Blaisdon is a village and
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 ...
in the
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
of
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, about ten miles west 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 ...
. Its population in 2005 was estimated by
Gloucestershire County Council
Gloucestershire County Council is a county council which administers the most strategic local government services in the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in the South West of England.
The council's principal functions are county road ...
to be 249. An estimate in 2012 placed the population at 420. The local church is dedicated to St Michael.
John Dowding of Tanhouse Farm, Blaisdon developed the popular jam-making
plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
"Blaisdon Red" in the late 19th century.
The Blaisdon Stud Farm was the home of the world's largest
shire horse
The Shire is a British breed of draught horse. It is usually black, bay, or grey. It is a tall breed, and Shires have at various times held world records both for the largest horse and for the tallest horse. The Shire has a great capacity for ...
, "
Blaisdon Conqueror
Blaisdon is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of Gloucestershire, England, about ten miles west of Gloucester. Its population in 2005 was estimated by Gloucestershire County Council to be 249. An estimate in 2012 placed the populat ...
". His bones are in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
Blaisdon Hall
Blaisdon Hall () is a Grade II* listed building at Blaisdon. It includes a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1995. sits on a hill overlooking the village. It was built in 1874. It was used as a seminary and school by the
Salesians of Don Bosco from 1935 to 1995. It was an agricultural college (
Hartpury
Hartpury is a civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It has an area of about , about 270 homes and a population of about 700 people, increasing to 1,642 at the 2011 census. The village is about north of Gloucester. Geographically the parish ...
) from 1995 to 1999. It has since become a private residence.
Railways
Blaisdon Halt was located on the section of line between
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...
and
Grange Court
Grange Court is a former market hall in Leominster, Herefordshire, England. It was built in 1633 by John Abel, and moved to its present location in 1859. It was then used as a private house until the 1930s, and is now once again a civic building ...
on the
Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway
The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway (also known as the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway), was a railway which ran for linking Hereford and Gloucester, England, via Ross-on-Wye. It was opened on 1 June 1855 as a broad gauge line, it ...
.
It was opened on 1 June 1855 as a
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
line, it was amalgamated with the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
in 1862. In 1869 the railway was
converted
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
.
The railway was closed to passengers on 2 November 1964, freight services between
Ross-on-Wye railway station
Ross-on-Wye railway station is a former junction railway station on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway constructed just to the north of the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye. It was the terminus of the Ross and Monmouth Railway which j ...
and
Grange Court railway station
Grange Court railway station was a junction station on the South Wales Railway in Gloucestershire (on the present day Gloucester to Newport Line) where it met the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway.
History
Opened on 1 June 1855 by the Here ...
continued on until 1 November 1965.
[
]
References
External links
Blaisdon
Forest Web
Villages in Gloucestershire
Civil parishes in Gloucestershire
Forest of Dean
{{Gloucestershire-geo-stub