Iron Acton is a village,

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 ...

and former manor in

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming ...

, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north. The "iron" part of the

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

originates from the iron that used to be mined near the village. "Acton" is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

for "farm (or village) with oak trees". Still today there is an oak wood in the village beside the River Frome. The civil parish also includes the smaller villages of Latteridge and Engine Common.

Manor

The manor of Iron Acton was held by the ''de Acton'' family, which took its name from the manor, and which expired in the male line on the death of John IV de Acton in 1362. His heir to Iron Acton became the descendant of his aunt Matilda (or Maud) de Acton, wife of Nicholas Poyntz (d.1311), feudal baron of Curry Mallet in Somerset. His descendants remained seated at Iron Acton for many generations and rose to prominence under the Tudor monarchs.

Sir Nicholas Poyntz Sir Nicholas Poyntz (1510—circa 28 November 1556) was a prominent English courtier during the latter part of Henry VIII's reign. There is a portrait drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection and an oil portrait after the sa ...

(1510-1556) was a prominent courtier during the latter part of the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547). His portrait drawing by

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest por ...

survives in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. He added the east wing to the moated

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

Acton Court Acton Court is the historic manor house of the manor of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, England. It is a grade I listed building of Tudor architecture and was recently restored. It is situated, at some considerable distance from the v ...

, which addition was lavishly decorated to impress King Henry VIII, who with his second wife,

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

, visited the house in 1535 during a tour of the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouc ...

. Sir Robert Poyntz (d.1666), KB, MP for

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 ...

and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire was the last in the male line of Poyntz of Iron Acton. He left no male progeny, only two daughters and co-heiresses, Grissel Poyntz and Margareta Poyntz.

Acton Court

on Latteridge Lane is the historic

of the manor of Iron Acton. It is a Tudor building, with later restorations. In the 16th century Nicholas Poyntz added the east wing to the existing moated house, which addition was lavishly decorated to impress King Henry VIII, who with his second wife,

, visited the house in 1535 during a tour of the

Historic estates

*Algars Court or Algars Manor, just south of the village, is also a Tudor house.Verey, 1970, page 278

Parish 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 James the Less is Perpendicular Gothic and includes a clerestory, south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, pa ...

and south chapel, two-storey north porch and three-stage bell-tower.Verey, 1970, page 276 The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

and south arcade are of three bays. The nave,

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

and south chapel all have wagon roofs and there is a fan vault under the tower. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1878–79 under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect Sir T. G. Jackson. The high altar has a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

Poyntz Chapel

The altar at the east end of the south aisle forms the focal point of the so-called Poyntz Chapel, which is not a separate chamber or structure. This is not to be confused with the Poyntz Chapel (formally termed "Chapel of Jesus") built by Sir Robert Poyntz (d.1520) within The Gaunt's Chapel, Bristol. Against the south wall is a 16th-century canopied tomb erected for a now unknown member of the Poyntz family. Of the three heraldic escutcheons comprised within the structure two are now blank and one bears the arms of the Acton family, from which the Poyntz's inherited the manor, ''A fess indented''. No inscription survives. The tomb was covered with many layers of whitewash until this was removed in the 19th-century restoration. Dividing the Poyntz Chapel from the chancel are a pair of stone effigies set on slabs at floor level. The figures show an armed knight of the 14th century beside a female figure, possibly his lady, but perhaps of a slightly later date. The knight is believed to represent Sir John Poyntz (d. 21 Sept 1376), son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz (d. 12 July 1311) feudal baron of

Curry Mallet Curry Mallet (anciently "Cory Mallett") is a village and parish in Somerset, England. It is on the Fivehead River (also known as the River Ile), east of Taunton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 306. History At th ...

, Somerset, by Matilda Acton, his 2nd wife, daughter and eventual heiress of Sir John Acton (d.1312) of Iron Acton. Buried beneath an incised slab set into the floor in the centre of the Poyntz Chapel is Robert Poyntz (1359–1439) between his two wives, 1st, Ann (family unknown), 2nd (marr. pre. 1389) Katherine FitzNichol, daughter of Sir Thomas FitzNichol of

Hill, Gloucestershire Hill is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, midway between the towns of Thornbury in South Gloucestershire and Berkeley in Gloucestershire. The parish stretches from the banks of the River Severn to an outcrop of the ...

, many times MP for

. Two other tombstones commemorate Florence Poyntz (d.1598) and Hugh Poyntz (d.1604), son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz (d.1585/6) by Margaret Stanley, daughter of

Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby KG (c. 10 May 1509 – 24 October 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. He reigned over the Isle of Mann until his death, and then was succeeded by his son. Early life At the age of thirteen, Edw ...

Transport

Rail

The

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

opened its Thornbury Branch Line in 1872, including

Iron Acton railway station Iron Acton station opened on 2 September 1872, with the start of services on the Midland Railway branch from Yate to Thornbury. The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders. It closed to passenger ser ...

to serve the village. The LMS closed the station in 1944 and it was demolished in the 1960s, but the line still carries one freight train per week between a stone quarry at Tytherington and the junction at Yate with the Birmingham and Gloucester line. A freight-only branch serving an iron mine in

Frampton Cotterell Frampton Cotterell is a large village and parish, in South Gloucestershire, South West England, on the River Frome. The village is contiguous with Winterbourne to the south-west and Coalpit Heath to the east. The parish borders Iron Acton to ...

joined the branch line at the station. This was closed in 1872 but a truncated section of the line served as a coal depot until closure on 10 June 1963. Iron Acton station had a single platform and a large wooden station building. The remains of the platform survive, as does a crossing-keeper's cottage to the south of the station site.

Bus

Buses through Iron Acton were severly cut back in 2022. Now, it is only served by a single bus per day in each direction on route 626.

Amenities

Iron Acton hosts events throughout the year, including the annual May Day fair and horticultural show. Other events are organised by Acton Aid, a community organisation made up of men of the village who work together to benefit the parish of Iron Acton. Money is raised by holding social events such as the annual fireworks display and the Proms in the Meadows, and working with other parish organisations at the annual May Day fair. An example of such an event is the Victorian evening, during which local residents dressed up in Victorian era clothing for a fair on the street, which is accompanied by a brass band. The village has its own football club, which played home games on the field behind the Rose and Crown

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 wa ...

on the High Street. The pub was closed and was turned into residential accommodation; Iron Acton F.C. now plays home games on Yate Common, Sunnyside Lane, Yate, away. There are two pubs in the village and there is no shop in the main part of the village, there is however a garage on the outskirts of the village that is open 24/7

Bibliography

* Maclean, Sir John, ''Historical and Genealogical Memoir of the Family of Poyntz'' (Exeter, 1885) * ''The Topographer'', volume 5, issue 1 (March 1821), edited by Stebbing Shaw, ''Oxfordshire Visitation'', pp. 45–8, pedigree and heraldry of Poynt

Sources

* *
Thompson, H.L., The Poyntz Family, Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 1879–80, Vol. 4, pp.73–85

References

External links

IronActonParish.infoActon CourtIron Acton Primary School

{{South Gloucestershire Villages in South Gloucestershire District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire