Pope's Hill is a hill and a small village situated in the east of the
Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire within the parish of
Littledean. The hill is 12 miles south west of
Gloucester and 3 miles east of
Cinderford. The small village of
Flaxley
Flaxley is a small settlement and former civil parish, now in the parish of Blaisdon, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. It is located in between the larger villages of Westbury-on-Severn and Mitcheldean. In 1931 the parish had a ...
lies in the valley to the immediate north. Pope's Hill is said to have got its name from Mary Pope, who used to reside in
Flaxley Abbey
Flaxley Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in England, now a Grade I listed manor and private residence, near the village of Flaxley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It is the former seat of the Crawley-Boevey Baronets.
History F ...
in the 18th century and walked over the hill as a young girl. She is buried in Flaxley churchyard.
A principal road runs over the hill starting from the
A4151 just east of
Littledean and rejoins the A4151 further east at the Greyhound Inn. The A4151 runs along the southern flank of the hill. A steep section of road on the Flaxley side, Joey's Pitch, is notorious for being impassable in ice and snow. There are numerous other small roads and tracks linking the houses and smallholdings which are scattered across the hill. Rising to the west is Chestnuts Enclosure, an area of
Forestry Commission woodland, and to the north, Welshbury Hill which has
Iron Age workings.
The Greyhound Inn was a popular pub beside the busy main road until its closure in 2016 following a robbery and subsequent fire.
It was noted for its large concrete and plaster model dinosaur in the pub garden (known as "Horace") Built by local craftsman Bill Taylor whilst refurbishing the pub interior. The White House Hotel is located at the summit. Pope's Hill offers extensive views of the
Severn Vale
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, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
, Gloucester,
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 ...
, as far north as
Bredon Hill and as far south as the hills above
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 ...
. The entire
Cotswold Edge is also visible, and
May Hill dominates the view to the north.
A small chapel close to the Greyhound Inn is now a private house.
References
Villages in Gloucestershire
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