Tormarton is a village 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 part ...

, England. Its name may come from ''Thor Maer Tun'' meaning ''The settlement with the thorn (tree) on the boundary''. Another source suggests the name derives from the church tower (Tor) on the border between Wessex and Mercia (Anglo-Saxon Meark). It is one mile North-East of junction 18 of the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, with the

A46 road The A46 is a major A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway developmen ...

and close to the border between

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and

. In 2001 and 2011 there were 144 households and the population was 348. A

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wa ...

, the

Cotswold Way The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath, running along the Cotswold Edge escarpment of the Cotswold Hills in England. It was officially inaugurated as a National Trail on 24 May 2007 and several new rights of way have been created. His ...

passes through the village. There is a church, a hotel, a

pub 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 ...

and also a number of

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s in the village. A

Highways Agency National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all fo ...

depot with a salt dome is situated near to the village.

History

Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire, Bath Lodge - geograph

It is thought that humans have been active in the area of Tormarton for more than 6000 years. In 1968 the bodies of three

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

men were discovered near Tormarton, when a

gas pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...

was being installed. Unusually, two of the bodies showed

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

wounds; they are now in Bristol City Museum. Further excavations were made in 1999 and 2000, which found remains of two other bodies estimated to be 3,500 years old. They are all thought to have all died at a similar time and were then buried in a ditch. A BBC documentary, ''Meet The Ancestors'', was made that followed the second excavation. The area is thought to have been inhabited by the

Romans 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 ...

as a stone coffin was found in nearby Hinton. The village was on the border of the

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

kingdoms of

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

and

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

. The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

village was larger than today: extensive earthworks to the north and east of the church suggest that this area may have been settled previously. Some historic buildings remain in Tormarton; St Mary Magdalene Church, Manor Farm and Tormarton Court. The Old

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 w ...

, originally home of the St Loe family of Tormarton and

Sutton Court Sutton Court is an English house remodelled by Thomas Henry Wyatt in the 1850s from a manor house built in the 15th and 16th centuries around a 14th-century fortified pele tower and surrounding buildings. The house has been designated as Grad ...

Chew Magna Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish ...

, was later owned by the de la Riviere family. Much of it was demolished in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

between 1642 and 1649, but some sections survived and were incorporated into today's Manor Farm. Tormarton Court is a Grade II listed Georgian house. The village became part of the

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

estate, owned by the

Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort (), a title in the Peerage of England, was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of So ...

, in 1789. In 1848 the population of the parish was 620. Baron Altrincham, of Tormarton is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was created in 1945 for the politician

Edward Grigg Edward William Macleay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, (8 September 1879 – 1 December 1955) was a British colonial administrator and politician. Biography Early years Grigg was the son of Henry Bridewell Grigg, CIE, a member of the Indian Civ ...

and then held by John Edward Poynder Grigg who disclaimed the title under the Peerage Act of 1963. The M4 motorway to the west of Tormarton opened in 1967, with the section to the east running to

Stanton St Quintin Stanton St Quintin is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire in England. It is about north of Chippenham and south of Malmesbury. The parish church dates in part from the 12th century. The parish includes the hamlets of C ...

(Junction 17) opening four years later. In 2008,

SITA Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

made a planning application to build a large

in-vessel composting In-vessel composting generally describes a group of methods that confine the composting materials within a building, container, or vessel. In-vessel composting systems can consist of metal or plastic tanks or concrete bunkers in which air flow and ...

facility near Tormarton. Previously SITA had been proposing to site it on a brown field site in

Pucklechurch Pucklechurch is a large village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It has a current population of about 3000. The village dates back over a thousand years and was once the site of a royal hunting lodge, as it adjoined a large fo ...

but this was met with opposition from residents due to concerns it could pose a health risk and be an

eyesore An eyesore is something that is largely considered to look unpleasant or ugly. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas, and ex ...

. The proposed facility would handle 30,000 tonnes of waste a year.

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

reported that it was controversial with residents in Tormarton too.

Notable residents

James Dyson Sir James Dyson (born 2 May 1947) is a British inventor, industrial designer, farmer, and billionaire entrepreneur who founded Dyson Ltd. He is best known as the inventor of the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the princip ...

's estate,

Dodington Park Dodington Park is a country house and estate in Dodington, South Gloucestershire, England. The house was built by James Wyatt for Christopher Bethell Codrington (of the Codrington baronets). The family had made their fortune from sugar pl ...

, is near Tormarton * John Mackay (1914–1999), headmaster of

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

, retired to Tormarton * Robert Payne (1596–1651), cleric and academic *

Edward Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham Edward William Macleay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, (8 September 1879 – 1 December 1955) was a British colonial administrator and politician. Biography Early years Grigg was the son of Henry Bridewell Grigg, CIE, a member of the Indian Civ ...

lived at Tormarton Court until his death in 1955 * Sir William St Loe, Captain of the Guard to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

Chief Butler of England The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of ''Pincera Regis'', or C ...

Digby, ''Elizabethan Embroidery'', p. 58-63 and the third husband of

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series ...

owned the manor of Tormarton *Sir Edward Wadham,

Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

in 1502, married the widow of Sir John St Loe, father of

William St Loe Sir William St Loe (1518–1565) was a 16th-century English soldier, politician and courtier. He was the third husband of Bess of Hardwick, his second wife. His official positions included Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, Chief Butler of En ...

, and lived at the old manor of Tormarton in the early sixteenth century. He was Esquire of the Body in 1509 at the funeral of

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

, and with his nephew Sir Nicholas Wadham represented the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English P ...

with

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

in 1520. He was

Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

in 1525, 1531, and 1541.See, lists of county sheriffs etc. and the will of Sir Edward Wadham of Tormarton in the National Archives at Kew

References

External links

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