Frocester ( ) is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Stroud District Stroud District is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. The district is named after its largest town of Stroud. The council is based at Ebley Mill in the district of Cainscross, west of central Stroud. The district also ...

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 ...

, England. It lies below the Cotswold escarpment, 10 miles south of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

and 4 miles west 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 ...

. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 194, decreasing to 155 at the 2011 Census. Frocester was the site of a Roman settlement, on a Roman road which ran from

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

Arlingham Arlingham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. The 2021 Census recorded a parish population of 533 (271 males, 262 females (129 in the age range 0-17, 289 18-64year olds an ...

. The remains of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

have been excavated in the grounds of Frocester Court, and another near the remains of St Peter’s Church. The name of the village, first recorded in the

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Frowecestre'', means "Roman town on the Frome", although the River Frome is just beyond the present northern boundary of the parish. In 1726 the line of the Roman road became a turnpike road, and formed part of the coaching route between Gloucester and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. Use of the road declined in the 19th century, and it is now a minor road. Between 1844 and 1961, Frocester had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, later the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 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 ...

. For the past 33 years, Frocester has been the site of the Frocester Beer Festival, organised by the Dursley Lions as a fund-raising event. Usually over 100 beers, from all over the British Isles, are offered at this popular event.

Frocester Court

Frocester Court is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

within the village. Once much larger, it was vastly reduced in size in the mid 19th century. The Victorian rebuilding of the house and its precincts hid many medieval features which remain in situ. Parts of the house predate the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, while other parts date from the 15th century. The grounds have a late medieval dovecote and a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

late 13th-century estate barn.English Heritage Pastscape: Frocester Court
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References

External links

Victoria County History of Gloucestershire Stroud Voices - mid 20th century oral history from Frocester residents
{{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire Stroud District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire