Stanley Pontlarge is a village and former
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 authorit ...
, now in the civil parish of
Prescott and the ecclesiastical parish of
Winchcombe
Winchcombe () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury in the county of Gloucestershire, England, it is 6 miles north-east of Cheltenham. The population was recorded as 4,538 in the 2011 census and estimated at 5,347 in ...
, in the
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...
district, 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. Stanley Pontlarge lies on the steep northern escarpment of the Cotswolds. The
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds, England.
The GWSR has restored and reope ...
is a prominent feature of the landscape. In 1931 the parish had a population of 43.
History
The village was mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
of 1086, when it was referred to
as "Stanlege".
In 1310 Stanley Pontlarge became part of the parish of
Toddington. In 1386 the parish became a possession of
Hailes Abbey
Hailes Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, in the small village of Hailes, two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in 1246 as a daughter establishment of Beaulieu Abbey. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VII ...
, but when the abbey was
dissolved in 1539 the parish of Toddington with Stanley Pontlarge became a normal parish with a vicar.
In 1866 Stanley Pontlarge became a separate civil parish, but on 1 April 1935 the civil parish was abolished and absorbed into the civil parish of Prescott.
Church
The village has a small
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
, whose original dedication is unknown. The church was probably built by Roger Little, who in about 1175 had married Margery, the daughter of
John de Sudeley, and built the adjacent moated manor house.
[ The original Norman structure was heavily restored by Thomas Collins in 1860-61. The chancel was rebuilt. The church is noted for its Late Norman north door, with chevron mouldings, and a Norman chancel arch, leaning outwards, also with chevron moulding. The nave roof was rebuilt in 1923-4 by Sir Philip Stott. The font is a Norman bowl, remodelled into an octagonal shape in the 14th century. Most of the furnishings in the church date to the 1860-1 restoration. By agreement among the parishioners, graves in the churchyard are not marked by headstones. A guide to the location of burials is provided within the church. ]
The Cottage
The Cottage is 14th century in origin, probably built as a priest's house by Hailes Abbey after 1387, when the abbey was granted the living of Toddington and Stanley Pontlarge. Massive cruck trusses survive in the attic. The exterior of the house is 16th century in appearance, although the windows may date to the restoration by Thomas Collins in 1873. The Cottage was bought in 1921 by Lionel Rolt, and became the home of the writers Tom and Sonia Rolt in the 1950s. The house, and life in the surrounding countryside, are described in detail in Rolt's two volumes of autobiography ''Landscape with machines'' and ''Landscape with figures''. Tom Rolt is buried in the churchyard.
A variety of ugly agricultural structures and overhead wires were removed by the Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...
in the 1970s.
References
Further reading
D. Verey & A. Brooks. 2002. ''The Buildings of England. Gloucestershire 2''. London: Yale University Press.
External links
{{commonscat inline, Stanley Pontlarge
Stanley Pontlarge church
(Parish Website)
Stanley Roots
-- the roots of places and people called Stanley in medieval England.
Gallery
File:Stanley pontlarge view.JPG, Fields at Stanley Pontlarge viewed from Langley Hill. Looking north to the Vale of Evesham. Note the steam train on the railway
File:stanley pontlarge church.JPG, Church viewed from the west
File:stanley pontlarge church door.JPG, The Norman door of the church
File:stanley pontlarge bridge.JPG, Train crossing the bridge over the lane
File:stanley pontlarge bus shelt.JPG, Bus shelter at junction of lane and main road, bearing the Latin inscription "Quilibet in tempestate portus" (A harbour in a storm for anyone)
Villages in Gloucestershire
Borough of Tewkesbury
Former civil parishes in Gloucestershire