Sheepscombe is a small village in 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 ...

Painswick Painswick is a town and civil parish in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, England. Originally the town grew from the wool trade, but it is now best known for its parish church's Taxus baccata, yew trees and the local Painswick House, Pain ...

, in the

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 ...

district, in the 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 ...

, England. Sheepscombe is located some south-east of the city 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 ...

, north-east of the town of

, and east of the village of Painswick. It lies in a narrow valley, hidden behind the Cotswold scarp, and just off the A46 and B4070 roads.

Origin and name

The first record of the village dates from around 1260, with the original name of Sebbescumbe – the name possibly comes from the names of early local settlers named Ebba or Sebba. 'Combe' means valley. Variations of the name over the centuries have included ''Sebbescumbe'', ''Sciapp'scombe'', ''Sheppescombe'', ''Sheppiscombe'', ''Shepescombe'', ''Shepyscombe'', ''Shipscombe'' and ''Shepscombe''.

History

Since the early 17th century, Sheepscombe was involved in cloth making like many of the Cotswold towns in the area and its near neighbour

. It enjoyed its industrial heyday during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the last mill closed in 1839. Following this, Sheepscombe suffered from increasing poverty and a falling population.

Historic buildings

The village church, St John the Apostle, was built and opened in 1820. It was designed by John Wight, and later expanded in 1872 by Francis Niblett. It is constructed of limestone ashlar with a stone slate roof to coped gables. English Heritage has listed the church as Grade II for its special architectural and historic interest. The school was opened in 1822, a modernised building opening on the same site in 1882. Many of the houses in the village, at the northern end, date from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The village pub is the Butcher's Arms.

Gentrification

During the early part of the 20th century, Sheepscombe was still a rural, agricultural village, but today it has become, like many Cotswold villages, an expensive and select place to live. Most of its inhabitants are of the professional middle classes, who pay considerably for the privilege of living there. Situated at the bottom of a steep valley, Sheepscombe is a relatively inaccessible village, and not easy to live in for those without a car.

Notable people

Sheepscombe is the childhood home of the actor William Moseley and Mike Sadler, one of the original founders of the SAS.

Government

For the purposes of local government, Sheepscombe is within the

, the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. The civil parish of Painswick also contains the neighbouring villages of Slad and Edge. For parliamentary purposes, Sheepscombe is within the UK constituency of

. Before

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

in 2020, it was in the European constituency of

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

References

External links

Village websiteStroud Voices mid-20th century oral history from Sheepscombe residentsHistory Society website
{{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire Painswick