Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | MORETON-IN-MARSH | |
Postcode district | GL56 | |
Dialling code | 01608 | |
Police | Gloucestershire | |
Fire | Gloucestershire | |
Ambulance | South Western | |
UK Parliament | ||
Moreton-in-Marsh is a
It is relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode rises near Batsford, runs around the edge of Moreton and meanders towards Oxford, where it flows into the river Thames just east of Eynsham.
Just over 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Moreton, the
Toponymy
Moreton is derived from Old English which means "Farmstead on the Moor" and "in Marsh" is from henne and mersh meaning a marsh used by birds such as moorhens.[3] An alternative suggestion is that 'Marsh' is a corruption of 'March', early English for boundary.
History
A settlement was built during the
Moreton is first mentioned as a
The town's economy thrived, thanks to wool and cloth-making in the medieval era. "It's why the high street has so many elegant 18th century inns and houses."[5]
The Curfew Tower, on the corner of Oxford Street, probably dates from the 16th century.[6] Its bell was cast in 1633 and its clock was built in 1648.[6] The Royalist cavalry was based in the town during the Civil War; in 1644, King Charles I of England stopped at the White Hart Royal in 1637 and granted a charter for the market.[5]
The
A
According to one report, the town was in a suitable location for the "old coaching route from London to Worcester [and] thrived as a stopping place for stagecoaches, in particular The Redesdale Arms and The White Hart Royal."[5]
The
The OW&W Railway is now part of the
Redesdale Hall, which was designed by the architects Sir Ernest George and Harold Peto, became the market hall and town hall for the town and was completed in 1887.[9] The town was often misdescribed as Moreton-in-the-Marsh into the early 20th century.[10][11] The name was confirmed as Moreton-in-Marsh before 1930.[12]
In 1940, a large area of level land east of the town was developed as
Floods, which blocked the High Street, were fairly regular from the 1940s to the 1960s, until works were carried out on the ditches around the town and the camber on the A44 descending to Moreton from Bourton on the Hill; these works appear to have resolved most of the problems. The last time Moreton was badly flooded was in 2007.[13]
There was a Roman fort near Dorn (one mile north-west of Moreton). The annual Moreton and District Agricultural Show, held on the first Saturday in September, is held on part of the site of the fort on the Batsford Estate; the show has been running since 1949.[14]
The railway line to Worcester runs alongside the showground and, at Dorn, reaches the highest point between Oxford and Worcester; this is also the river Thames/river Severn watershed.
Moreton was once the headquarters of the railway spot-hire company Cotswold Rail.
Governance
The town is represented on
Transport
The town is served by
Local bus services are operated predominantly by Stagecoach Midlands and Pulhams Coaches; key routes that serve the town lead to Stratford-upon-Avon, Bourton-on-the-Water and Cheltenham.[16]
The town stands at the crossroads of the
.Amenities
Moreton has many buildings in characteristic
The White Hart Royal, originally a seventeenth-century coaching inn, was occupied by King Charles I when he took shelter in the building following the Battle of Marston Moor (during the First English Civil War of 1644–1646) and supposedly left without paying his bill.[19]
The Bell is an eighteenth-century inn on the western side of the High Street. It was regularly visited by author J. R. R. Tolkien during his early years at the University of Oxford. The inn has been attributed as inspiration for The Prancing Pony which features in The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955).[21]
The 300-year-old Black Bear Inn, on the eastern side of the High Street near the Curfew Tower, has enjoyed a long association with football. An ex-professional footballer, landlord
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from the Lark Stoke TV transmitter. [22]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Heart West, Greatest Hits Radio South West, Capital Mid-Counties, Corinium Radio and Cotswolds Radio, community based radio station. [23]
The town is served by the weekly local newspaper, Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. [24]
Sport
The town also has its own non league football club,
Notable residents
- Lord Mayor of London.
- Sir Charles Cockerell (1755–1837), 1st baronet of Sezincote House, Moreton-in-Marsh.
- James Hurrell (1984–), professional darts player and cricketer.
- Penelope Mortimer (1919-1999), journalist, biographer and novelist.
- Dame Prue Leith (1940–), restaurateur, chef and television presenter/broadcaster.
- John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey (1866–1948), Labour politician, Lord Chancellor 1929–1935.
- 1976 FA Cup Finalwith Southampton.
- William Towns (1936–1993), 20th century car designer.
- Mark Williams (1959–), actor, screenwriter and presenter.
References
- ^ "Moreton-in-Marsh". CityPopulation.de. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Information for record number MWA3814: The Four Shire Stone Warwickshire Museum
- ^ Mills, 2003, page not cited
- ^ a b "Bleinheim Farm, Moreton-in-Marsh" (PDF). Cotswold Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire". Great British Life. 4 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Verey, 1970, page 323
- ^ a b c d e Elrington, 1965, pages 240–250
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28752. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b Verey, 1970, page 325
- ^ Bartholemew, John (1922). The Times Survey Atlas of the World. p. plate 18.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 25 "Atlas". 1953. p. 16.
- ^ One-Inch Map of England & Wales. Cheltenham and Evesham. Ordnance Survey. 1930.
- ^ "Flood alleviation in Moreton in Marsh". Complete Utilities. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "The Moreton In Marsh Show - Agricultural & Horse Show". www.moretonshow.co.uk.
- ^ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Stops in Moreton". Bus Times. 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "North Cotswolds Hospital". The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Wellington Aviation Museum". Archived from the original on 6 October 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2003.
- ^ "The White Hart Royal Hotel".
- ^ "PDF: "The Prancing Pony by Barliman Butterbur"" (PDF). ADCBooks. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ "The Bell Inn Moreton Home Page".
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Lark Stoke (Gloucestershire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ "Cotswolds Radio". Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ "Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard". British Papers. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ Moreton Rangers: uhlsport Hellenic League | Moreton Rangers, accessdate: January 19, 2020
- ISBN 009173830X.
Sources
- Elrington, C.R., ed. (1965). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 6. pp. 24–250.
- Mills, A.D.; Room, A. (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852758-6.
- Verey, David (1970). ISBN 0-14-071040-X.