Naunton

A house in Naunton

Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the River Windrush in the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Stow-on-the-Wold is about 6 miles (10 km) to the west and Cheltenham 12 miles (19 km) to the east.

Community

The population of Naunton in 2000 was 371,[1] which fell to 352 at the 2011 census.[2]

Once a farming community with the usual supporting trades, it had moved towards being a dormitory community by the turn of the second millennium.[1] It has had no shops since 1999, and spiralling property prices have led to many local families moving away.

However, there is still a vibrant community spirit.[1] The village has a Parish Council with five members. Local associations include clubs for music, for cricket, and for golf and tennis.[3] The Village Hall was being refurbished in 2017–2018. A twenty-year government loan of £100,000 was taken out for the purpose.[4]

There is a single public bus service only on Tuesdays and Fridays.[5] The nearest railway station is at Moreton-in-Marsh (10 miles, 16 km), providing several trains daily to London Paddington, Great Malvern, Hereford, Worcester and Oxford.[6]

Heritage

Naunton is referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Niwetone.[7] There has probably been a settlement there for at least 2000 years.

The present church, dedicated to St Andrew,[8] dates largely from the 15th century, but it replaced a Saxon church on the same site. It has two 18th-century sun dials, one of which has below it a Latin inscription, Lux Umbra Dei, meaning "Light is the shadow of God."

The Renaissance playwright and poet Ulpian Fulwell was Rector of Naunton from about 1570 until his death in about 1586, but he seems to have neglected his clerical duties. An episcopal visitation in 1572 found that the church was decaying. Four years later Fulwell was fined when his clerk was found to be illiterate and that parents had ceased to send their children to catechism classes.[9] Another Rector, from 1660, was the prolific author and translator Clement Barksdale (1609–1687), who held the parish in plurality with Stow-on-the-Wold.

Naunton also has a famous dovecote, which was erected in 1660.[7]

The 1998 Grand National winner, Earth Summit was prepared for the race in the village.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hanks, David (2004). Naunton 2000. Cheltenham: David Hanks. ISBN 0-9546850-0-8.
  2. ↑ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Parish Council site Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Parish Council site Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. ↑ Bus details Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. ↑ Moreton rail services Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 Cotswold planning trip site Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  8. ↑ St Andrew, Naunton - a church near you
  9. ↑ Kathman, David. "Fulwell, Ulpian". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10245. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Media related to Naunton at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 51°54′N 1°50′W / 51.900°N 1.833°W / 51.900; -1.833


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