Harescombe
| Harescombe | |
| Gloucestershire | |
|---|---|
 The Church of St. John the Baptist | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SO836102 |
| Location: | 51°47’28"N, 2°14’20"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 247 (2011) |
| Post town: | Gloucester |
| Postcode: | GL6 6 |
| Dialling code: | 01452 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Stroud |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Stroud |
Harescombe is a small village in Gloucestershire, standing five miles south of Gloucester.
It is thought the name of the village is derived from the Old English heres cumb, meaning "army's valley" (the cumb element being an Old English word taken from the British language).[1]
The village sits in a valley at the foot of the Cotswolds, beneath a hill called the Haresfield Beacon and Broadbarrow Green, which were sites of ancient British and Roman encampments. These encampments were a part of a chain of fortresses expressly mentioned by Tacitus as having been raised by Ostorius Scapula between the River Severn and River Avon, and are old British works adapted by the Romans to their own requirements.[1]
The Church of St. John the Baptist
The Church of St John the Baptist was built from the later 13th century and was consecrated in 1315. The walls are ashlar limestone, and the roof is of stone slate. The church has an unusual bellcote and a small octagonal stone spire, as well as small octagonal pinnacles on the four sides. Small iron crosses were added to these pinnacles in 1870–71 when Francis Niblett restored the church.[2] The belfry has two bells, one of which has been determined to be the oldest bell (circa 1180) in Gloucestershire.[3]
Several of the memorial inscriptions on markers in the adjacent graveyard date from the 17th century, with the oldest being for Thomas Roberts, Gent., dated 20 January 1632.[4]
The church is a grade II* listed building.[5]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Harescombe) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Melland Hall, The Rev. J.: 'Transactions – Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society' 1885 (C. T. Jeffries and Sons) pages67–132
- ↑ Verey, David (1979). Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071040-X.
- ↑ "The Beacon Benefice". http://www.beaconbenefice.org.uk/harescombe/index.asp. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ↑ Blacker, Rev. Beaver H (1881). Gloucestershire Notes and Queries. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and Co., Ltd..
- ↑ National Heritage List 1154223: Church of St John The Baptist