Old Sodbury
Avon and Somerset | |
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UK Parliament | |
Old Sodbury is a small village and former
The village lies on an old coaching route, and is much more ancient than its westerly neighbour, Chipping Sodbury: hence the name 'Old' Sodbury.
Name and fort
The name of the village is recorded in
The Romans strengthened the fort for use as a stronghold to support their western frontier. In AD 577 the Saxon army is thought to have used the fort as a camp before the Battle of Deorham, a few miles to the south.
Bishop
In Edward the Confessor's reign, the manor formed part of the estate of
Church
The Church of Saint John the Baptist is late Norman or Transitional, and is some 900 years old. It has two effigies of knights: one is late 14th century, carved in wood; and the other is dated to 1240, carved in stone, featuring a very large shield. These two are considered to have been lords of the local manor.
The church is of late Norman period, and although it has been much enlarged and altered, much of the original work remains. In the nave there is an arcade of Norman columns, there are two Norman windows and the tower is also Norman.
In the churchyard at Old Sodbury is a number of old bale-tombs; these were tombs for rich merchants. Some of the gravestones date back to the early 19th century. Just outside the churchyard on the hillside is a
Other buildings
There is a primary school (Old Sodbury CofE Primary School), a Nursery (Overndale House), two hotels and a Public House (The Dog Inn). The village has a petrol station, football pitch and a playground, but no longer a post office since the round of closures in 2008. The village shop soldiered on in the same premises on the Badminton Road for another three years, but finally closed in 2011.
The historic Cross Hands Hotel stands on the north-eastern corner of the A46 crossroads; heavy snow caused Queen Elizabeth II to take refuge in the Cross Hands in 1981, when she was being driven back to London and the roads were impassable. There is a farm shop (Cotswold Edge) opposite the hotel.
There is a crenellated tower resembling a rook chess piece on the escarpment immediately above and to the east of the village, visible from the main road. It performs the function of a ventilation shaft (the first of six) for the
Lyegrove House, one mile east of the village just off the B4040 road to Badminton, is 17th century in origin, altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Gothic-style Lodge was built in 1835 and designed by Charles Dyer of Bristol. In 1927, Diana, Countess of Westmorland contracted George Herbert Kitchin (1870-1951) to restore the house and lay out the formal gardens. Other examples of Kitchin's designs are Compton End, Winchester, and Horsley Hall, Gresford.[3]
References
- A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Relationships and changes Old Sodbury AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "George Herbert Kitchin". www.parksandgardens.org. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- David Verey, Gloucestershire: the Cotswolds, The Buildings of England edited by ISBN 0-14-071040-X, p. 351–353
- Francis Fredrick Fox, The History of the Parishes of Old Sodbury and of Little Sodbury, and of the Town of Chipping Sodbury in the County of Gloucestershire, (1907) ISBN 1120035031
- P.A. Couzens, Annals of Two Manors - viz Old Sodbury and of Little Sodbury, and Annals of a Borough - viz Chipping Sodbury, (1989) Both out of print, but available at Yate Library.
External links
- Old Sodbury Village Hall – Available for hire
- Sodbury Players – local amateur dramatics group in the Yate and Chipping Sodbury Area