Cirencester (, ; see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
for more variations) is a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
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, west of London. Cirencester lies on the
River Churn
The River Churn is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises at Seven Springs in Gloucestershire and flows south for approximately to meet the Thames at Cricklade in Wiltshire. Its length from its source to the confluence wi ...
, a tributary of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, and is the largest town in the
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
. It is the home of the
Royal Agricultural University
;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts"
, established = 2013 - University status – College
, type = public university, Public
, president = Charles III, King Charles
, vice_chancellor = P ...
, the oldest
agricultural college
This article lists agricultural universities and colleges around the world, by continent and country.
Africa Algeria
* Higher National Agronomic School (French name: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique)
Benin
* Agricultural University of ...
in the
English-speaking world
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
, founded in 1840. The town had a population of 20,229 in 2021.
The Roman name for the town was
Corinium
Corinium Dobunnorum was the Romano-British settlement at Cirencester in the present-day English county of Gloucestershire. Its 2nd-century walls enclosed the second-largest area of a city in Roman Britain. It was the tribal capital of the Dobun ...
, which is thought to have been associated with the ancient British tribe of the ''
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions.
Various historians and archaeologists have examined ...
'', having the same root word as the River Churn. The earliest known reference to the town was by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
in AD 150. The town's
Corinium Museum
The Corinium Museum, in the Cotswold town of Cirencester in England, has a large collection of objects found in and around the locality. The bulk of the exhibits are from the Roman town of Corinium Dobunnorum, but the museum includes material from ...
has an extensive
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
collection.
Cirencester is
twinned with the town of
Itzehoe
Itzehoe (; nds, Itzhoe) is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24  ...
, in the
Steinburg
Steinburg () is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, administered from Itzehoe. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Dithmarschen, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Segeberg and Pinneberg, and by the Elbe River (and the dist ...
region of Germany.
Local geography
Cirencester lies on the lower
dip slope
A dip slope is a topographic (geomorphic) surface which slopes in the same direction, and often by the same amount, as the true dip or apparent dip of the underlying strata.Jackson, JA, J Mehl and K Neuendorf (2005) ''Glossary of Geology.'' Ame ...
s of the
Cotswold Hills
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
, an outcrop of
oolitic limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. Natural drainage is into the River Churn, which flows roughly north to south through the eastern side of the town and joins the River Thames near
Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227.
History
Cricklade ...
, a little to the south. The Thames itself rises just a few miles west of Cirencester.
The town is split into five main areas: the town centre, the village of
Stratton, the suburb of Chesterton (originally a village outside the town), Watermoor and The Beeches. The village of
Siddington to the south of the town is now almost contiguous with Watermoor. Other suburbs include Bowling Green and New Mills. The area and population of these five electoral wards are identical to that quoted above.
The town serves as a centre for surrounding villages, providing employment, amenities, shops, commerce and education; it is a commuter town for larger centres such as
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, Gloucester,
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
and
Stroud
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021.
Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
.
History
Roman Corinium
Cirencester is known to have been an important early
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
area, along with
St. Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ro ...
and
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
, and the town includes evidence of significant area roadworks. The Romans built a fort where the
Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...
crossed the Churn, to hold two quingenary
alae tasked with helping to defend the provincial frontier around AD 49, and native
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions.
Various historians and archaeologists have examined ...
were drawn from
Bagendon
Bagendon is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about four miles north of Cirencester. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 265,decreasing to 239 at the 2011 census.
St Margaret's Chu ...
, a settlement 3 miles (5 km) to the north, to create a civil settlement near the fort. When the frontier moved to the north after the conquest of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, this fort was closed and its fortifications levelled around the year 70, but the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
persisted and flourished under the name Corinium.
Even in Roman times, there was a thriving
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
trade and industry, which contributed to the growth of Corinium. A large
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
and
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
were built over the site of the fort, and
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence shows signs of further civic growth. There are many Roman remains in the surrounding area, including several
Roman villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
s near the villages of
Chedworth
Chedworth is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, southwest England, in the Cotswolds. It is known as the location of Chedworth Roman Villa, administered since 1924 by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beaut ...
and
Withington
Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...
. When a
wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
was built around the Roman city in the late 2nd century, it enclosed 240 acres (1 km²), making Corinium the second-largest city by area in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. The details of the provinces of Britain following the
Diocletian Reforms
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
around 296 remain unclear, but Corinium is now generally thought to have been the capital of
Britannia Prima
Britannia Prima or Britannia I (Latin for "First Roman Britain, Britain") was one of the Roman province, provinces of the Diocese of Britain, Diocese of "the Roman Britain, Britains" created during the Diocletian Reforms at the end of the 3rd cen ...
. Some historians would date to this period the pillar erected by the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Lucius Septimus to the
god
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, a local sign of the pagan reaction against Christianity during the principate of
Julian the Apostate
Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplato ...
.
Post-Roman and Saxon
The Roman amphitheatre still exists in an area known as the
Querns
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...
to the south-west of the town, but has only been partially
excavated. Investigations in the town show that it was fortified in the 5th or 6th centuries.
Andrew Breeze
Andrew Breeze FRHistS FSA (born 1954), has been professor of philology at the University of Navarra since 1987.
Early life
Breeze was born in 1954 and educated at Sir Roger Manwood's School, the University of Oxford and the University of C ...
argued that
Gildas
Gildas (Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recounts ...
received his later education in Cirencester in the early 6th century, showing that it was still able to provide an education in Latin rhetoric and law at that time. Possibly this was the palace of one of the British kings defeated by
Ceawlin
Ceawlin (also spelled Ceaulin and Caelin, died ''ca.'' 593) was a King of Wessex. He may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic of Wessex, whom the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' represents as the leader of the first grou ...
in 577. It was later the scene of the
Battle of Cirencester
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, this time between the
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
n king
Penda
Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theor ...
and the
West Saxon kings
Cynegils
Cynegils () was King of Wessex from c. 611 to c. 642. Cynegils is traditionally considered to have been King of Wessex, but the familiar kingdoms of the so-called Heptarchy had not yet formed from the patchwork of smaller kingdoms in his life ...
and
Cwichelm Cwichelm is a masculine English given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Cwichelm of Wessex (died 636), Prince of Wessex
* Cwichhelm (bishop)
Cwichhelm or Cwichelm was a medieval Bishop of Rochester.
Cwichhelm was consecrated probabl ...
in 628.
The
minster church
Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire.
The term ''minster'' is first found in royal foundation charte ...
of Cirencester, founded in the 9th or 10th century, was probably a royal foundation. It was made over to Augustinian canons in the 12th century and replaced by the great
abbey church
A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...
.
Norman
At the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
the royal
manor
Manor may refer to:
Land ownership
*Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England
*Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism
*Man ...
of Cirencester was granted to the
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.
Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043)
* Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051)
''earldom forfeit 1051–1052''
Earl ...
,
William Fitz-Osbern
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Normans, Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of ...
, but by 1075 it had reverted to the Crown. The manor was granted to
Cirencester Abbey
Cirencester Abbey or St Mary's Abbey, Cirencester in Gloucestershire was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1117 on the site of an earlier church, the oldest-known Saxon church in England, which had itself been built on the site of a Roman stru ...
, founded by
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
in 1117, and following half a century of building work during which the minster church was demolished, the great abbey church was finally dedicated in 1176. The manor was granted to the Abbey in 1189, although a
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
dated 1133 speaks of
burgesses in the town. The abbots obtained charters in 1215 and 1253 for fairs during the octaves of All Saints and St Thomas the Martyr, and the significant wool trade gave these great importance.
The struggle of the townsmen to gain the rights and privileges of a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
for Cirencester probably began with the grant of 1189, when they were
amerced for a false presentment, meaning that they had presented false information. Four inquisitions during the 13th century supported the abbot's claims, yet the townspeople remained unwavering in their quest for borough status: in 1342, they lodged a Bill of complaint in
Chancery.
Twenty townspeople were ordered to
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, where they declared under oath that successive abbots had bought up many
burgage
Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century.
A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...
tenements, and made the borough into an appendage of the manor, depriving it of its separate court. They claimed that the royal charter that conferred on the men of Cirencester the liberties of Winchester had been destroyed 50 years earlier, when the abbot had bribed the burgess who held the charter to give it to him, whereupon the abbot had had it burned. In reply, the abbot refuted these claims, and the case passed on to the
King's Bench
The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions.
* Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...
. When ordered to produce the foundation charter of his abbey the abbot refused, apparently because that document would be fatal to his case, and instead played a winning card. In return for a
fine
Fine may refer to:
Characters
* Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny''
* Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano
Legal terms
* Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...
of £300, he obtained a new royal charter confirming his privileges and a writ of ''supersedeas''.
Yet the townspeople continued in their fight: in return for their aid to the Crown against the earls of Kent and Salisbury,
Henry IV in 1403 gave the townsmen a
Merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
's
Guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
, although two inquisitions reiterated the abbot's rights. The struggle between the abbot and the townspeople continued, with the abbot's privileges confirmed in 1408‑1409 and 1413, and in 1418 the abbot finally removed this thorn in his side when the guild merchant was annulled, and in 1477 parliament declared that Cirencester was not corporate. After several unsuccessful attempts to re-establish the guild merchant, in 1592 the government of the town was vested in the
bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
of the
Lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
.
Tudor
As part of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539,
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
ordered the total demolition of the Abbey buildings. Today only 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 ...
Arch and parts of the precinct wall remain above ground, forming the perimeter of a public park in the middle of town. Despite this, the freedom of a borough continued to elude the townspeople, and they only saw the old lord of the manor replaced by a new lord of the manor as the king acquired the abbey's title. Cirencester became a
parliamentary borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
in 1572, returning two members, although this was deprived of representation in 1885.
Sheep rearing,
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
sales,
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
and
woollen
Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...
broadcloth
Broadcloth is a dense, plain woven cloth, historically made of wool. The defining characteristic of broadcloth is not its finished width but the fact that it was woven much wider (typically 50 to 75% wider than its finished width) and then hea ...
and cloth-making were the main strengths of England's trade in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, and not only the abbey but many of Cirencester's merchants and clothiers gained wealth and prosperity from the national and international trade. The tombs of these merchants can be seen in the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
, while their fine houses of
Cotswold stone
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
still stand in and around Coxwell Street and Dollar Street. Their wealth funded the rebuilding of the nave of the parish church in 1515–30, to create the large parish church, often referred to as the "Cathedral of the Cotswolds". Other
wool church
A wool church is an English church financed primarily by donations from rich merchants and farmers who had benefitted from the medieval wool trade, hoping to ensure a place in heaven due to their largesse.
Wool churches are common in the Cotswold ...
es can be seen in neighbouring
Northleach
Northleach is a market town and former civil parish, now in parish Northleach with Eastington, in the Cotswold district, in Gloucestershire, England. The town is in the valley of the River Leach in the Cotswolds, about northeast of Cirencester ...
and
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...
.
Civil War
The
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
came to Cirencester in February 1643 when
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
and
Parliamentarians came to blows in the streets. Over 300 were killed, and 1,200 prisoners were held captive in the church. The townsfolk supported the Parliamentarians but
gentry
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest ...
and clergy were for the old order, so that when
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
was executed in 1649 the minister, Alexander Gregory, wrote on behalf of the gentry in the parish register, "O England what did'st thou do, the 30th of this month".
At the end of the English Civil War, King
Charles II spent the night of 11 September 1651 in Cirencester, during
his escape after 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 ...
on his way to France.
Recent history
At the end of the 18th century, Cirencester was a thriving
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
, at the centre of a network of
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
roads with easy access to markets for its produce of grain and wool. A local
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
provided education for those who could afford it, and businesses thrived in the town, which was the major urban centre for the surrounding area.
![Castle Street Cirencester 30th Aug 2001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Castle_Street_Cirencester_30th_Aug_2001.jpg)
In 1789, the opening of the
Cirencester Branch of the
Thames and Severn Canal
The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south-west of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a cargo route from Bristol and the Midlands to London, linking England's two largest rivers for bett ...
provided access to markets further afield, by way of a link through the River Thames. In 1841, a branch railway line was opened to
Kemble to provide a link to the Great Western Railway at
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
. The
Midland and South Western Junction Railway
The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...
opened a station at
Watermoor in 1883. Cirencester thus was served by two railway lines until the 1960s.
The loss of the canal and the direct rail link encouraged dependency on road transport. An inner ring road system was completed in 1975 in an attempt to reduce congestion in the town centre, which has since been augmented by an outer bypass with the expansion of the A417 road. Coaches depart from London Road for
Victoria Bus Station
Victoria bus station is a bus station outside London Victoria station. It is managed only by Transport for London. In 1970, work commenced on a substantial roof canopy. This was demolished in April 2003 as part of the station's refurbishment.
...
in central London and
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
, taking advantage of the
M4 Motorway
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...
. Kemble Station to the west of the town, distinguished by a sheltered garden, is served by fast trains from
Paddington station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
via
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
.
In 1894, the passing of the
Local Government Act
Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government.
The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...
brought at last into existence Cirencester's first independent elected body, the Urban District Council. The reorganisation of the local governments in 1974 replaced the Urban District Council with the present two-tier system 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 Cirencester
Town Council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
. A concerted effort to reduce overhead wiring and roadside clutter has given the town some picturesque street scenes. Many shops cater to tourists and many house family businesses.
Under the patronage of the Bathurst family, the Cirencester area, notably
Sapperton, became a major centre for the
Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswolds, when the furniture designer and architect-craftsman
Ernest Gimson
Ernest William Gimson (; 21 December 1864 – 12 August 1919) was an English furniture designer and architect. Gimson was described by the art critic Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest of the English architect-designers". Today his reputatio ...
opened workshops in the early 20th century, and
Norman Jewson
Norman Jewson (12 February 1884 – 28 August 1975) was an English architect-craftsman of the Arts and Crafts movement, who practised in the Cotswolds. He was a distinguished, younger member of the group which had settled in Sapperton, Glouces ...
, his foremost student, practised in the town.
Archaeology
A 3,500 year old
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
was found in 2022 during landscaping at a
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshir ...
sewage works. Archaeologists also uncovered prehistoric pottery fragments, flint tools, and animal bones from the Bronze Age,
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, and
Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
.
Name
The name stem ''Corin'' is cognate with ''Churn'' (the modern name of the river on which the town is built) and with the stem ''Cerne'' in the nearby villages of North Cerney,
South Cerney
South Cerney is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, 3 miles south of Cirencester and close to the border with Wiltshire. It had a population of 3,074 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 3,464 at the ...
, and Cerney Wick; also on the River Churn. The modern name ''Cirencester'' is derived from the cognate root ''Ciren'' and the standard ''-cester'' ending indicating a Roman fortress or encampment. It seems certain that this name root goes back to
pre-Roman times and is similar to the original
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
name for the river, and perhaps the settlement. An early
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
ecclesiastical list from
St David's
St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wa ...
gives another form of the name ''Caerceri'' where ''Caer'' is the Welsh for fortress and ''Ceri'' is cognate with the other forms of the name.
Pronunciation
In ninth-century
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
the city was known as ''Cair Ceri'' (literally "Fort Ceri"), translated ''Cirrenceaster'', ''Cirneceaster'', or ''Cyrneceaster'' (
dative
In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
''Cirrenceastre'', ''Cirneceastre'', ''Cyrneceastre'') in the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
of the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
s, where ''ceaster'' means "fort" or "fortress". The Old English ''c'' was pronounced . The
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
mispronounced the sound as , resulting in the modern name ''Cirencester'' (). The form , spelled ''Cirencester'' or ''Ciceter'', was once used locally. This pronunciation is humorously highlighted in a 1928
limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
from ''
Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
'':
This limerick is explained as follows:
There was a young lady of /ˈsɪsɪtə/
Whose fiancé went down to /ˈvɪz·ɪtə/
By the Great Western line,
Which he swore was divine,
And he couldn't have been much /ɪkˈsplɪs.ɪtə/.
There was a young lady of Cirencester
Whose fiancé went down to visiter (= visit 'er, visit her)
By the Great Western line,
Which he swore was divine,
And he couldn't have been much expliciter. (= more explicit)
"
Sometimes the form ''Cicester'' () was heard instead. These forms are now very rarely used, while many local people abbreviate the name to ''Ciren'' ().
Today it is usually (as it is spelt) or , although occasionally it is , or .
Sites of interest
![Cirencester StJohnBaptistChurch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Cirencester_StJohnBaptistChurch.jpg)
The
Church of St. John the Baptist is renowned for its
Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...
porch,
fan vault
A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with Eng ...
s and merchants' tombs.
The town also has a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church dedicated to
St Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
; the foundation stone was laid on 20 June 1895.
Coxwell Street to the north of Market Square was the original home of the
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
Church that was founded in 1651, making it one of the oldest Baptist churches in England; the church moved in January 2017 to a new building on Chesterton Lane. The town's
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
hall in Thomas Street occupies the former Temperance Hall built by the Quaker Christopher Bowly in 1846, and is the oldest such hall in the West of England. The Salvation Army first met in Cirencester in 1881.
To the west of the town is
Cirencester Park, the seat of
Earl Bathurst
Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain.
The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family ma ...
and the site of one of the finest
landscape garden
The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
s in England, laid out by
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst, (16 November 168416 September 1775), of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, known as The Lord Bathurst from 1712 to 1772, was a British Tory politician. Bathurst sat in the English and British House of Commons f ...
after 1714. He inherited the estate from his father,
Sir Benjamin Bathurst, a Tory Member of Parliament and statesman who made his wealth from his involvement in the slave trade through the
Royal Africa Company
The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the west coast of Africa. It was led by the Duke of York, who was the brother o ...
and the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
.
Abbey House was a
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
built on the site of the former Cirencester Abbey following its dissolution and demolition at the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in the 1530s. The site was granted in 1564 to Richard Master, physician to
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
. The house was rebuilt and altered at several dates by the Master family, who still own the agricultural estate. By 1897 the house was let, and it remained in the occupation of tenants until shortly after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was demolished in 1964.
On Cotswold Avenue is the site of a Roman
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
which, while buried, retains its shape in the earthen topography of the small park setting. Cirencester was one of the most substantial cities of Roman-era Britain.
Local politics
![Grade II listed number 15, Gosditch Street, Cirencester (geograph 4840858)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Grade_II_listed_number_15%2C_Gosditch_Street%2C_Cirencester_%28geograph_4840858%29.jpg)
Before 1974 the town was administered by Cirencester Urban District Council, which was initially based in the upper floors of the south porch of the Church of St. John the Baptist. The council moved to offices in Castle Street in 1897 and to offices in Gosditch Street in 1932. In the 1974 reorganisation of local government, the urban district council was replaced by the new
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
Cirencester Town Council
Cirencester Town Council is a parish council in Gloucestershire formed in 1974, that serves an estimated 20,000 people. The town is divided into eight wards each electing two Councillors. The Councillors elect a Mayor each year who is also the Cha ...
was created as the first tier of local government.
The
Liberal Democrats are now the dominant political party in Cirencester, winning all
eight Cirencester seats available on Cotswold District Council in May 2019; the party has an overall majority there. The Liberal Democrats also took 13 of the 16 seats on the town council at the 2019 local elections; rather than forming a political group, all councillors agreed to work apolitically. The Liberal Democrats have also held the two
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 ...
seats since the 2013 elections.
Liberal Democrat candidate Joe Harris, aged 18, was elected to the district council for Cirencester Park Ward in May 2011, and became the youngest councillor in the country. Harris was also elected to the county council in the 2013 elections, winning the Cirencester Park Division.
Transport
Roads
Cirencester is the hub of a road network with routes to
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 ...
(
A417
The A417 is a main road in England running from Streatley, Berkshire to Hope under Dinmore, Herefordshire. It is best known for its section between Cirencester and Gloucester where it has primary status and forms part of the link between the m ...
),
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
(
A417/A435),
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
(
A429
A4 most often refers to:
*A4 paper, a paper size defined by the ISO 216 standard, measuring 210 × 297 mm
A4 and variants may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* British NVC community A4 (''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae - Stratiotes aloide ...
),
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(
A40 via the
B4425 road
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme
The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Gr ...
),
Wantage
Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...
(A417),
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
(
A419
The A419 road is a primary route between Chiseldon near Swindon at junction 15 of the M4 with the A346 road, and Whitminster in Gloucestershire, England near the M5 motorway. The A419 is managed and maintained by a private company, Road Manag ...
),
Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...
(A429),
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
(
A433
The A433 road is an A road and primary route in Gloucestershire, England.
Route
It starts at a junction with the A46 at Dunkirk north of junction 18 of the M4 and northeast of Chipping Sodbury. It runs northeast for to a junction wit ...
) and
Stroud
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021.
Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
(A419); only Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and Swindon have bus connections. Cirencester is connected to the
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
at junction 11A and to the
M4 motorway
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...
at junctions 15, 17 and 18.
Cirencester has a town bus service,
route 58
The following highways are numbered 58:
International
* European route E58
Australia
* Riverina Highway
Canada
* Alberta Highway 58
* Highway 58 (Ontario)
* Saskatchewan Highway 58
Finland
* Finnish national road 58
India
* National Highway ...
.
Railway
Since the
Cirencester Watermoor railway station
Cirencester Watermoor railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) at Cirencester in Gloucestershire. The station opened on 18 December 1883, as the terminus of the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway line ...
was closed to passengers in 1961 and the
Kemble to Cirencester branch line to station was closed to passengers in 1964, the town has been without its own station. The nearest station is now at
Kemble, away. It is served by regular
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 ...
trains between and , with some direct trains to
London Paddington station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
, except on Sundays. In November 2020, Kemble to Cirencester was one of 15 grant awards in the second round of the Department for Transport ''Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund''.
Air
The nearest airports are
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
London Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. A
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport,
Cotswold Airport
Cotswold Airport (formerly Kemble Airfield) is a private general aviation airport, near the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire, England. Located southwest of Cirencester, it was built as a Royal Air Force (RAF) stat ...
, is nearby at Kemble.
Education
The town and the surrounding area have several
primary schools
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
and two
secondary schools
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
,
Cirencester Deer Park School
Cirencester Deer Park School is a secondary school with academy status in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. It is situated at the top of Tetbury Hill, an area which had been the site of a World War II American Army Hospital, in Cirenceste ...
on Stroud Road and
Cirencester Kingshill School
Cirencester Kingshill School is an academy school located on the south east side of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in England. Opened in 1976 by the Princess Royal, it is one of two secondary schools serving Cirencester and the surrounding area. ...
on Kingshill Lane. It also has an independent school,
Rendcomb College
Rendcomb College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18), located in the village of Rendcomb five miles north of Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England.
Rendcomb College was founded in 1920 ...
, catering for 3 to 18-year-olds. The town used to have a 500-year-old
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
, which in 1966 joined with the
secondary modern
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...
to form
Cirencester Deer Park School
Cirencester Deer Park School is a secondary school with academy status in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. It is situated at the top of Tetbury Hill, an area which had been the site of a World War II American Army Hospital, in Cirenceste ...
. In 1991,
Cirencester College
Cirencester College is a sixth form college based in the town of Cirencester in the South Cotswolds. It is a specialist sixth form provider serving communities in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. Cirencester Col ...
was created, taking over the joint sixth form of Cirencester Deer Park and Cirencester Kingshill schools and the Cirencester site of
Stroud College; it is adjacent to Deer Park School on Stroud Road.
Until 1994 the town had a private preparatory school, Oakley Hall. Run in its later years by the Letts family, it closed in 1994 shortly after the retirement of R F B Letts who had led the school since 1962. The grounds of the school are now occupied by housing.
The
Royal Agricultural University
;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts"
, established = 2013 - University status – College
, type = public university, Public
, president = Charles III, King Charles
, vice_chancellor = P ...
campus is between the Stroud and Tetbury Roads.
Culture
The Sundial Theatre, part of
Cirencester College
Cirencester College is a sixth form college based in the town of Cirencester in the South Cotswolds. It is a specialist sixth form provider serving communities in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. Cirencester Col ...
the Bingham Hall and the
Barn Theatre
The Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, Kalamazoo County, United States is one of the oldest summer stock theatres in the United States and the oldest one in Michigan. It also houses The Barn Theatre School.
The barn theatre is just off the Sta ...
host drama and musical events by community groups and professional companies.
Cirencester Operatic Society, Cirencester Philharmonia Orchestra, Cirencester Band, Cirencester Male Voice Choir and Cirencester Creative Dance Academy are also based in the town.
Sport
Cirencester Town F.C.
Cirencester Town Football Club is a football club based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA, the club are currently members of the and play at the Corinium Stadium.
History
The club was estab ...
play in the
Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
. The team, known as ''The Centurions'', moved in 2002 from their former ground at Smithsfield on Tetbury Road to the purpose-built Corinium Stadium. The club is designated by The Football Association as a Community Club. As well as the main pitch, there are six additional football pitches, mainly used by the junior football teams. The club has also developed a full-size indoor training area, known as ''The Arena'', which is used for training, for social events and for five-a-side leagues throughout the year.
Cirencester has two athletics clubs: ''Cirencester Athletics & Triathlon Club'' and ''Running Somewhere Else''.
Cirencester Ladies
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
Club has three squads: the A team play in the 1st division of the Gloucestershire League, the B team in the 3rd division and the C team in the 5th division.
The
Rugby Club
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
are based at the Whiteway; they have four main teams, a colts, a Youth and Mini sections.
Cirencester Park Polo Club
The Cirencester Park Polo Club is a polo club in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England, situated on the ground of Ivy Lodge within the estate of Earl Bathurst's country house Cirencester Park.
Overview
It was inaugurated in the summer of 1894 b ...
, founded in 1896, is the oldest
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
club in the UK. Its main grounds are located in
Earl Bathurst
Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain.
The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family ma ...
's
Cirencester Park. It is frequently used by
The Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...
and his sons
The Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...
and
Duke of Sussex
Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...
.
Notable people
*
Pam Ayres, poet, actor, broadcaster
*
Elizabeth Brown, astronomer
*
Willie Carson
William Fisher Hunter Carson, OBE (born 16 November 1942) is a retired jockey in thoroughbred horse racing.
Life and career
Best known as "Willie", Carson was born in Stirling, Scotland in 1942. He was apprenticed ...
, retired jockey, television commentator
*
Rev. Dr. John Clinch, clergyman-physician, the first man to practice vaccination in North America
*
Charlie Cooper, actor, writer
*
Daisy May Cooper
Daisy May Cooper (born 1 August 1986) is an English actress and writer. She won the 2018 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for playing Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series ''This Country'', which she co-created and co-wrote wi ...
, actor, writer
*
, the 'Last PreRaphaelite Artist'
*
Jacquie de Creed
Jacqueline Balmer (1957 – 17 June 2011), known professionally as Jacquie de Creed, was an English stuntwoman and presenter, and holder of the Long Distance Car Ramp Jump Record. During the 1980s she became famous in the United Kingdom for stag ...
, stuntwoman
*
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
, composer, director of music at Cirencester Grammar School from 1959 to 1962
*
Dom Joly
Dominic John Romulus Joly (; born 15 November 1967) is an English comedian and writer. He is best known as the star of ''Trigger Happy TV'' (2000–2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide.
Early life
...
, comedian, journalist, broadcaster
*
Autumn Kelly
Autumn Patricia Phillips (née Kelly; born May 3, 1978) is the Canadian-born former wife of Peter Phillips, who is the son of Anne, Princess Royal and the eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. After grad ...
(formerly Phillips), former wife of minor royal
Peter Phillips
Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (born 15 November 1977) is a British businessman and the son of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips. He is the eldest nephew of King Charles III, and 17th in the line of succession to the British throne.
...
*
William Sinclair Marris
Sir William Sinclair Marris (9 October 1873 – 12 December 1945) was a British civil servant, colonial administrator, and classical scholar. He was a member of the Indian Civil Service during the British Raj, and later became Vice-Chancellor o ...
, civil servant, colonial administrator, classical scholar
*
Mike Patto
Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas McCarthy, 22 September 1942 – 4 March 1979) was an English musician, who was primarily notable as lead singer for Spooky Tooth, Patto and Boxer.
Life and career
Patto was born in Cirencester, England, and fir ...
, musician
*
Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, ...
, drummer
*
Lewis Charles Powles
Lewis Charles Powles (29 January 1860 – 6 July 1942) was a British Artist. Powles was born in Cirencester, England, in January 1860, one of six children. (Document) His father was Rev. Henry C. Powles. He married Isabel Grace Wingfield on 21 Jan ...
, artist
*
Theophila Townsend
Theophila Townsend (16561692) was a Quaker writer, preacher, and activist from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England.
Background
Townsend lived at a time of upheaval in Britain—which, during her lifetime or shortly before she was born, saw t ...
, Quaker writer and activist
*
John Woolrich
John Woolrich ( ; born 1954 in Cirencester) is an English composer.
Biography
Woolrich has founded a group (the Composers Ensemble), a festival (Hoxton New Music Days), and has been composer in association with the Orchestra of St John's and th ...
, composer
References
Bibliography
*
H. P. R. Finberg
Herbert Patrick Reginald Finberg (1900–1974) was an English historian, typographer and publisher. After working at several publishing companies and founding his own (Alcuin Press), he joined the faculty of Leicester University in 1952. He became ...
. "The Origin of Gloucestershire Towns" in ''Gloucestershire Studies'', edited by H.P.R. Finberg. Leicester: University Press, 1957
External links
Cirencester GuideTown CouncilDetailed historical record about Cirencester Roman Amphitheatre*
BBC archive film of Cirencester from 1979
{{Authority control
Towns in Gloucestershire
Cotswolds
Cotswold District