Honeybourne
| Honeybourne | |
| Gloucestershire, Worcestershire | |
|---|---|
 The Thatched Tavern | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP1144 |
| Location: | 52°5’42"N, 1°49’52"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,619 (2001[1]) |
| Post town: | Evesham |
| Postcode: | WR11 |
| Dialling code: | 01386 |
| Local Government | |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Mid Worcestershire |
Honeybourne is a village and civil parish that straddles the borders of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. It lies about five miles east of Evesham in the latter county. Much of the parish is farmland. RAF Honeybourne just south of the village was operational from 1940 until 1947.
History
Honeybourne comprises two ancient parishes: Church Honeybourne in Worcestershire and Cow Honeybourne in Gloucestershire. The two civil parishes were united in 1958.[2] Honeybourne has several historic timber framed and thatched buildings. The Thatched Tavern in Cow Honeybourne has a cruck truss.[3]
Parish churches
In Church Honeybourne the Church of England parish church of Saint Ecgwin was consecrated in 1295.[4] Its antiquity is reflected in a local rhyme "when Evesham was bush and thorn there was a church at Honeybourne". Its nave and chancel appear to be original late 13th century structures.[4] There was a south aisle, but it was demolished and its windows re-set in the south wall of the nave.[4] The bell tower has a Decorated Gothic spire with three tiers of lucarnes.[4] The south porch is a late mediæval Perpendicular Gothic addition.[4]
In Cow Honeybourne the parish church has a 15th-century Perpendicular Gothic west tower and formerly had an ornate Elizabethan pulpit.[3] The church was used as almshouses from the 16th to the 19th century. Apart from the tower, the church was rebuilt in 1861-63 to designs by the Worcester Diocesan Architect W.J. Hopkins.[3] The church has since been made redundant, deconsecrated and converted to private houses.
Amenities
Honeybourne has two public houses: the Gate Inn and the 13th century Thatched Tavern. Other amenities include the Domestic Fowl Trust, which is a conservation centre and supplier of rare breed poultry, The Ranch, and Honeybourne Pottery.
Railways
Honeybourne railway station is situated on the Cotswold Line with direct train services to Worcester Shrub Hill, Oxford and London Paddington.
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway was built through the parish in the 1840s and opened Honeybourne station. The Great Western Railway took over the OW&W in 1862 and enlarged Honeybourne station in the 1900s when it built the railway between Stratford-upon-Avon and Cheltenham Spa.
British Railways closed the line between Stratford and Cheltenham, reduced the OW&W line to single track and in 1969 closed Honeybourne station. However, with increased use of the Cotswold Line, the station was re-opened in 1981 with a single platform; work completed in 2011 saw this part of the line restored to double track and Network Rail enlarged Honeybourne to two platforms with a rather large, wheelchair-accessible bridge.[5]
As of 2012 there is a good business case to restore the Stratford-Cotwolds link line.[6]
In July 2015 a drunken squirrel caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to the Honeybourne Railway Club, when it emptied an entire barrel of beer onto the floor and knocked glasses and bottles from the shelves.[7]
References
- ↑ "Area selected: Wychavon (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790557. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ↑ "Cow Honeybourne". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10480863/relationships.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pevsner, 1968, page 125
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Pevsner, 1968, page 119
- ↑ Abbott, James (August 2011). "Track doubling projects restore capacity". Modern Railways 68 (755).
- ↑ Railnews (22 October 2012). "Good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link". Railnews. http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2012/10/22-restored-line-south-of-stratford.html. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ↑ http://www.itv.com/news/central/2015-07-16/drunk-squirrel-causes-mass-damage-to-worcestershire-pub/
Sources
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1968). The Buildings of England: Worcestershire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 119, 125.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Honeybourne) |