Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Worcestershire. The civil and ecclesiastical parish boundaries are roughly coterminous, and include the hamlets of Draycott,

Paxford Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire. The civil and ecclesiastical paris ...

and

Aston Magna Aston Magna is a hamlet located off Fosse Way in north Gloucestershire, England, between Moreton-in-Marsh and Shipston-on-Stour. It forms part of the civil parish of Blockley and the Church of England parish of Blockley with Aston Magna in the ...

, the residential development at Northwick and the deserted hamlets of Upton and

Upper Ditchford Upper Ditchford is an abandoned village to the west of the Fosse Way between Moreton-in-Marsh and Stretton on Fosse, now in the county of Gloucestershire in England but formerly located in Warwickshire. It has been scheduled as an ancient monum ...

. Blockley village is on Blockley Brook, a tributary of Knee Brook. Knee Brook forms the northeastern boundary of the parish and is a tributary of the River Stour.

History

Manor

In AD 855 King Burgred of Mercia granted a monastery at Blockley to Ealhhun,

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

for the price of 300 solidi.'' Victoria County History'', 1913, pages 265-276 In 1086 the Domesday Book recorded that the Bishop of Worcester held an estate of 38 hides at Blockley. The Bishops of Worcester retained the estate until 1648, during the English Civil War, when the Parliamentary Trustees sold it. After the

restoration of the English monarchy The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

the estate was restored to the Bishop of Worcester, whose successors held the manor until at least 1781.

Churches

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. Peter and St. Paul is late

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 ...

,Verey, 1970, page 121 built in about 1180. The ecclesiastical parish now forms part of the Vale and Cotswold Edge team of Church of England churches, with the Team Vicar remaining responsible for Blockley and its outlying villages of Paxford, Draycott and Aston Magna, as well as the parish of Bourton-on-the-Hill. The church is used as St Mary's Roman Catholic church in the ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuiti ...

'' television series and the vicarage as the presbytery, Father Brown's residence. The Baptist Chapel was built in 1835.

Economic and social history

In 1715 the Vicar, the Rev. Dr. Erasmus Saunders, had a new school built for the parish. Blockley still has a Church of England primary school. Much of the parish was farmed under an

open field system The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acre ...

until 1772, when an Act of Parliament provided for the enclosure of the remaining common lands. Blockley railway station 1972848 1377e09f

The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, built between 1845 and 1851, passes through the parish.

Blockley railway station Blockley railway station served the village of Blockley Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exc ...

was more than northeast of the village and nearer to Paxford.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways closed Blockley railway station in 1966 but the railway remains open as part of the Cotswold Line. The nearest railway station still open is . Blockley is home to Watsonian Squire, the largest UK manufacturer of sidecars and

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trailer ...

for motorbikes. It has been based in the village since 1984.

Governance

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. This ward has the same area and population as the civil parish.

Amenities

Blockley has two public houses. The Crown Inn and Hotel is a former

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

. The Great Western Arms belongs to the

Hook Norton Brewery Hook Norton Brewery is a regional brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, several miles outside the Cotswold Hills. Founded in 1849, the brewing plant is a traditional Victorian 'tower' brewery in which all the stages of the brewing pr ...

. Blockley Sports & Social Club is the local sports club which has Hockey, Cricket and Football sections. The post office closed in 2007. In May 2008, under a co-operative agreement, the village residents opened a new local not for profit store that is a grocer, newsagent, post office, off-licence and café.

History

Manor

Churches

Economic and social history

Governance

Amenities

References

Sources

External links