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127-512: The Cotswolds ( / ˈ k ɒ t s w oʊ l d z , ˈ k ɒ t s w əl d z / KOTS -wohldz, KOTS -wəldz ) is a region of central South West England , along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham . The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates

254-828: A Celtic nation . The South West is known for Cheddar cheese , which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar ; Devon cream teas , crabs , Cornish pasties , and cider . It is home to the Eden Project , Aardman Animations , the Glastonbury Festival , the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta , trip hop music and Cornwall's surfing beaches. The region has also been home to some of Britain's most renowned writers, including Daphne du Maurier , Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton , all of whom set many of their works here, and

381-638: A Local Transport Plan (LTP) which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme. The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006–11. In the South West region the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: Bournemouth U.A., Cornwall U.A., Devon , Dorset , Gloucestershire , Plymouth U.A., Somerset , Swindon U. A., Torbay U. A. and Wiltshire unitary authority . The transport authorities of Bath and North East Somerset U. A., Bristol U. A., North Somerset U. A. and South Gloucestershire U. A. publish

508-520: A strike-slip fault brings a piece of high ground adjacent to an area of lower ground. Earth is not the only planet where escarpments occur. They are believed to occur on other planets when the crust contracts , as a result of cooling. On other Solar System bodies such as Mercury , Mars , and the Moon , the Latin term rupes is used for an escarpment. When sedimentary beds are tilted and exposed to

635-567: A Brittonic female cognate Cuda , a hypothetical mother goddess in Celtic mythology postulated to have been worshipped in the Cotswold region. The Cotswolds' spine runs southwest to northeast through six counties, particularly Gloucestershire, west Oxfordshire, and southwestern Warwickshire. The Cotswolds' northern and western edges are marked by steep escarpments down to the Severn valley and

762-471: A country park. Chipping Campden is also known for the annual Cotswold Olimpick Games , a celebration of sports and games dating to the early 17th century. Of the Cotswolds' nearly 800 square miles (2,100 km), roughly 80 per cent is farmland. There are over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of footpaths and bridleways, and 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of historic stone walls. A 2017 report on employment within

889-519: A cultural and historic unity or identity of itself, which has led to criticism of it as an "artificial" construct. The large area of the region, stretching as it does from the Isles of Scilly to Gloucestershire, encompasses diverse areas which have little more in common with each other than they do with other areas of England. The region has several TV stations and newspapers based in different areas, and no single acknowledged regional "capital". Many people in

1016-417: A few of whom appear to have been descended from pre-Conquest families. In 1140, during the civil war of King Stephen 's reign, the castles of Plympton and Exeter were held against the king by Baldwin de Redvers and this gave rise to the defensive castles at Corfe Castle , Powerstock , Wareham and Shaftesbury . The period saw the growth of towns such as Truro , Totnes , Okehampton and Plympton in

1143-852: A higher proportion of people live in such areas than in any other English region. There are two major regional cities in terms of population, which are Bristol and Plymouth (although Bristol is larger by some consideration), and two major conurbations which are the South East Dorset Conurbation (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) and the Bristol Metropolitan Conurbation (which includes the City of Bristol and areas of South Gloucestershire). Cities and Towns with specific tourist and cultural sites of interest include Bath, Bristol, Salisbury, Plymouth, Exeter, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Weston-super-Mare, as well as

1270-773: A military road, or Herepath , to allow his army to cover Viking movements at sea. The Herepath has a characteristic form which is familiar on the Quantocks: a regulation 20 m wide track between avenues of trees growing from hedge laying embankments. A peace treaty with the Danes was signed at Wedmore and the Danish king Guthrum the Old was baptised at Aller . Burhs (fortified places) had been set up by 919, such as Lyng . The Alfred Jewel , an object about 2.5-inch (64 mm) long, made of filigree gold, cloisonné -enamelled and with

1397-640: A panel would be formed to consider making some of the AONBs into National Parks. The review will file its report in 2019. In April 2018, the Cotswolds Conservation Board had written to Natural England "requesting that consideration be given to making the Cotswolds a National Park", according to Liz Eyre, Chairman. This has led to some concern; one member of the Cotswold District Council said, "National Park designation

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1524-505: A rock crystal covering, was found in 1693 at Petherton Park , North Petherton . This is believed to have been owned by King Alfred. Monasteries and minster churches were set up all over Somerset, with daughter churches of the minsters in manors. There was a royal palace at Cheddar , which was used at times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot . In the late pre-Norman period, the east coast of modern-day England came under

1651-539: A single Joint Local Transport Plan as part of the West of England Partnership . There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury-sub-Mendip that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis , was present in the future Somerset from around 500,000 years ago. There is some evidence of human occupation of southern England before the last ice age , such as at Kents Cavern in Devon, but largely in

1778-539: A temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of AD 60–61. The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the lead mines of the Mendip Hills , which also offered the potential for the extraction of silver. Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester . The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in

1905-625: A tithe barn. Tetbury Market House was built in 1655. During the Middle Ages , Tetbury became an important market for Cotswold wool and yarn. Chavenage House is an Elizabethan-era manor house 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Tetbury. Chedworth Roman Villa , where several mosaic floors are on display, is near the Roman road known as the Fosse Way , 8 miles (13 km) north of the town of Corinium Dobunnorum (Cirencester). Cirencester Abbey

2032-468: A type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties: mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire , and parts of Wiltshire , Somerset , Worcestershire , and Warwickshire . The highest point is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), just east of Cheltenham . The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring

2159-621: A yearly tribute or danegeld to Sweyn and later Canute, all three areas retained their autonomy from the Danes. Ultimately, the Danes lost control of Wessex in 1042 on the death of both of Canute's sons. Edward the Confessor retook Wessex for the Saxons. In 1016 Edmund Ironside was crowned king at Glastonbury. After the Norman Conquest the region was controlled by various Norman as well as Breton lords and later by local gentry,

2286-483: Is Woodchester Mansion , an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house in Woodchester Park near Nympsfield. Newark Park is a Grade I listed country house of Tudor origins near the village of Ozleworth, Wotton-under-Edge . The house sits in an estate of 700 acres (300 ha) at the Cotswold escarpment's southern end. Another of the many manor houses in the area, Owlpen Manor in the village of Owlpen in

2413-433: Is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side and a steep scarp on the other side. More loosely, the term scarp also describes a zone between a coastal lowland and a continental plateau which shows a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau . Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks , or by movement of

2540-468: Is a significant step further and raises the prospect of key decision making powers being taken away from democratically elected councillors". In other words, Cotswold District Council would no longer have the authority to grant and refuse housing applications. Indicative of the Cotswolds' uniqueness and value is that five European Special Areas of Conservation , three national nature reserves and more than 80 Sites of Special Scientific Interest are within

2667-533: Is also important; cows and pigs are also reared. The livestock sector has been declining since 2002. According to 2011 census data for the Cotswolds, the wholesale and retail trade was the largest employer (15.8% of the workforce), followed by education (9.7%) and health and social work (9.3%). The report also indicates that a relatively higher proportion of residents worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing, accommodation and food services, as well as in professional, scientific, and technical activities. Unemployment in

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2794-572: Is classed as oceanic ( Cfb ) according to the Köppen climate classification . The oceanic climate typically experiences cool winters with warmer summers and precipitation all year round, with more experienced in winter. Annual rainfall is about 1,000 millimetres (39 in) and up to 2,000 millimetres (79 in) on higher ground. Summer maxima averages range from 18 °C (64 °F) to 22 °C (72 °F) and winter minimum averages range from 1 °C (34 °F) to 4 °C (39 °F) across

2921-668: Is currently the only county in the region where there are electric trains, though the Great Western Main Line and the South Wales Main Line in Wiltshire, Somerset, Greater Bristol and Gloucestershire is being electrified . SWR operate services to and from London Waterloo and serves every county in the region except Gloucestershire and Cornwall. GWR serves all counties in the region and operate to various destinations, some of which run to South Wales and

3048-473: Is generally considered that Cornwall came fully under the dominion of the English Crown in the time of Athelstan 's rule, i.e. 924–939. In the absence of any specific documentation to record this event, supporters of Cornwall's English status presume that it then became part of England. However, in 944, within a mere five years of Athelstan's death, King Edmund issued a charter styling himself "King of

3175-731: Is the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway , a steam heritage railway over part of the closed Stratford–Cheltenham line , running from Cheltenham Racecourse through Gotherington , Winchcombe , and Hayles Abbey Halt to Toddington and Laverton. The preserved line has been extended to Broadway . The population of the Cotswold local authority area in the 2021 census was 90,800, an increase of 9.6% from 82,900 in 2011. The percentage of usual residents in relationships, aged 16 and above, were: In 2021, 96.3% of people in Cotswold identified their ethnic group with

3302-523: The Battle of Lose-coat Field . The organisation of the region remained based on the shires and Church estates, which were largely unchanged throughout the period. Some of the most important nobles in the South West included the Courtenays Earl of Devon, William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville , and Humphrey Stafford, earl of Devon whose wider influence stretched from Cornwall to Wiltshire. After 1485,

3429-687: The Danelaw . Sweyn ruled Wessex, along with his other realms, from 1013 onwards, followed by his son Canute the Great . But Cornwall was not part of his realm of Wessex. A map by the American historian called "The Dominions of Canute" (pictured just above) shows that Cornwall, like Wales and Scotland, was part neither of Sweyn Forkbeard's nor of Canute's Danish empire. Neither Sweyn Forkbeard nor Canute conquered or controlled Scotland, Wales or Cornwall; but these areas were "client nations": subject to payment of

3556-632: The Devon border to the mouth of the River Axe . Historically, the main port on the river was at Bridgwater; the river being bridged at this point, with the first bridge being constructed in 1200. Quays were built in 1424; with another quay, the Langport slip , being built in 1488 upstream of the Town Bridge. In Bristol the port began to develop in the 11th century. By the 12th century Bristol

3683-469: The Earth's crust at a geologic fault . The first process is the more common type: the escarpment is a transition from one series of sedimentary rocks to another series of a different age and composition. Escarpments are also frequently formed by faults. When a fault displaces the ground surface so that one side is higher than the other, a fault scarp is created. This can occur in dip-slip faults , or when

3810-646: The Frome Hoard , one of the largest ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome , in a jar 14 inches (36 cm) below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the Portable Antiquities Scheme . After the Romans left at the start of

3937-489: The Mendip Hills . The human bone fragments it contained, from about 21 different individuals, are thought to be roughly between 10,200 and 10,400 years old. During this time the tundra gave way to birch forests and grassland and evidence for human settlement appears at Salisbury Plain , Wiltshire and Hengistbury Head , Dorset. At the end of the last Ice Age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but subsequently

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4064-696: The New Forest is also within the region); and four World Heritage Sites : Stonehenge , the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape , the Jurassic Coast and the City of Bath . The northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden , is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall. The region has by far the longest coastline of any English region. Following the abolition of

4191-813: The Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke . In October 2001 the West Bagborough Hoard of 4th-century Roman silver was discovered in West Bagborough . The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and 8 miliarensia and 671 siliquae all dating from AD 337 to 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany, and Rome. In April 2010,

4318-542: The Purbeck Hills . These downs are the principal area of arable agriculture in the region. Limestone is also found in the region, at the Cotswolds , Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills , where they support sheep farming. All of the principal rock types can be seen on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon, where they document the entire Mesozoic era from west to east. The climate of South West England

4445-499: The Roman baths . Excavations carried out before the flooding of Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from

4572-569: The South West Regional Assembly in 2008 and Government Office in 2011, South West Councils provide local government coordination in the region. Bristol , South Gloucestershire , and Bath and North East Somerset are part of the West of England Combined Authority . The region is known for its rich folklore , including the legend of King Arthur and Glastonbury Tor , as well as its traditions and customs. Cornwall has its own language, Cornish , and some regard it as

4699-476: The Stroud district, is also Tudor and Grade I listed. Further north, Broadway Tower is a folly on Broadway Hill, near the village of Broadway, Worcestershire. To the south of the Cotswolds is Corsham Court , a country house in a park designed by Capability Brown in the town of Corsham , 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire. According to users of the worldwide TripAdvisor travel site, in 2018

4826-677: The Warwickshire Avon . This feature, known as the Cotswold escarpment or the Cotswold Edge, is a result of the uplifting (tilting) of the limestone layer, exposing its broken edge. This is a cuesta , in geological terms. The dip slope is to the southeast. On the eastern boundary lies the city of Oxford and on the west is Stroud . To the southeast, the upper reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Lechlade , Tetbury , and Fairford are often considered to mark

4953-522: The West Midlands through Gloucestershire, Bristol and Somerset to Exeter. The A38 serves as a western extension to Plymouth. There are three other smaller motorways in the region, all in the Bristol area . Passenger airports in the region include Bristol , Exeter , Newquay and Bournemouth . Within the region the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of

5080-587: The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 . Cleeve Hill , and its associated commons, is a fine example of a limestone grassland and it is one of the few locations where the Duke of Burgundy butterfly may still be found in abundance. A June 2018 report stated that the AONB receives "23 million visitors a year, the third largest of any protected landscape". Earlier that year, Environment secretary Michael Gove announced that

5207-471: The south east . The British mainland was connected to the continent during the ice age and humans may have repeatedly migrated into and out of the region as the climate fluctuated. There is evidence of human habitation in the caves at Cheddar Gorge 11,000–10,000 years BC, during a partial thaw in the ice age. The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Great Britain was found at Aveline's Hole in

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5334-430: The "White" category, a slight decrease from 97.8% in 2011. Over 1.3% identified as "Asian" or British Asian, 1.5% chose "Mixed or Multiple" category, 0.4% were "Black, Black British, Caribbean or African" and 0.4% chose "Other". The Cotswold region has inspired several notable English composers. In the early 1900s, Herbert Howells and Ivor Gurney took long walks together over the hills, and Gurney urged Howells to make

5461-478: The 1930s for civil defence administration and subsequently used for various statistical analyses. The region is also similar to that used in the 17th-century Rule of the Major-Generals under Cromwell . (For further information, see Historical and alternative regions of England ). By the 1960s, the South West region (including Dorset, which for some previous purposes had been included in a Southern region),

5588-605: The 21st century has attracted wealthy Londoners and others who own second homes there or have chosen to retire to the Cotswolds. The name Cotswold is popularly believed to mean the "sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides", incorporating the term wold , meaning hills. Compare also the Weald , from the Old English term meaning 'forest'. But for many years the English Place-Name Society has accepted that

5715-574: The 5th century AD, the region split into several Brittonic kingdoms, including Dumnonia , centred around the old tribal territory of the Dumnonii . The upper Thames area soon came under Anglo-Saxon control but the remainder of the region was in British control until the 6th century. Bokerley Dyke , a large defensive ditch on Cranborne Chase dated to 367, delayed the Saxon conquest of Dorset, with

5842-540: The 93-mile (150 km) Cotswold Way (part of the National Trails system) from Bath to Chipping Campden. In August 2018, the final decision was made for a Local Plan that would lead to the building of nearly 7,000 additional homes by 2031, in addition to over 3,000 already built. Areas for development include Cirencester, Bourton-on-the-Water, Down Ampney, Fairford, Kemble, Lechlade, Northleach, South Cerney, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury and Moreton-in-Marsh. Some of

5969-465: The 9th century. Viking raids took place for instance in 987 and 997 at Watchet and the Battle of Cynwit . King Alfred was driven to seek refuge from the Danes at Athelney before defeating them in 878 at the Battle of Ethandun , usually considered to be near Edington, Wiltshire , but possibly the village of Edington in Somerset. Alfred established a series of forts and lookout posts linked by

6096-422: The AONB is varied, including escarpment outliers, escarpments, rolling hills and valleys, enclosed limestone valleys, settled valleys, ironstone hills and valleys, high wolds and high wold valleys, high wold dip-slopes, dip-slope lowland and valleys, a Low limestone plateau, cornbrash lowlands, farmed slopes, a broad floodplain valley, a large pastoral lowland vale, a settled unwooded vale, and an unwooded vale. While

6223-465: The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty stated that the main sources of income were real estate, renting and business activities, manufacturing, and wholesale & retail trade repairs. Some 44% of residents were employed in these sectors. Agriculture is also important; 86% of the land in the AONB is used for this purpose. The primary crops include barley, beans, rapeseed and wheat, while the raising of sheep

6350-525: The Board carries out a range of work from securing funding for 'on the ground' conservation projects, to providing a strategic overview of the area for key decision makers, such as planning officials. The Board is funded by Natural England and the seventeen local authorities that are covered by the AONB. The Cotswolds AONB Management Plan 2018–2023 was adopted by the Board in September 2018. The landscape of

6477-621: The Celtic path later known as Fosse Way . During the Middle Ages , thanks to the breed of sheep known as the Cotswold Lion, the Cotswolds became prosperous from the wool trade with the continent, with much of the money made from wool directed towards the building of churches. The most successful era for the wool trade was 1250–1350; much of the wool at that time was sold to Italian merchants. The area still preserves numerous large, handsome Cotswold Stone "wool churches". The affluent area in

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6604-578: The Chancellor of King Henry I , converted the bishop's hall in Taunton into Taunton Castle . It passed to the king in 1233 and in 1245 repairs were ordered to its motte and towers. During the 11th-century Second Barons' War against Henry III , Bridgwater was held by the barons against the King. During the Middle Ages sheep farming for the wool trade came to dominate the economy of Exmoor . The wool

6731-656: The Cotswold District was among the lowest in the country. An August 2017 report showed only 315 unemployed persons, a decrease of five from a year earlier. Tourism is a significant part of the economy. The Cotswold District area gained over £373 million from visitor spending on accommodation, £157 million on local attractions and entertainments, and about £100m on travel in 2016. In the larger Cotswolds Tourism area, including Stroud, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury, tourism generated about £1 billion in 2016, providing 200,000 jobs. Some 38 million day visits were made to

6858-415: The Cotswold District; some scenes in the 2006 movie Amazing Grace were also filmed at the Docks. The television series Father Brown is set and primarily filmed in the Cotswolds. Scenes and buildings in Sudeley Castle was often featured in the series. The vicarage in Blockley was used for the main character's residence and the Anglican St Peter and St Paul church was the Roman Catholic St Mary's in

6985-430: The Cotswold Tourism area that year. Many travel guides direct tourists to Chipping Campden , Stow-on-the-Wold , Bourton-on-the-Water , Broadway , Bibury , and Stanton . Some of these locations can be very crowded at times. Roughly 300,000 people visit Bourton per year, for example, with about half staying for a day or less. The area also has numerous public walking trails and footpaths that attract visitors, including

7112-399: The Cotswolds AONB. The Cotswold Voluntary Wardens Service was established in 1968 to help conserve and enhance the area, and now has more than 300 wardens. The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath, just over 100 miles (160 km) long, running the length of the AONB, mainly on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment with views over the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham . Pictured is

7239-427: The Cotswolds and is navigable from Inglesham and Lechlade-on-Thames downstream to Oxford . West of Inglesham. the Thames and Severn Canal and the Stroudwater Navigation connected the Thames to the River Severn ; this route is mostly disused nowadays but several parts are in the process of being restored. The area is bounded by two major rail routes: in the south by the main Bristol–Bath–London line (including

7366-416: The Cotswolds. Bath , Cheltenham , Cirencester , Gloucester , Stroud , and Swindon are larger urban centres that border on, or are virtually surrounded by, the Cotswold AONB. Chipping Campden is notable as the home of the Arts and Crafts movement , founded by William Morris at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Morris lived occasionally in Broadway Tower , a folly, now part of

7493-507: The Durotriges, "water dwellers", whose main settlement is represented by Maiden Castle . Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae , but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down . Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough , as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring , Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp . At

7620-473: The Earl of Devon, Henry VII's chamberlain, Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney and Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke were also influential. In 1497, early in Henry VII 's reign, the royal pretender Perkin Warbeck , besieged Exeter. The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 led by An Gof and Thomas Flamank ended in a march to Blackheath in London where the Cornish forces were massacred. Great disturbances throughout both Cornwall and Devon followed

7747-410: The Elder built similarly at Barnstaple and Totnes . But sporadic Viking incursions continued until the Norman Conquest , including the disastrous defeat of the Devonians at the Battle of Pinhoe . In 876 King Alfred the Great trapped a Danish fleet at Arne and then drove it out; 120 ships were wrecked at Studland . Although King Alfred had lands in Cornwall, it continued to have a British king. It

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7874-405: The English and ruler of this province of the Britons ". Thus we can see that then the "province" was a territorial possession, which has long claimed a special relationship to the English Crown. Corfe Castle in 978 saw the murder of King Edward the Martyr , whose body was taken first to Wareham and then to Shaftesbury . Somerset played an important part in stopping the spread of the Danes in

8001-431: The Garden of Sudeley Castle at Winchcombe . The present structure was built in the 15th century and may be on the site of a 12th-century castle. It is north of the spa town of Cheltenham , which has much Georgian architecture. Further south, towards Tetbury , is the fortress known as Beverston Castle , founded in 1229 by Maurice de Gaunt . In the same area is Calcot Manor , a manor house with origins in about 1300 as

8128-473: The Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning "ditch"). The Fosse Way ran through Bath , Shepton Mallet , Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster . The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Salt was produced on the Somerset Levels near Highbridge and quarrying took place near Bath, named after

8255-463: The Romano-British remaining in Dorset for 200 years after the withdrawal of the Roman legions. The Western Wandsdyke earthwork was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577. The Anglo-Saxons then gained control of the Cotswold area; but most of Somerset, Dorset and Devon (as well as Cornwall) remained in British hands until

8382-679: The South Wales main line) and in the west by the Bristol–Birmingham main line . In addition, the Cotswold line runs through the Cotswolds from Oxford to Worcester , and the Golden Valley line runs across the hills from Swindon via Stroud to Gloucester , carrying fast and local services. Mainline rail services to the big cities run from railway stations such as Bath , Swindon , Oxford , Cheltenham , and Worcester . Mainline trains run by Great Western Railway to London Paddington also are available from Kemble station near Cirencester, Kingham station near Stow-on-the-Wold, Charlbury station , and Moreton-in-Marsh station . Additionally, there

8509-461: The South West is also the location of Thomas Hardy's Wessex , the setting for many of his best-known novels. Most of the region is located on the South West Peninsula , between the English Channel and Bristol Channel . It has the longest coastline of all the English regions, totalling over 700 miles (1,130 km). Much of the coast is now protected from further substantial development because of its environmental importance, which contributes to

8636-411: The United Kingdom. Three major roads enter the region from the east. The M4 motorway from London to South Wales via Bristol is the busiest. The A303 cuts through the centre of the region from Salisbury to Honiton , where it merges with the A30 to continue past Exeter to the west of Cornwall. The A31 , an extension of the M27 , serves Poole and Bournemouth and the Dorset coast. The M5 runs from

8763-399: The West Midlands, though almost all intercity trains operated by GWR run through the region. Transport for Wales also operates services between Maesteg and Cheltenham Spa . West Midlands Railway operated a parliamentary train between Birmingham New Street and Gloucester via Worcester Shrub Hill , which was withdrawn in 2019 (there was once a regular service on the route, but this

8890-416: The area sometimes called Greater Bristol , which includes parts of South Gloucestershire ; and the South East Dorset conurbation , covering Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch . The population of the South West in 2009 was about five million. The region lies on several main line railways . The Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Bristol , Exeter , Plymouth , and Penzance in

9017-476: The area. The highest point of the region is High Willhays , at 2,038 feet (621 m), on Dartmoor . In North Devon the slates of the west and limestones of the east meet at Exmoor National Park. The variety of rocks of similar ages seen has led to the county's name being given to that of the Devonian period. The east of the region is characterised by wide, flat clay vales , and chalk and limestone downland . The vales, with good irrigation, are home to

9144-501: The beauty of the Cotswolds AONB is intertwined with that of the villages that seem almost to grow out of the landscape, the Cotswolds were primarily designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for the rare limestone grassland habitats as well as the old growth beech woodlands that typify the area. These habitat areas are also the last refuge for many other flora and fauna, with some so endangered that they are protected under

9271-423: The border regions of South Warwickshire and Worcestershire, through West Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, and takes in parts of Wiltshire and of Bath and North East Somerset in the south. Gloucestershire County Council is responsible for sixty-three per cent of the AONB. The Cotswolds Conservation Board has the task of conserving and enhancing the AONB. Established under statute in 2004 as an independent public body,

9398-465: The coast. Snowfalls are more frequent in comparison to the coast, but less so in comparison to higher ground. It experiences the lowest wind speeds and sunshine total in between that of the coast and the moors. The climate of inland areas is more noticeable the further north-east into the region. In comparison to inland areas, the coast experiences high minimum temperatures, especially in winter, and it experiences slightly lower maximum temperatures during

9525-676: The county of Cornwall on a widespread scale. The region is home to six universities: University of Bristol, University of The West of England (UWE), University of Exeter, University of Plymouth, Plymouth Marjon University, University of Gloucestershire (Gloucester and Cheltenham), and Falmouth University (Cornwall). The largest cities and towns in order of population are: Bristol (700,000) Plymouth (300,000) Bournemouth (250,000) Swindon (230,000) Poole (180,000) Gloucester (180,000) Exeter (160,000) Cheltenham (150,000) Torbay (150,000) Bath (130,000) Weston-super-Mare (80,000) Taunton (70,000) Salisbury (50,000) Weymouth (50,000). The largest conurbations are

9652-541: The east seems to have been halted by battles between the British and Saxons, for example at the siege of Badon Mons Badonicus (which may have been in the Bath district, perhaps at Solsbury Hill ), or Bathampton Down . The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin , a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga , and King Wulfhere of Mercia . The earliest fortification of Taunton started for King Ine of Wessex and Æthelburg , in or about

9779-622: The end of the ice age; however, it is unclear whether the region was continuously inhabited during the previous 4000 years, or if humans returned to the gorge after a final cold spell. A Palaeolithic flint tool found in West Sedgemoor is the earliest indication of human presence on the Somerset Levels. During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys, so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on

9906-733: The eve of the Black Death of 1348–49. The plague resulted in a prolonged pause in the growth of Bristol's population, with numbers remaining at 10,000–12,000 through most of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Wars of the Roses , there were frequent skirmishes between the Lancastrian Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon and Yorkist William, Lord Bonville . In 1470, Edward IV pursued Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and George, Duke of Clarence as far as Exeter after

10033-504: The far west of Cornwall. The South West Main Line runs from London Waterloo and Southampton to Bournemouth , Poole and Weymouth in Dorset. The West of England Main Line runs from London Waterloo to Exeter via south Wiltshire, north Dorset and south Somerset. The Wessex Main Line runs from Bristol to Salisbury and on to Southampton. The Heart of Wessex Line runs from Bristol in

10160-620: The fictional Cotswold village of Carsely . Other movies filmed in the Cotswolds or nearby, at least in part, include some of the Harry Potter series (Gloucester Cathedral), Bridget Jones's Diary ( Snowshill ), Pride and Prejudice (Cheltenham Town Hall), and Braveheart (Cotswold Farm Park). In 2014, some scenes of the 2016 movie Alice Through the Looking Glass were filmed at the Gloucester Docks just outside

10287-680: The following were among the best attractions in the Cotswolds: The Cotswolds lie between the M5 , M40 and M4 motorways . The main A-roads through the area are: These all roughly follow the routes of ancient roads, some laid down by the Romans , such as Ermin Way and the Fosse Way . There are local bus services across the area, but some are infrequent. The River Thames flows from

10414-557: The government of the western counties of England. It was analogous in form to the Council of the North . The council was established in March 1539, with Lord Russell as its Lord President. Members included Thomas Derby, Sir Piers Edgcumbe, Sir Richard Pollard and John Rowe. However, the fall of Thomas Cromwell , the chief political supporter of government by Councils, and the tranquillity of

10541-591: The growing sway of the Norsemen . Eventually England came to be ruled by Norse monarchs, and the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fell one by one, Wessex being conquered in 1013 by King Sweyn Forkbeard . Sweyn's realms included Denmark and Norway , and parts of England such as Mercia (an Anglian kingdom roughly coinciding with the English Midlands ), much of which, along with northern England, fell under

10668-547: The higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reed swamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Post Track and the Sweet Track . The Sweet Track, dating from the 39th century BC, is thought to be the world's oldest timber trackway and was once thought to be the world's oldest engineered roadway. The Levels were also

10795-478: The introduction of Edward VI 's Book of Common Prayer . The day after Whit Sunday 1549, a priest at Sampford Courtenay was persuaded to read the old mass . This insubordination spread swiftly into serious revolt. The Cornish quickly joined the men of Devon in the Prayer Book Rebellion and Exeter was besieged until relieved by Lord Russell. The Cornish had a particular motivation for opposing

10922-516: The landscape, including the nearby Malvern Hills , the inspiration for future work. In 1916, Howells wrote his first major piece, the Piano Quartet in A minor, inspired by the magnificent view of the Malverns ; he dedicated it to "the hill at Chosen ( Churchdown ) and Ivor Gurney who knows it". Another contemporary of theirs, Gerald Finzi , lived in nearby Painswick . Gustav Holst , who

11049-554: The largest National Landscape area and England's third-largest protected landscape. The Cotswold local government district is within Gloucestershire. Its main town is Cirencester . In 2021, the population of the 450-square-mile (1,200 km) district was 91,000. The much larger area referred to as the Cotswolds encompasses nearly 800 square miles (2,100 km). The population of the National Landscape area

11176-833: The late 7th century. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, with victories at Bradford-on-Avon (in the Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 652, and further south at the Battle of Peonnum (at Penselwood ) in 658, followed by an advance west through the Polden Hills to the River Parrett . The Saxon advance from

11303-797: The legal name and designation remains "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 , amending the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 . The term AONB is still used in this section. The Cotswolds National Landscape area (formerly the Cotwolds AONB) was originally designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966, with an expansion on 21 December 1990 to 1,990 square kilometres (768 sq mi). In 1991, all AONBs were measured again using modern methods, and

11430-802: The limit of the region. To the south the Cotswolds, with the characteristic uplift of the Cotswold Edge, reach beyond Bath , and towns such as Chipping Sodbury and Marshfield share elements of Cotswold character. The area is characterised by attractive small towns and villages built of the underlying Cotswold stone (a yellow oolitic limestone ). This limestone is rich in fossils , particularly of fossilised sea urchins . Cotswold towns include Bourton-on-the-Water , Broadway , Chalford , Charlbury , Chipping Campden , Chipping Norton , Cricklade , Dursley , Malmesbury , Minchinhampton , Moreton-in-Marsh , Nailsworth , Northleach , Painswick , Stow-on-the-Wold , Stroud , Tetbury , Witney , Winchcombe and Wotton-under-Edge . In addition, much of Box lies in

11557-415: The local stone. A large area within the Cotswolds has been designated as a National Landscape (formerly known as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or AONB) since 1966. The designation covers 787 square miles (2,038 km), with boundaries roughly 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (140 km) long, stretching south-west from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath , making it

11684-659: The local stone. He said: "The truth is that it has no colour that can be described. Even when the sun is obscured and the light is cold, these walls are still faintly warm and luminous, as if they knew the trick of keeping the lost sunlight of centuries glimmering about them." The term "Cotswolds National Landscape" was adopted in September 2020, using a proposed name replacement for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). All AONBs in England and Wales were re-branded as "National Landscapes" in November 2023, although (as of 2024)

11811-696: The location of the Glastonbury Lake Village as well as two lake villages at Meare . Stonehenge , Avebury and Stanton Drew are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK. The region was heavily populated during the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods. Many monuments, barrows and trackways exist. Coin evidence shows that the region was split between the Durotriges , Dobunni and Dumnonii . The Iron Age tribe in Dorset were

11938-436: The money received from developers will be earmarked for new infrastructure to support the increasing population. Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic Jurassic limestone . This limestone is rich in fossils , particularly of fossilised sea urchins . When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as honey or golden. The stone varies in colour from north to south, being honey-coloured in

12065-638: The movies Vanity Fair , Persuasion , Dracula , and The Duchess . Gloucester and other places in Gloucestershire , some within the Area of Natural Beauty, have been a popular location for filming period films and television programmes over the years. Gloucester Cathedral has been particularly popular. The sighting of peregrine falcons in the landscape of the Cotswolds is mentioned in The Peregrine by John Alec Baker . The television documentary agriculture-themed series Clarkson's Farm

12192-727: The new English language prayer book, as there were still many monoglot Cornish speakers in West Cornwall. The Cornish language declined rapidly afterwards and the Dissolution of the Monasteries resulted in the eventual loss of the Cornish language as a primary language. By the end of the 18th century it was no longer a first language. The Council of the West was a short-lived administrative body established by Henry VIII for

12319-610: The north and northeast, as in villages such as Stanton and Broadway ; golden-coloured in the central and southern areas, as in Dursley and Cirencester ; and pearly white in Bath . The rock outcrops at places on the Cotswold Edge; small quarries are common. The exposures are rarely sufficiently compact to be good for rock-climbing , but an exception is Castle Rock, on Cleeve Hill , near Cheltenham . In his 1934 book English Journey , J. B. Priestley wrote of Cotswold buildings made of

12446-487: The north of the region to Weymouth on the south Dorset coast via Westbury , Castle Cary and Yeovil , with most services starting at Gloucester . The vast majority of trains in the region are operated by CrossCountry , Great Western Railway (GWR) and South Western Railway (SWR). GWR is the key operator for all counties in the region except Dorset where SWR is the key operator. CrossCountry operates services to Manchester Piccadilly , Glasgow and Aberdeen . Dorset

12573-540: The official area of the Cotswolds AONB was increased to 2,038 square kilometres (787 sq mi). In 2000, the government confirmed that AONBs have the same landscape quality and status as National Parks . It is England's third-largest protected landscape, after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks. The Cotswolds National Landscape, which is the largest in England and Wales , stretches from

12700-440: The peninsula where the status of being from the region is less equivocal. In particular, Cornwall 's inclusion in the region is disputed by Cornish nationalists. The cross-party Cornish Constitutional Convention and Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow have campaigned for a Cornish Assembly ever since the idea of regional devolution was put forward. The South West region is largely rural, with small towns and villages;

12827-589: The period, including the remains at Bath. The area of Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from AD 47 to about AD 409. The empire disintegrated gradually, and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century. In AD 47, Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta , under the future emperor Vespasian . The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had

12954-510: The region have some level of a "South West" or "West Country" regional identity, although this may not necessarily correspond to an identification with the official government-defined region . It is common for people in the region to identify at a national level (whether English , British , Cornish or a county, city or town level). Identifying as being from 'the Westcountry', amorphous though it is, tends to be more predominant further into

13081-544: The region include Bath , Bristol , Bournemouth , Cheltenham , Exeter , Gloucester , Plymouth and Swindon . It is geographically the largest of the nine regions of England with a land area of 9,203 square miles (23,836 km ), but the third-least populous, with an estimated 5,764,881 residents in 2022. The region includes the West Country and much of the ancient kingdom of Wessex . It includes two entire national parks , Dartmoor and Exmoor (a small part of

13208-509: The region's attractiveness to tourists and residents. Geologically the region is divided into the largely igneous and metamorphic west and sedimentary east, the dividing line slightly to the west of the River Exe . Cornwall and West Devon's landscape is of rocky coastline and high moorland, notably at Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor . These are due to the granite and slate that underlie

13335-589: The region's dairy agriculture. The Blackmore Vale was Thomas Hardy 's "Vale of the Little Dairies"; another, the Somerset Levels was created by reclaiming wetlands. The Southern England Chalk Formation extends into the region, creating a series of high, sparsely populated and archaeologically rich downs, most famously Salisbury Plain , but also Cranborne Chase , the Dorset Downs and

13462-420: The rest of the southwest (approximately twice as much rainfall as lowland areas), because of their high altitude. Both of these factors also cause it to experience the highest levels of snowfall and the lowest levels of sunshine. Exposed areas of the moors are windier than lowlands and can be almost as windy as the coast. The boundaries of the South West region are based upon those devised by central government in

13589-470: The sea level rose, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels were flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The landscape at this time was tundra . Britain's oldest complete skeleton, Cheddar Man , lived at Cheddar Gorge around 7150 BC (in the Upper Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age), shortly after

13716-907: The series. Other filming locations included Guiting Power , the former hospital in Moreton-in-Marsh , the Winchcombe railway station, Lower Slaughter , and St Peter's Church in Upper Slaughter . In the 2010s BBC TV series Poldark , the location for Ross Poldark's family home, Trenwith, is Chavenage House , Tetbury, which is open to the public. Many exterior shots of village life in the Downton Abbey TV series were filmed in Bampton, Oxfordshire . Other filming locations in that county included Swinbrook, Cogges, and Shilton. The city of Bath hosted crews that filmed parts of

13843-488: The south-west. It is the second windiest area of the United Kingdom, the majority of winds coming from the south-west and north-east. Government organisations predict the region to rise in temperature and become the hottest region in the United Kingdom. Inland areas of low altitude experience the least amount of precipitation. They experience the highest summer maxima temperatures, but winter minima are colder than

13970-407: The summer. Rainfall is the lowest at the coast and snowfall is rarer than the rest of the region. Coastal areas are the windiest parts of the peninsula and they receive the most sunshine. The general coastal climate is more typical the further south-west into the region. Areas of moorland inland such as: Bodmin Moor , Dartmoor and Exmoor experience lower temperatures and more precipitation than

14097-417: The surface, erosion and weathering may occur. Escarpments erode gradually and over geological time . The mélange tendencies of escarpments results in varying contacts between a multitude of rock types. These different rock types weather at different speeds, according to Goldich dissolution series so different stages of deformation can often be seen in the layers where the escarpments have been exposed to

14224-428: The term Cotswold is derived from Codesuualt of the 12th century or other variations on this form, the etymology of which is "Cod's-wold", meaning "Cod's high open land". Cod was interpreted as an Old English personal name, which may be recognised in further names: Cutsdean , Codeswellan, and Codesbyrig, some of which date to the 8th century. It has subsequently been noticed that Cod could derive philologically from

14351-465: The time of the Roman invasion , the inhabitants of the entire area spoke a Brythonic Celtic language. Its descendant languages are still spoken to a greater or lesser extent in Cornwall , Wales, and Brittany . During the Roman era , the east of the region, particularly the Cotswolds and eastern Somerset, was heavily Romanised but Devon and Cornwall were much less so, though Exeter was a regional capital. There are villas, farms and temples dating from

14478-526: The tune for Come Down, O Love Divine . His opera Hugh the Drover depicts life in a Cotswold village and incorporates local folk melodies. In 1988, the 6th symphony (Op. 109) of composer Derek Bourgeois was titled A Cotswold Symphony . The Cotswolds are a popular location for scenes in movies and television programmes. The 2008 film Better Things , directed by Duane Hopkins, is set in a small Cotswold village. The fictional detective Agatha Raisin lives in

14605-499: The west of the region, but these were small compared with the established wealth of ancient cathedral cities in the east of the region such as Exeter , Bath and Wells . Wealth grew from sheep farming in the east of the region: church controlled estates such as Glastonbury Abbey and Wells became among the richest in England, while tin and silver mining was important in Devon and Cornwall; Stannary Parliaments with semi-autonomous powers were established. Farming prospered until it

14732-418: The western counties made it largely superfluous. It last sat in summer 1540, although it was never formally abolished. Escarpment The terms scarp and scarp face are often used interchangeably with escarpment . Some sources differentiate the two terms, with escarpment referring to the margin between two landforms , and scarp referring to a cliff or a steep slope. In this usage an escarpment

14859-541: The year 710. However, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle this was destroyed 12 years later. Alfred the Great refortified Exeter as a defensive burh , followed by new erections at Lydford , Halwell and Pilton , although these fortifications were small compared to burhs further east, suggesting that they were protection for the elite only. The English defeated a combined Cornish and Danish force at Hingston Down (near Gunnislake) in 838. Edward

14986-421: Was 139,000 in 2016. The largest excavation of Jurassic period echinoderm fossils , including of rare and previously unknown species, occurred at a quarry in the Cotswolds in 2021. There is evidence of Neolithic settlement from burial chambers on Cotswold Edge, and there are remains of Bronze and Iron Age forts. Later the Romans built villas, such as at Chedworth , settlements such as Gloucester, and paved

15113-449: Was an important port, handling much of England's trade with Ireland. During this period Bristol also became a centre of shipbuilding and manufacturing. Bristol was the starting point for many important voyages, notably John Cabot 's 1497 voyage of exploration to North America. By the 14th century Bristol was one of England's three largest medieval towns after London, along with York and Norwich , with perhaps 15,000–20,000 inhabitants on

15240-544: Was born in Cheltenham, spent much of his early years playing the organ in Cotswold village churches, including at Cranham , after which he titled his tune for In the Bleak Midwinter . He also called his Symphony in F major, Op. 8, H47, The Cotswolds . Holst's friend Ralph Vaughan Williams was born at Down Ampney in the Cotswolds and, though he moved to Surrey as a boy, gave the name of his native village to

15367-571: Was filmed at various locations around Chipping Norton . South West England South West England , or the South West of England , is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom . It consists of the counties of Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly ), Dorset , Devon , Bristol , Gloucestershire , Somerset and Wiltshire . Cities and large towns in

15494-493: Was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1117, and Malmesbury Abbey was one of the few English houses with a continual history from the 7th century through to the Dissolution of the Monasteries . An unusual house in this area is Quarwood , a Victorian Gothic house in Stow-on-the-Wold . The grounds, covering 42 acres (17 ha), include parkland, fish ponds, paddocks, garages, woodlands and seven cottages. Another

15621-662: Was severely hit by the Black Death which arrived in Dorset in 1348 and quickly spread through Somerset, causing widespread death, with mortality rates perhaps as high as 50% in places. The resulting labour shortage led to changes in feudal practices. Crafts and industries also flourished; the Somerset woollen industry was then one of the largest in England. Coal mining in the Mendips was an important source of wealth while quarrying also took place. Many parish churches were rebuilt in this period. Between 1107 and 1129 William Giffard ,

15748-575: Was sold off in 1818. Where conditions were suitable, coastal villages and ports had an economy based on fishing. The larger ports such as Fowey contributed vessels to the naval enterprises of the King and were subject to attack from the French in return. Bridgwater was part of the Port of Bristol until the Port of Bridgwater was created in 1348, covering 80 miles (130 km) of the Somerset coast line, from

15875-469: Was spun into thread on isolated farms and collected by merchants to be woven, fulled, dyed and finished in thriving towns such as Dunster . The land started to be enclosed and from the 17th century onwards larger estates developed, leading to establishment of areas of large regular shaped fields. During this period a royal forest and hunting ground was established, administered by the Warden. The royal forest

16002-403: Was widely recognised for government administration and statistics. The boundaries were carried forward into the 1990s when regional administrations were formally established as Government Office Regions. A regional assembly and regional development agency were created in 1999, then abolished in 2008 and 2012 respectively. It has been argued that the official South West region does not possess

16129-581: Was withdrawn in 2009). It has been proposed that the former London & South Western Railway Exeter to Plymouth railway be reopened to connect Cornwall and Plymouth as an alternative to the route via the Dawlish seawall that is susceptible to closure in bad weather. Local bus services are primarily operated by FirstGroup , Go-Ahead Group and Stagecoach subsidiaries as well as independent operators. Megabus and National Express operate long-distance services from South West England to all parts of

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