Stanton, Gloucestershire

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Stanton
Gloucestershire
Stanton cottage 8348.jpg
A cottage in Stanton
Location
Grid reference: SP068342
Location: 52°0’24"N, 1°54’4"W
Data
Population: 198  (2011)
Post town: Broadway
Postcode: WR12
Dialling code: 01386
Local Government
Council: Tewkesbury
Parliamentary
constituency:
Tewkesbury

Stanton is a village of gorgeous honey-coloured cottages in the Cotswolds, at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment in northern Gloucestershire, about two and a half miles south-west of Broadway in neighbouring Worcestershire.

The village is a spring line settlement, built almost completely of Cotswold stone. Several cottages have thatched roofs. It has a high street, with a pub, The Mount, at the end.[1] David Verey calls it "architecturally, the most distinguished of the smaller villages in the North Cotswolds".[2] The Daily Telegraph described Stanton in 2017 as "arguably the most beautiful Cotswold village of them all"[3] while the Huffington Post said that it's "one of the prettiest and idyllic unspoilt villages of the Cotswolds".[4]

The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 198.

About the village

The parish is about three miles long, rising to its highest point is Shenberrow Hill on the Cotswold escarpment in the south-east of the parish, 994 feet above sea level. The low-lying north-western part of the parish is bounded mostly by two streams, which converge and then join the River Isbourne about half a mile outside the parish.

A report in 1712 indicated that the village consisted of 60 houses and 300 inhabitants, including 29 freeholders:[5] larger than today.

Much of the area of the village was owned by the Stott family from 1906 to 1949. In addition to restoring the properties, these owners built a reservoir in 1907, added lighting to the main street, improved the church, extended the school, built a swimming pool and cricket field.[6] Today, the village has no school, post office or shops.[7]

The Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the village.[8]

Archaeology

Shenberrow, on the hill southeast of the village, is a hill fort enclosing about two and a half acres. It is 'bivallate', meaning that its defences include two concentric ditches. The fort was excavated in 1935, and Iron Age pottery, iron artefacts and a bronze bracelet were found. Romano-British pottery from the second century AD was also found.[9]

The fort is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[10]

Manor

The Manor, tithes and patronage of Stanton were bestowed on Winchcombe Abbey by Kenulf, King of Mercia in 811. Most records though were destroyed in the disastrous fire at Winchcombe Benedictine Abbey in 1151[11] The manor belonged to Winchcombe Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

After the dissolution, in 1557, the manor house was built by Thomas Warren.[12]

The manor passed to a series of owners over the descending centuries, including the architect and engineer Sir Philip Sidney Stott, who bought the estate in 1906.[13] He is credited with rescuing Stanton village from oblivion,[2] putting his fortune and skills into restoring Stanton Court and other historic buildings in the village.

Church of St Michael and All Angels

Parish church

A church was built here in around 1100.[14] the earliest remaining features are three Norman columns from about 1200 which form the north arcade. The south arcade was rebuilt with Early Gothic pointed arches, a bay longer than the previous arcade, together with a new tower of cut stone at the West end. There are hagioscopes (squints) in both transepts, an aumbry is in the north and two more in the south transept and aisle.

The font, porch and parvise are 15th-century. The original pulpit and lectern date from about 1375 and were restored in 1982. There is a second pulpit added in 1684. There are mediæval encaustic tiles at the east end.

Fragments of ancient painted decoration survive. There are fragments of mediæval stained glass in the east window, the south transept and the west window, which also shows the White Rose of York. The reredos of 1915, the rood screen and the east windows of the chancel and transepts are by Sir Ninian Comper and Squire Stott. In the north transept are murals of the Annunciation and Purification; fragments of the mediæval screen.

Still visible on the south wall is evidence of stone benches for the old and infirm, dating from when most of the congregation would stand during the parts of the service that did not require kneeling. There are mediæval benches at the back of the nave: "their poppy heads ringed with the chains of shepherds' dogs".[15] There is a wooden roundel of Mauritius Wrabury.[16]

The church is a Grade I listed building.[16]

Historic buildings

Old Manor Farmhouse

The Manor (also known as Warren House)[17] and Warne Cottage,[18] also called Warren House, is Elizabethan, with the year 1577 on a datestone. This was formerly manor house, and is now one house and an attached cottage.[19] Old Manor Farmhouse, built circa 1678,[20] is also Elizabethan]].[19][21]

A full 43 of the buildings in this village are Listed, all as Grade II.

Railway

New track being laid for through Stanton parish

The Great Western Railway's main line between Stratford-upon-Avon and Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road was built through the parish between 1900 and 1904,[14] passing about half a mile west of the village. The nearest station was Laverton Halt about a mile north of Stanton. British Railways closed the line to passenger trains in 1960 and freight in 1976.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway heritage railway is rebuilding the line. By 2018, the line had reached beyond the Stanton Lane bridge.[22]

Outside links

Commons-logo.svg
("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Stanton, Gloucestershire)

References

  1. "The Mount Inn, Stanton - Village Pub near Broadway, Worcestershire UK". https://www.themountinn.co.uk/. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Verey 1970, p. 413.
  3. Madden, Richard (3 October 2017). "10 perfect pub walks in the Cotswolds". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/cotswolds/articles/Cotswolds-pub-walks/. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  4. "Five Magical Cotswolds Towns for the Winter". 16 December 2014. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tommcloughlin/5-magical-cotswolds-towns_b_6332450.html. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  5. 'The Hardships of the English Laws in Relation to Wives by Sarah Chapone (Susan Paterson Glover, 19 January (Routledge, 2018, via Google Books)
  6. Stanton Village - History and People
  7. Stanton, Gloucestershire| by Alison Avery on Beautiful England Photos
  8. "Cotswold Way Circular Walk: 3. Stanton, Snowshill and the Edge - National Trails". https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold-way/route/cotswold-way-circular-walk-3-stanton-snowshill-and-edge. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  9. RCHME 1976, pp. 109–110.
  10. National Heritage List 1004867: Shenberrow hill camp
  11. Stanton Village - Church of St Michael
  12. Pilbeam, Alan (3 October 2011). "Gloucestershire 300 Years Ago". The History Press. https://books.google.ca/books?id=FwkTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT116&dq=manor,+stanton+Warren+house&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik1MqLy4DcAhWJ7oMKHXd0D2gQ6AEIRTAG#v=onepage&q=manor,+stanton+Warren+house&f=false. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  13. Elder, David (15 July 2015). "50 Gems of the Cotswolds: The History & Heritage of the Most Iconic Places". Amberley Publishing Limited. https://books.google.ca/books?id=RQAnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT17&dq=manor,+stanton+Stott&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizy9H7yYDcAhWB34MKHVgfDo0Q6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=manor,+stanton+Stott&f=false. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 Stanton Village - History and People
  15. Church leaflet, circa 1990s
  16. 16.0 16.1 National Heritage List 1091828: Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade I listing)
  17. Elder, David (15 July 2015). "50 Gems of the Cotswolds: The History & Heritage of the Most Iconic Places". Amberley Publishing Limited. https://books.google.ca/books?id=RQAnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT16&lpg=PT16&dq=history+of+sheppey+corner,+stanton&source=bl&ots=4Fizz1VzDp&sig=vicRLPQXuTbAEeNIahL4-Q3rK1Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN6ZamgO_bAhUOZawKHd5xC604ChDoAQgoMAA#v=onepage&q=history+of+sheppey+corner,+stanton&f=false. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 
  18. National Heritage List 1091838: The Manor and Warne Cottage (Grade II* listing)
  19. 19.0 19.1 Verey 1970, p. 414.
  20. National Heritage List 1340089: Manor Farmhouse
  21. National Heritage List 1154068: Old Manor Farmhouse (Grade II* listing)
  22. "Goucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR)in the Cotswolds". https://www.cotswolds.info/steam-railways/gloucestershire-warwickshire.shtml. Retrieved 28 April 2019.