Lower Oddington and Upper Oddington are a pair of adjoining villages 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 ...

. Together they form the

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 ...

of Oddington. In 2010 the parish had an estimated population of 477, decreasing at the 2011 census to 417. The two villages are located to the south of the A436 road east of the town of

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman ...

History

In 1780 the Oddington estate, at one time the seat of the Chamberlayne family, was left to Elizabeth Ann Wilson by Crayle Crayle. Elizabeth, who was married to

Charles Loraine Smith Charles Loraine Smith or Charles Loraine (1 April 1751 – 24 August 1835) was a sportsman, artist and politician. He inherited his family seat in Enderby, Leicestershire while still a boy. He was a keen horseman and his paintings of animals are ...

in 1784, sold this inheritance to Sir John Reade who extended the land by purchasing other lots. The 17th-century Oddington House was remodelled by Lady Reade c.1810 to form a large three storey L-shaped house but the East wing was demolished in a later restoration. It is a grade II* listed building, having been added to the register on 25 August 1960.

St. Nicholas Church

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

is a Grade I

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 ...

, having been added to the register on 25 August 1960. The church was originally a cell of St Peter's

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey in

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 ...

. It was ceded in 1157 to the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...

and exchanged with

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in 1547. The church is built of dressed limestone and has a stone slate roof. Part of the nave is twelfth-century and part thirteenth-century. The chancel is fifteenth-century and the tower at the east end is thirteenth-century. The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

south aisle probably represents the original nave. The church was all but abandoned among its fields in 1852, and has been little altered since. The north wall of the nave has a medieval wall paintings of the

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

, dating to the early fifteenth century. These were whitewashed over in the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

and conserved by Eve Baker from 1969. Scenes depicted include the Seven Acts of Mercy and the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...

Notable residents

Carol Mather Sir David Carol MacDonnell Mather (3 January 19193 July 2006) was a British soldier and politician. After serving 22 years in the British Army, he was the Member of Parliament for Esher from 1970 until 1987. During his political career he hel ...

(1919–2006), 20th Century soldier and politician.

References

External links

GENUKI(tm) pageParish council website'Parishes: Oddington', A History of the County of Gloucester: volume 6 (1965), pp. 87-98
* for Lower Oddington * for Upper Oddington {{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire Cotswold District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire