Tetbury

Coordinates: 51°38′10″N 2°09′29″W / 51.636°N 2.158°W / 51.636; -2.158
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tetbury
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTETBURY
Postcode districtGL8
Dialling code01666
PoliceGloucestershire
FireGloucestershire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°38′10″N 2°09′29″W / 51.636°N 2.158°W / 51.636; -2.158

Tetbury is a town and

2011 census.[2] The population further increased to 6,453 in the 2021 Census.[1]

History

During the

Gothic revival parish church of St Mary the Virgin and St Mary Magdalene and much of the rest of the town centre, dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The Market House, dating from 1655 with restorations done in 1817, is a fine example of a Cotswold pillared market house that used to trade wool and yarn which was the main source of the town's wealth,[3] it is still in use as a meeting place and market. Other attractions include the Tetbury Police Museum and Courtroom, Chavenage House, Highgrove House and Westonbirt Arboretum
lie just outside the town.

The Tetbury Woolsack Races, founded 1972, is an annual competition where participants must carry a 60-pound (27 kg) sack of wool up and down a steep hill (Gumstool Hill). The Tetbury Woolsack Races take place on the "late May Bank Holiday", the last Monday in May each year.

Tetbury has won five consecutive Gold awards in the Regional "Heart of England in Bloom" competition in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and was category winner "Best Small Town" in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2010 Tetbury was Overall Winner of Heart of England in Bloom and won a Judges Discretionary Award for Community Achievement. Tetbury won Silver Gilt as a first-time entrant in the National Britain in Bloom Campaign in 2009 and a second Silver Gilt in Britain in Bloom in 2011.[4][5]

Geography

A map of Tetbury from 1946

Tetbury is situated in a landscape of gently rolling hills primarily used for farmland, including grazing of sheep and grain production. Its location is associated with a nearby major east–west trade or drovers trail, which would account for its early importance as a wool trade centre. Nearby to the west are

Bristol Avon
, known locally as the Ingleburn rises to the north of the town.

Governance

Most of Tetbury falls in the Tetbury parish, although some of the northern parts of the town are officially in Tetbury Upton.

Tetbury is in the Cotswold district, and amenities are run by

Cotswold District Council. Gloucestershire County Council
is also responsible for parts of the town.

Nationally, Tetbury has been in the

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative). At the General Election following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies Tetbury will be part of the South Cotswolds constituency
.

Economy

The 18th century parish church of St Mary the Virgin with its late 19th century steeple[6][7]
The centre of Tetbury

Tetbury is renowned for its antique and

Homes & Antiques magazine named Long Street one of the UK's top 10 favourite streets for shopping in December 2018.[8] The town centre also has a number of independent specialist food and clothing shops, banks, charity shops, estate agents and other shops including lifestyle clothing brand Overider and the Prince of Wales's original "Highgrove Shop" which opened in 2008.[9]

A Tesco supermarket branch was opened a quarter of a mile from the town centre in July 2002. The town's high street is the home to a number of specialist shops selling cheese, breads, meats, dairy and frozen products, entertainment supplies, among others.

The town has pubs and hotels, including the Royal Oak Inn which was featured in the 1971 film

Dulcima and in an episode of BBC One's Bonekickers. The Trouble House, immediately outside the town, was served by Trouble House Halt
between 1959 and 1964.

Culture

Events in the town include

recreation ground in July 2008.[10] Tetbury Music Festival is held in early October.[11]

Hospital

Tetbury Hospital is a privately run facility which funds itself from government funding and charitable donations. The hospital, which homes a

Minor Injuries Unit, was rated as "needing improvement" by the Care Quality Commission in 2016.[12] In 2005 it was announced that beds at the site would be cut.[13] The nearest Accident and Emergency Department is in Cirencester
.

Education

The town has two schools, St Mary's Primary School and

Filton College in Bristol.[14] Westonbirt School
is an independent school for girls aged 11 to 18.

Some Tetbury children travel further afield, with students at the two grammar schools, Marling School for boys and Stroud High School for girls, both in Stroud, and some at the comprehensive Deer Park School in Cirencester.

Transport

The 17th-century Tetbury Market House

Tetbury has bus services which serve local towns.

Kemble Airport at Kemble. The former airfield at Long Newnton, 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Tetbury, was home to the Cotswold Gliding Club from 1964 to 1967 when it moved to nearby Aston Down
.

Tetbury is on the A433, with easy access to the M4 and M5 motorways. The A4135 originates in Tetbury and proceeds westerly through Beverston.

Notable people

Present

Past

  • Charlotte Eliza Collins, the noted diarist, married Edward Tenney Bousfield at Tetbury in 1853.
  • Cecil "Sam" Cook
    , Gloucestershire cricketer and umpire, died 1996
  • Robert Crowley, stationer, poet and Protestant clergyman in the 16th century
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Ester Lewis, poet (1716–1794), married Robert Clark of Tetbury in 1760 and is buried there.
  • Laurens van der Post, a writer, owned a nearby farm in the 1930s, died 1996
  • Brian Trubshaw, first British test-pilot of Concorde, died 2001

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "TETBURY". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Parish & Ward populations 2011". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  3. ^ "The Market House". Feoffees of Tetbury. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  4. ^ "RHS Britain in Bloom". Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Tetbury in Bloom". Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. ^ "History". The Parish Church of St Mary The Virgin and St Mary Magdalen, Tetbury. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  7. ^ Ross, David. "Tetbury - St Mary the Virgin". Britain Express. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Edinburgh News". Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  9. ^ Kirkwood, Holly (22 September 2014). "Royal retail therapy: The Highgrove Shops". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  10. ^ Tetbury Fiesta Archived 24 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Tetbury Music Festival". Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Tetbury Hospital". Care Quality Commission. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Tetbury hospital beds to close". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 30 August 2005. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  14. ^ "School Places Strategy 2018-2023" (PDF). Gloucestershire Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tetbury.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tetbury.
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