. It was officially inaugurated as a National Trail on 24 May 2007 and several new rights of way have been created.
His ...
, a National Trail
National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wal ...
running along the edge of The Cotswolds AONB. The view from Barrow Wake viewpoint in the village takes in much of the Vale of Gloucester.
Located next to the primary school is Birdlip and Brimpsfield Cricket Club (BBCC). The club has three senior teams, playing on Wednesdays and Saturdays. BBCC is famous for once fielding a team made entirely of members of the Partridge family.
Birdlip had an infamous " Dogging Area" at the Barrow Wake viewpoint.
Sources
*
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Gloucestershire
Cotswold District