Rodborough is a large village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
district of Stroud,
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 ...
, in
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
. It is directly south of the town of
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 ...
, north of the town of
Nailsworth
Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a populat ...
and north-west of the town of
Minchinhampton
Minchinhampton is an ancient Cotswolds market town in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Estuary into Wales and furth ...
. The parish includes the settlements of Bagpath (not to be confused with
Bagpath
Bagpath is a hamlet in Gloucestershire, England, in the Ozleworth valley south of the village of Kingscote and forming part of Kingscote civil parish. The hamlet consists of two separate settlements of Bagpath and Newington Bagpath, although ...
in the Ozleworth valley), Butterrow, Kingscourt, Lightpill and Rooksmoor, and is adjacent to the Stroud suburb of
Dudbridge
Dudbridge is a suburb on the southern edge of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England.
History
Dudbridge gains its name from the first bridge in the location, which spanned the River Frome. This made it an important crossing point for traffic heading ...
. The population taken at the
2011 census was 5,334.
Geography
![Rodborough fort](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Rodborough_fort.jpg)
Built on a hill, Rodborough village is near
Rodborough Common
Rodborough Common is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 (online for download) as ...
, a public recreation area popular with walkers. Most of the
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
was donated to the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
in 1937 by
Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher
Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (25 March 1878 – 30 April 1950) was an English entomologist. Although an amateur lepidopterist who worked in the Royal Navy, he became an expert on "microlepidoptera" and was appointed as the second Imperial Entomolo ...
(1878–1950), a naval officer and
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
. On the common is Rodborough Fort, a
folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-cent ...
built in 1761 that is now a private house.
Amenities
Rodborough Common is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
The parish has two
primary school
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 e ...
s, several
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s, a large hotel called The Bear of Rodborough Hotel and a community hall. It is home to the historic Winstones Ice Cream Factory. It has a large and active Christian community who attend 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 St.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
or Rodborough Tabernacle
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
Origins and history
The United Reformed Church resulte ...
, and its various clubs and societies include a football club, a
Scout group and a mother and toddler network.
The local newspaper is the ''
Stroud News & Journal
The ''Stroud News & Journal'' is a weekly paid-for newspaper based in Stroud, Gloucestershire. It is published every Wednesday in a tabloid format by Newsquest and covers a large portion of the Stroud district, including the towns of Stroud, M ...
'' and the parish council also produces a quarterly newsletter called ''The Commoner''.
Governance
Rodborough is served by Rodborough Parish Council,
Stroud District Council
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 Va ...
and
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 ...
. Until 1974 much of the parish was part of the Stroud Urban District Council and today it forms part of the Stroud urban area, along with Stroud and
Cainscross
Cainscross is a suburban town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, bordering the town of Stroud, Gloucestershire, Stroud and forming part of the Stroud urban area. The parish includes the communities of Ebley, Cashes Green and Cainscro ...
.
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in the same name exists. All of this ward is within the civil parish and a reduced population therefore applies: at the 2011 Census it was 4,543.
Notable people
Sir John Dean Paul, 1st Baronet
Sir John Dean Paul, 1st Baronet (December 1775 – 16 January 1852), of Rodborough, was an English landowner, banker, painter, and occasional author.
Most of Paul’s works as a painter were landscapes and paintings of horses. In 1821 he was crea ...
(1775–1852), of Rodborough, was a landowner, banker, and painter.
[Paul, John Dean (1775-1852), First Baronet of Rodborough (M)]
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
, accessed 25 July 2021
The
Gothic Revival architect 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 Mans ...
was born in Rodborough in 1833. He designed the uncompleted
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 ...
and a number of houses and
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 ...
churches and convents, particularly in Gloucestershire and
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. In later life he worked in
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
. The
Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote ''
The Railway Series
''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...
'' of children's books that inspired the TV series ''
Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'', moved to 30 Rodborough Avenue in 1965 and lived there until his death on 21 March 1997.
References
External links
{{Commons category
Rodborough Parish CouncilSt. Mary Magdalene Parish ChurchBear of Rodborough HotelHistoric photos of Rodborough FortThe Old Endowed School in RodboroughStroud Voices (Rodborough filter) - oral history sitemap of Stone Stiles (centred on Rodborough)
Stroud District
Civil parishes in Gloucestershire
Folly castles in England