Eastleach is a

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 county 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. It was created in 1935 when the separate parishes of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin were combined as the civil parish of Eastleach. The two villages of the parish—Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin—are separated only by the narrow

River Leach The River Leach is a river tributary to the River Thames, in England which runs mostly in Gloucestershire. It is approximately 18 miles (29 km) long, springing from the limestone uplands of the Cotswolds. In parts of its course it becomes a ...

, which is spanned by the stone road bridge and a stone slab clapper footbridge. Together the villages of Eastleach have over 60 listed houses and farm structures.

Eastleach Martin

On the east bank of the Leach is Eastleach Martin, the smaller of the two villages. Today, the two principal structures are the church of St. Michael & St Martin, and Eastleach House, with a formal garden and extensive grounds open to the public. Eastleach Martin was also known as Bouthrop or Burthrop. Eastleach Swan Stone Footbridge

St. Michael & St. Martin

A Grade I listed structure, St. Michael & St. Martin is of early Norman in origin. Founded by

Richard Fitz Pons Richard Fitz Pons ( 1080 – 1129) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, active as a marcher lord on the border with Wales. He is described as a follower of Bernard de Neufmarché, and probably first builder of Bronllys Castle. He started construction at ...

, it was given to

Great Malvern Priory Great Malvern Priory in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, was a Benedictine monastery (c. 1075 – 1540) and is now an Anglican parish church. In 1949 it was designated a Grade I listed building. It is a dominant building in the Great Malvern ...

in 1120, later passing to

Gloucester Abbey Gloucester Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in the city of Gloucester, England. Since 1541 it has been Gloucester Cathedral. History Early period A Christian place of worship had stood on the abbey site since Anglo-Saxon times. Around 681, with ...

. The present church is mostly 13th century; there are a

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

font and some decorated

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

windows terminating in tiny carved heads, but the interior is relatively plain. Although no longer used for worship, the church is maintained by the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

Eastleach Turville

Eastleach Turville is the larger of the two villages today. The village hall, the parish church of St. Andrew, and the Victoria Inn all lie within Eastleach Turville.

St. Andrew

Also a Grade I listed structure, St. Andrew sits directly across the Leach from St. Michael & St. Martin. Decoratively the more interesting of the two churches, St. Andrew's most prominent feature is the

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...

tympanum over the west door of the church. The interior of the church is also striking because of the spacious and beautiful

Early English Period English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ...

chancel. The

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

is said to have come from

Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of Nor ...

. The 13th- or 14th-century tower of the mostly-

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 ...

church has a simple gable roof known as a saddleback. St. Andrew remains a functioning parish church.Church page on Church of Englan
website
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Notable people

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouces ...

was curate of St. Michael & St. Martin, Eastleach Martin, in the early 19th century, where he founded a Sunday School; the clapper footbridge over the Leach is named after him. The priest and antiquary

Peter Bailey Williams Peter Bayley Williams (August 1763 – 22 November 1836) was a Welsh Anglican priest and amateur antiquarian. It is also claimed that he led the first rock climb recorded in the United Kingdom. Life Williams was the son of Peter Williams, one o ...

also served in Eastleach Martin, early in the 18th century. The journalist, diplomat and intelligence agent,

Jona von Ustinov Jona Freiherr von Ustinov (russian: Иона Платонович Устинов, Iona Platonovich Ustinov; 2 December 18921 December 1962), often known as Klop Ustinov (), was a German journalist and diplomat who worked for MI5 during the ti ...

, father of the actor Sir

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

, died in Eastleach in 1962. His wife, the artist

Nadia Benois Nadezhda Leontievna Ustinova (russian: Надежда Леонтьевна Устинова; 27 April 18968 December 1975), née ''Benois'' (Бенуа), better known as Nadia Benois, was a Russian-born painter of still lifes and landscapes, and ...

also lived in the village. Some of her paintings depict local scenes.

Notes

External links

Village website
{{authority control Civil parishes in Gloucestershire Cotswold District