Woodcroft is a small village in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

district 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. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, opposite

Piercefield House Piercefield House is a largely ruined neo-classical country house near St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales, about north of the centre of Chepstow. The central block of the house was designed in the very late 18th century, by, or to the designs of, ...

, two miles north of the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

town of

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

. The village is immediately north of

Tutshill Tutshill is a village within the parish of Tidenham in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, which forms the boundary with Monmouthshire at this point and which separates the village ...

, within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Tidenham Tidenham () is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of west Gloucestershire, England, adjoining the Welsh border. Tidenham is bounded by the River Wye (which forms the Welsh border) to the west and the River Severn to the south. Offa ...

. The population in 2011 was 284.

History

Woodcroft was originally common land in "Bishton tithing" to the south of Tidenham Chase. Powder House Farm standing east of the road between Tutshill and Woodcroft was one of the farm-houses on the Tidenham manor estate in 1769 and was a stone house with a thatched roof in 1813. At least one cottage had been built on the common east of the road at Woodcroft by 1712, and by 1815 there was a small settlement of six or seven cottages.Tidenham including Lancaut: Introduction
Victoria County History Woodcroft became a sizable hamlet by the end of the 19th century with cottages, somewhat scattered, covering much of the area of the former common, and some more widely spaced along the road to the north. In the mid-20th century numbers of detached houses were built along the road running northwards from Woodcroft and up onto the former chase, their owners attracted by the views over the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

to the east and the River Wye to the west. In the 1870s Sophia Morgan of Tidenham House was organizing evangelical services with coffee at a building in Woodcroft, partly in an attempt to combat drunkenness among the Irish labourers building the

Wye Valley Railway The Wye Valley Railway was a standard gauge railway that ran for nearly along the Lower Wye Valley between the towns of Chepstow and Monmouth, crossing several times between Wales and England. Opened on 1 November 1876, it was leased to, and ...

. The Memorial Temperance Hall, a two-story stone building erected at Woodcroft by Christiana Morgan in 1887 in memory of her husband T. H. Morgan, was used for religious services, coffee rooms, and reading rooms, etc.

Features

One of the main attractions in the area is

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is the Gloucestershire local partner in a conservation network of 46 Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are local charities with the specific aim of protecting the United Kingdom's natural heritage. The Gl ...

Lancaut Lancaut ( cy, Llan Cewydd) is a deserted village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tidenham, in the Forest of Dean district, in Gloucestershire, England, located alongside the River Wye, around two miles north of Chepstow. It occupie ...

Nature Reserve. Within the SSSI Nature Reserve is a cliff face called

Wintour's Leap Wintour's Leap is a noted rock climbing location and viewpoint. It is located near the village of Woodcroft, Gloucestershire, Woodcroft in Gloucestershire, on the England, English side of the River Wye, Wye Valley, north of Chepstow. History ...

, enjoyed by walkers, naturalists and rock climbers. Access to cliffs is by permission of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust managed in conjunction with the

British Mountaineering Council The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC ...

for rock climbing The reserve provides important nesting habitat for peregrine falcons that enjoy commanding views over the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...

. The village straddles the boundary of the Wye Valley

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

, and the

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

passes through it.

References

External links

Tidenham Parish CouncilPhotos of Woodcroft and surrounding area on GeographGloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Villages in Gloucestershire Tidenham {{Gloucestershire-geo-stub