Mickleton, Gloucestershire

Mickleton, with a population of 1,677 (UK Census 2011), an increase of 125 since the census of 1991,[1] is the northernmost village in Gloucestershire, England.

Mickleton

View over Mickleton
Mickleton
Location within Gloucestershire
Population1,677 (2011 Census)
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townChipping Campden
Postcode districtGL55
PoliceGloucestershire
FireGloucestershire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

Location

Mickleton lies close to the county border with Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

The village lies 8 miles south of Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon at the western edge of the Cotswold escarpment in the Vale of Evesham. Chipping Campden lies 3 miles to the south.

Attractions

Mickleton is noted for its market gardening and vegetable growing[2] Young plants, seed plugs, apples, cauliflowers and asparagus, or gras, are grown locally. Meon Hill, scene of the so-called 'witchcraft' murder of Charles Walton in 1945, lies to the north of the village. Meon Hill is said to have provided inspiration for Tolkien's 'Weathertop' from The Lord of the Rings[3] According to legend, Meon Hill was formed by the Devil. He intended to throw a clod of earth at Evesham Abbey, but missed, and the earth formed the hill.[4]

Mickleton has two old pubs, King's Arms and Butcher's Arms, and a hotel, Three Ways House Hotel. Sited on a green in front of the hotel is a memorial fountain by the Victorian architect William Burges.[5]

The Church of St Lawrence is an Anglican parish church. It contains a memorial to Utrecia Smith, the daughter of a curate of Mickleton whose father was also a schoolmaster. Utrecia had been the fiancée of the writer Richard Graves (who broke off their engagement); she died in 1744 aged 30.[6] At the heart of village activities is King George's Hall, located at the centre of the village and home to the many clubs and societies that thrive in the village.

The Heart of England Way runs through the village. The village has many B&Bs that have been set up privately in people's own homes Local market towns and villages include Broadway, Chipping Campden, Stratford-upon-Avon, Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham.

Both Hidcote Manor Garden and Kiftsgate Court Gardens are located nearby.

  • St Lawrence's Church
  • A typical house
  • Three Ways House Hotel
  • Memorial foundation by William Burges

Notable residents
  • Sir Anthony Keck (1630–1695), Commissioner of the Great Seal, was born in Mickleton.

References
  1. "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  2. "Guide to Mickleton, Gloucestershire". Country Life. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. "10 beautiful north Cotswold villages you need to visit". Cotswold Life. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  4. Ash, Russell (1973). Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 325. ISBN 9780340165973.
  5. Verey, David; Brooks, Alan (2000). Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds. The Buildings of England. Penguin. p. 477. ISBN 0140710981.
  6. Evans, Herbert A. (1927) Highways and Byways in Oxford and the Cotswolds. London: Macmillan; p. 217

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