Fairford is a town 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 ...
. The town lies in the
Cotswold
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 Juras ...
hills on the
River Coln
The River Coln is a river in Gloucestershire, England. It rises to the north of Brockhampton, a village to the east of Cheltenham, and flows in a south/south-easterly direction through the Cotswold Hills via Andoversford, Withington, Fosseb ...
, east of
Cirencester, west of
Lechlade and north of
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 ...
. Nearby are
RAF Fairford and the
Cotswold Water Park.
History
Evidence of settlement in Fairford dates back to the 9th century and it received a royal market grant in the 12th century.
In the Domesday book, Fairford was listed as ''Fareforde''. In 1066 there were three mills one of which was used in the
wool trade
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 ...
in the 13th century. The mill that survives today was built in the 17th century.
Governance
Fairford has a Parish Council with 13 members. The mayor is James Nicholls.
After a boundary review implemented for the 2015 local elections, Fairford was split into two District Council
electoral wards
The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...
called Fairford North Ward (single member) and Lechlade,
Kempsford
Kempsford is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, about south of Fairford. RAF Fairford is immediately north of the village. The parish, which includes the hamlets of Whelford, Horcott, and Dunfield, had a population around 1, ...
and Fairford South Ward (two member). On Cotswold District Council Fairford North Ward is represented by Liberal Democrat Andrew Doherty and Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South Ward is represented by Conservative Councillors Stephen Andrews and Sue Coakley.
The town is represented on Gloucestershire County Council by Conservative Councillor Ray Theodoulou who represents the Fairford and Lechlade on Thames Division.
Fairford North Ward
Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South Ward
Fairford and Lechlade on Thames Division
The ward population at the
2011 census was 4,031.
Churches
St Mary's Church
The
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of
Saint Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
is renowned for its complete set of
medieval
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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
, stone carvings and
misericords. Rebuilt in the early 1490s by the wool merchant
John Tame
John Tame (c. 1430 - 8 May 1500) of Cirencester and of Beauchamp Court (or "Warwick Court") in the parish of Fairford, both in Gloucestershire, England, was a wealthy wool producer and merchant who re-built the surviving St. Mary's Church, Fairf ...
(d.1500), the church is an example of late
Perpendicular Gothic architecture
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-ce ...
that is characterised by slim stone window mullions and light but strong
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
es. The style enabled larger windows than previously, allowing much more light into the building. Grade 1 listed by English Heritage, its structure and details remains unaltered since built.
Stained glass, St Mary's Church
St. Mary's is of national historical and architectural importance because it houses the most complete set of mediaeval
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows in the country, attributed to
Barnard Flower. The glass survived 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 ...
when many images in English churches were destroyed. In 1642, during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, they narrowly avoided destruction when the
Roundhead
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
army was marching on the nearby town of
Cirencester.
Some of the panes were damaged during a storm in November 1703 and those were repaired and modified or replaced. A conservation and restoration programme began in 1988 and finished in 2010. Clear glass now protects the old glass.
Churchyard, St Mary's Church
The churchyard includes a stone memorial to Tiddles, the church cat who fell off the church roof. There is also a stone grotesque to commemorate a young boy who climbed up the walls of the church and jumped, falling to his death. The churchyard contains eight
Commonwealth war graves
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...
; three British Army soldiers, a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
seaman and a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
airman of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and two British soldiers and a
Home Guardsman of
World War II
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 ...
.
File:October plenty.jpg, Parish church of St. Mary (consecrated 1497)
File:Founder'sTombFairford.jpg, alt=The tomb, in St. Mary's Church, of wool merchant John Tame (d.1500) who rebuilt the church and his wife Alice Twynyho (d. 1471), The tomb, in St. Mary's Church, of John Tame and his wife Alice Twynyho.
File:EdmundOneTameBrassFairford.jpg, alt=Monumental brass for Edward I Tame (d. 1534), son and heir of John Tame, in the north wall of the Lady chapel. Kneeling opposite are his first wife Agnes Greville and second wife Elizabeth Tyringham, kneeling behind is his son Edmund II Tame, Monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...
for Edward I Tame in the north wall of the Lady chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...
.
File:LygonDenysTombFairford.jpg, alt=Tomb with effigies of Katherine Denys (d. 1584) and her third husband Roger Lygon of Madresfield, Hereford. Katherine was daughter of Sir William Denys (d. 1535) of Dyrham, Gloucestershire and widow and heiress of Sir Edmund II Tame., Tomb with effigies of Katherine Denys and her third husband Roger Lygon of Madresfield
Madresfield is a village and civil parish in the administrative district of Malvern Hills in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located about two miles east of Malvern town centre at the foot of the Malvern Hills and is less than two m ...
.
St Thomas' of Canterbury
Fairford has a 19th-century
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church of
St Thomas of Canterbury
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
. Following the closure of the
recusant chapel at
Hatherop
Hatherop is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. The River Coln forms part of the western boundary of the parish.
History
Barrow Elm, which is ab ...
Castle in 1844, a church was built at Horcott (Fairford) the following year at a cost of £700. The first Mass was celebrated in 1845, five years before the Restoration of the Hierarchy in England and before the creation of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton. The stained glass window behind the altar depicts
St. Thomas of Canterbury in the centre panel, showing the date 1845. The adjoining
Presbytery was built 20 years later to designs by
Benjamin Bucknall
Benjamin Bucknall (1833 – 16 November 1895) was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in South West England and South Wales, and then of neo-Moorish architecture in Algeria. His most noted works include the uncompleted Woodchester Mansi ...
, the architect of
Woodchester Mansion
Woodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house in Nympsfield, Gloucestershire, England. It is on the site of an earlier house known as Spring Park. The mansion is a Grade I listed building.
The mansion was abandoned by its b ...
. The church contains an organ by Hill and stained glass by
William Wailes
William Wailes (1808–1881) was the proprietor of one of England's largest and most prolific stained glass workshops.
Life and career
Wailes was born and grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, England's centre of domestic glass and bottle manufacturing. ...
,
Hardman Hardman may refer to:
*Hardman (surname)
Places United States
*Hardman, Oregon, an unincorporated community
*Hardman, Gilmer County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
See also
* Hardman & Co., a stained glass maker
* Hardman Peck, a pia ...
and Geoffrey Robinson. The two windows in the porch were added to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Mass. The left window depicts the crest of the
de Mauley family; that on the right depicts the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
.
Fairford United Church
In 1981 a group of local Methodists approached the local Congregational Church to use the chapel for their services as there was no Methodist Church in Fairford. They were officially united into one congregation in 1986 and the present church follows the traditions of both the Methodist Church and the Congregational Federation.
The churches in and around Fairford are represented by the organisation Churches Together Around Fairford (CTAF) which has meetings and organises services of unity.
Education
The town's secondary school is
Farmor's School
Farmor's School is a secondary school with academy status in Fairford, Gloucestershire. Including the Sixth Form, the school currently has about 1,000 students on roll.
After receiving an inspection from Ofsted in 2017, the school was given ...
, an 11-18 co-educational academy. The school was judged to be of outstanding standard, having achieved Grade 1 in its
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
inspection in 2010. After becoming an academy it achieved lower grades from the board over the years: "Good", "Requires Improvement" and "Good" again in 2013, 2017 and 2021 respectively.
There is also a primary school (Fairford Primary), and a playgroup. Coln House School was a 9-16, residential/day, state special school. After being put into special measures following a 2016 Ofsted report, the school closed in March 2017. Built in 1822 by Alexander Ilse as a private asylum called The Retreat, it became a school in 1949.
Transport
Fairford was formerly linked to
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 ...
by the
Witney Railway and its extension the
East Gloucestershire Railway
The Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway was a single track railway branch line, long, in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. It was opened in succession by two companies, the first in 1861 to connect the important woollen town of Witney to the ma ...
. There have been reports that part of the old track could be cleared of accumulated mountains of detritus and overgrown trees to be re-opened as a cycle path. There is a bus service to Cirencester and Lechlade, from where travellers can transfer to another bus and travel onwards to Swindon.
Events
Air Tattoo
For three days every year
RAF Fairford hosts the world's largest military air show – the
Royal International Air Tattoo. The event brings a boost to the economy of the town and surrounding areas.
Demonstrations
In March 2003 'Flowers to Fairford' was held as a protest against the use of USAF Fairford as the base for the 14
B-52 bombers
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
aircraft which were used to bomb
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. Several thousand people attended and there was a large police presence, but the event passed off peacefully. Other people intending to protest experienced an incident, with the police's actions resulting in a court case. The Fairford Coach Action group stated that:
"On 22 March 2003, the police used surprisingly extreme tactics to prevent more than 120 activists from reaching helegally sanctioned anti-war demonstration in Fairford, (Gloucestershire, UK). The demonstration outside a US Airforce Base in Fairford was well attended with estimates of up to 5,000 activists attending. Among the scheduled speakers on the day were writer George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books.
Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...
and Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elected ...
(MEP). The people who police prevented from attending were a diverse group with a broad range of affiliations. The main thing that they had in common was the desire to travel from London by coach and the intention of joining the legal protest in Fairford. Two of the four main scheduled speakers for the Fairford demonstration were travelling on these coaches from London. After the coaches had travelled two and a half hours from London, the coaches were stopped by police just miles from the demonstration. Using section 60 powers (of the Public Order and Criminal Justice Act 1994) police searched the coaches for weapons for one and a half hours. The passengers cooperated with this search, and they were invited to reboard the coaches when the search concluded. No arrests were made and no items found. After all the passengers boarded, the coaches were escorted immediately back to London under a continuous 9–12 vehicle police escort."
Flooding
In July 2007 Fairford suffered
unseasonably high rainfall which led to major flooding of 64 homes on Milton Street and London Street as well as in some other surrounding areas. This meant that many of the annual events had to be cancelled.
Steam Rally
The
Ernest Cook Trust has its headquarters in
Fairford Park
Fairford Park is a estate in the southern Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, close to the small town of Fairford. Purchased by Ernest Cook from the Barker family in 1945, the former stables and coach house of Fairford Park House are used as ...
, which used to host the annual Fairford Steam Rally and Show. The Show closed in 2015 after running for 46 years.
Sport and leisure
Fairford has a
non-league football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
team
Fairford Town F.C.
Fairford Town Football Club is a football club based in Fairford, Gloucestershire, England. Affiliated to the Gloucestershire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Cinder Lane.
History
The club was establ ...
who play and train at Cinder Lane. Fairford have their own rugby team FRFC, playing in green and black strip. The town also has the Walnut Tree Field: a large playing field and park, a cricket club, and a leisure centre.
Fairford also has a youth football club, based at Horcott Road which caters for children between the ages of 5 and 15 years old. The club, established in 1976, is a FA Chartered Club, run by volunteers for the benefit of local children from Fairford and surrounding villages. Teams from u8 and above play in the North Wiltshire Youth Football Leagues. New players are always welcome. The club has a website
Fairford Youth FC
Literature
''The Secret Diary of Sarah Thomas, 1860 – 1865'', is a published journal by a
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
diarist
A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
living in Fairford. It features local landmarks.
References
Further reading
*
* Farmer, Oscar G. ''Fairford Church and its Stained Glass Windows'' 7th ed. 1962 (presumably self-published, printed by Harding and Curtis Ltd, Somerset Hall, Bath)
*
Bigland, Ralph (1791) ''An Account of the Parish of Fairford''; ed. by Richard Bigland
External links
Official town council websiteFairford community website– Sacred Destinations
Fairford United ChurchSt Thomas' Catholic Church websiteIncludes history, pictures and details of services.
BBC archive film of Fairford from 1986Local Online website for the Lechlade and Fairford community
{{Authority control
Towns in Gloucestershire
Cotswold District