Wotton-under-Edge is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

within the Stroud 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 ...

, England. Located near the southern fringe of the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of J ...

, 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 ...

long-distance footpath passes through the town. Standing on the B4058, Wotton is about from the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

. The nearest railway station is Cam and Dursley, away by road, on the Bristol to Birmingham line.

History

The first record of the town is in an

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 ...

Royal Charter of King Edmund I, who in AD 940 leased four hides of land in ''Wudetun'' to Eadric. The name ''Wudetun'' means the enclosure, homestead or village (''tun'') in or near the wood (''wude''). The "Edge" refers to the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

of the Cotswold Edge which includes the hills of Wotton Hill and Tor Hill that flank the town. In the 1086

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 manusc ...

listing, Wotton was in the hundred of Dudstone. Kingswood Abbey was founded in 1139, but all that remains is a 16th-century

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

gatehouse. Nearby historical buildings include the

Tudor houses Tudor most commonly refers to: * House of Tudor, English royal house of Welsh origins ** Tudor period, a historical era in England coinciding with the rule of the Tudor dynasty Tudor may also refer to: Architecture * Tudor architecture, the f ...

Newark Park Newark Park is a Grade I listed country house of Tudor origins located near the village of Ozleworth, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. The house sits in an estate of at the southern end of the Cotswold escarpment with views down the Severn ...

and Owlpen Manor, both open to the public at set times. 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

former

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 ...

The Ancient Ram Inn dates back to 1145. The original town was burnt down during the reign of King John (1199–1216); it was rebuilt in 1252 and a charter granted to Johanna de Berkeley authorising her to hold a market and a three-day annual fair on the Feast of the Cross. In 1272 the inhabitants of the borough were authorised to elect one of their members as a Mayor, a practice that continued every year until 1886. St. Mary the Virgin was consecrated in 1283, and is the oldest and largest church in the town. The Katharine Lady Berkeley's Grammar School was established in 1384 and is now a comprehensive named

Katharine Lady Berkeley's School Katharine Lady Berkeley's School is an academy school near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England, for ages 11 to 18. History The school was founded by Katherine, Lady Berkeley for the use of six scholars in 1384 which makes it one of th ...

although the present modern building is a little outside of the town on the way to the village of Kingswood.

The British School ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

was established in the village in 1835. The Battle of Nibley Green occurred near the Ancient Ram Inn in 1470 (or 1469 under the calendar of the time), when the building was owned by Thomas Talbot, 2nd Viscount Lisle. William de Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley led the forces that beat the Viscount, and after the battle his men sacked the manor. Overlooking the town on the top of Wotton Hill are a collection of trees planted in the 19th century to commemorate the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Sevent ...

. These are situated on the site that housed one of the early warning beacons used to warn England of the approach of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...

in 1588.

New Mills, founded in 1810, prospered by supplying both sides in the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

but after a century of decline the mill was near to closing in 1981 when it was acquired by Renishaw plc. The town's corporation status was abolished in 1886 following the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883.

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 ...

with the same name exists. The ward mainly covers Wotton-under-Edge but also stretches to

North Nibley North Nibley is a village in Gloucestershire, England about northwest of Wotton-under-Edge. Name The village is commonly known as ''Nibley'', but the official name distinguishes it from the village of Nibley, just outside Yate, about away i ...

. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,510.

Facilities

The town is relatively well served for a town of its size. It has several pubs and a hotel, and a range of takeaways and restaurants. It has several active social groups, such as Scouts, Guides, a gardening club and the Wotton Lions. In 1958, local people and school students built the town swimming pool, which was completed in 1961. Subsequently the pool has had solar and electric heating installed. In 1999 with the fund raising support of community groups, a retractable enclosure was fitted to prolong the swimming season. In 2015, a skate park was opened to improve sporting facilities in the town, with traffic-free paved access. In 2002, following the closure of the local cinema, a group of volunteers raised funds for a refurbishment to become one of the first digital cinemas in the UK. It re-opened in 2005 as a 100-seat facility inside an old stable yard, once part of the Crown Inn which closed in 1911. Films were first shown in the old Banqueting Hall of the Inn and moved to the stable yard some years later, due to the popularity of films. The Wotton Electric Picture House (the original name) is now a thriving venue. The walk from Wotton Hill through Westridge Woods towards the Tyndale Monument, near North Nibley, is a popular local route – especially with dog walkers and families. On the hills immediately to the east, the Wotton-under-Edge BT Tower formed part of the microwave communication network between

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 ...

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest of ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

before decommissioning, and remains a prominent local landmark (albeit without its distinctive original horn antennas). Nearby

is now operated by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

as a popular heritage attraction within walking distance of the town, along with th
Neolithic long barrow
on a prominent position atop Blackquarries Hill.

Transport

Wotton has never had a railway station due to the difficult terrain of the Cotswold Edge, although

Charfield railway station Charfield railway station served the village of Charfield in South Gloucestershire, England. The station was on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, originally a broad gauge line overseen by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but later taken over by th ...

just to the west on flatter ground was within walking distance from 1844 until its closure in 1965, and i
proposed to reopen in 2024
along wit
a possible traffic-free pedestrian and cycling link
between Wotton, Kingswood and

Charfield Charfield is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, south-west of Wotton-under-Edge near the Little Avon River and the villages of Falfield and Cromhall. The parish includes the hamlet of Churchend. Village Charfield is a me ...

to improve connectivity. The town i
served by multiple bus routes
linking to Charfield, Dursley, Yate,

Chipping Sodbury Chipping Sodbury is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sodbury, in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in the 12th century by William ...

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a popula ...

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Va ...

, and Thornbury, as well as a once-daily service to Bristol city centre. As well as the Cotswold Edge long-distance footpath, the

Slow Ways Slow Ways is a website launched in 2021 which enables users to plot a route between two settlements in the United Kingdom. The routes are not intended to be the fastest route possible, but rather encourage walkers to rediscover unused footpaths a ...

traffic-free accessible walking project also connects Wotton to Dursley, Yate, Thornbury, Tetbury and Sherston. Severa
long-stay car parks are available in the town free of charge.

Gallery

File:BerkeleyBrassCropped.jpg, Monumental brass of

Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417), ''The Magnificent'', of Berkeley Castle and of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, was an English peer and an admiral. His epithet, and that of each previous and s ...

(d.1417), Church of St Mary the Virgin File:Ancient Ram Inn.jpg, The Ancient Ram Inn File:Falcon Inn, Wootton-under-Edge - geograph.org.uk - 749371.jpg, The Falcon Inn File:Wotton-under-Edge Jubilee clock arp.jpg, The Tolsey clock commemorates the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

(60 years) of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's reign. The

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and ...

says "1837 – 1897". It lies between Market Street and High Street.

Notable people

* More Adey (1858–1942) – art critic * Ian Alexander – footballer *

(d.1417) * John Biddle – Unitarian *

Charles Blagden Sir Charles Brian Blagden FRS (17 April 1748 – 26 March 1820) was an English physician and chemist. He served as a medical officer in the Army (1776–1780) and later held the position of Secretary of the Royal Society (1784–1797). Blagd ...

– physician * Sophie Brzeska – writer. * Bruce Chatwin – writer. Chatwin and his wife Elizabeth owned the house Holwell Farm from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. * Ann Dinham – born Ann Orchard, later Ann Riddiford and then Ann Foster; exiled to Tasmania in 1851 for "inciting a burglary". *

U. A. Fanthorpe Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, CBE, FRSL (22 July 1929 – 28 April 2009) was an English poet, who published as U. A. Fanthorpe. Her poetry comments mainly on social issues. Life and work Born in south-east London, Fanthorpe was the daughter of a jud ...

– poet *

Sir Matthew Hale Sir Matthew Hale (1 November 1609 – 25 December 1676) was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise '' Historia Placitorum Coronæ'', or ''The History of the Pleas of the Crown''. Born to a barrister an ...

– Lord Chief Justice (1671–1676) *

Matthew Blagden Hale Mathew Blagden Hale (18 June 1811 – 3 April 1895), very frequently spelled "Matthew", was the first Anglican Bishop of Perth and then the Anglican Bishop of Brisbane. Hale is recognised for seeking to empower the South Australian Aborigin ...

– bishop * Evan Hayward – Member of Parliament *

Mark Horton Mark Horton may refer to: * Mark Horton (archaeologist) (born 1956), British maritime and historical archaeologist, television presenter and writer * Mark Horton (bridge) (born 1950), British author, journalist and expert on bridge * Mary Ann Horto ...

– archaeologist * Catherine Johnson – playwright * Richard Knill – missionary *

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

(1948–2003) – music critic and author *

Sir Isaac Pitman Sir Isaac Pitman (4 January 1813 – 22 January 1897) was a teacher of the :English language who developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in ''Stenographic Soundhand'' in 18 ...

– creator of Pitman Shorthand, Pitman Place is named after him * Mark Porter – doctor * Sean Rigg – footballer * Jamie Stephens – footballer

References

External links

*
BBC archive film of Wotton-under-Edge from 1977
*
Electric Picture House CinemaStroud Voices (Wotton-under-Edge filter) – oral history site
{{authority control Market towns in Gloucestershire Towns in Gloucestershire Stroud District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire Cotswolds