Coaley is a village in the
English county of
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
roughly 4 miles from the town of
Dursley, and 5 miles from the town of
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.
Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...
. The village drops from the edge of the Cotswold Hills, overlooked by Frocester Hill and
Coaley Peak picnic site, towards the
River Cam at
Cam
Cam or CAM may refer to:
Science and technology
* Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion
* Camshaft, a shaft with a cam
* Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video
In computing
* Computer-aided manufacturin ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
and the
Severn Estuary beyond. It has a population of around 770.
Coaley has many amenities, including a 300-year-old pub, the Old Fox (was The Fox and Hounds until November 2018 ), awarded the Cotswold Life Food & Drink Awards Pub of The Year 2022, the Coaley C of E Primary School, a church, a village hall, and a community shop, recently re-opened in a new building, with coffee shop facilities.
Cam and Dursley railway station (near the former Coaley Junction station) was reopened in 1994 (the original closed in 1965) and is situated on the South-Western border of the village.
Coaley used to have a football team, Coaley Rovers, who were also known as Coaley Crows. They competed in the
Stroud and District League. There is also a Coaley Cricket Club. Coaley also holds an annual produce show, which has been held since 1942 on the first Saturday in September.
In 2003, Coaley was crowned
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
village of the year in a Calor-sponsored competition organised by
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
Rural Community Council, and went on to pick up a runner-up prize in the national competition, in recognition of local residents' efforts to develop community organisations and enterprises.
Local legend has it that one of the original script writers of ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...
'', Geoffrey Webb, drank regularly in the (now closed) Swan Public House in the village, and his experiences helped inspire the long-running radio serial.
Governance
The village falls in 'Coaley and Uley'
electoral ward. This ward starts in the north near 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 ...
and stretches south to
Uley. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 2,299.
References
External links
Coaley Parish CouncilCoaley Primary School/Coaley Community ShopThe Old Fox at CoaleyCoaley Junction Action Committee (Railway Information)Coaley Cricket ClubCoaley Produce ShowCoaley Parish Plan Stroud Voices (Coaley filter) - oral history site
{{authority control
Villages in Gloucestershire
Stroud District
Civil parishes in Gloucestershire