by Daniel Knowles | Nov 3, 2023 | Blog, Guide to The Cotswolds
The abbey, visible from afar, is unmistakable, even though it is much diminished in stature (in all senses). It was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 675 either by an Irish monk named Maildubh (from whom, some say, the town gets its name) or the scholar-poet...
by Daniel Knowles | Nov 3, 2023 | Blog, Guide to The Cotswolds
There are many beautiful villages in the Cotswolds. Some are famous, whilst others, equally deserving of admiration, remain more or less anonymous. Their comparative obscurity is their main attraction. Visitors are few because these places, being slightly out of the...
by Daniel Knowles | Nov 3, 2023 | Blog, Churches, Guide to The Cotswolds
Saint Kenelm (or Cynehelm) was an Anglo-Saxon saint, venerated throughout medieval England, and mentioned in the Canterbury Tales (in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale). William of Malmesbury, writing in the 12th century, recounted that “there was no place in...
by Daniel Knowles | Nov 3, 2023 | Blog, Guide to The Cotswolds
Cleeve Common is a wide-open area of natural grassland forming part of the Cotswold Hills escarpment. Situated about 4 miles northeast of the town of Cheltenham, it is effectively the summit of Cleeve Hill, which, at 1083 ft/330 meters, is the highest point of the...
by Daniel Knowles | Oct 30, 2023 | Guide to The Cotswolds
Kelmscott Manor, a former farmhouse at the edge of Kelmscott village, adjacent to the River Thames, was built with local limestone in about 1600, with an additional wing added to the northeast corner in about 1665. William Morris chose it as his summer home, signing a...
by Daniel Knowles | Oct 30, 2023 | Guide to The Cotswolds
Out of interest, here follow two 19th century descriptions from gazeteers of the time: ‘A chapelry in Bibury parish, Gloucester; 6 miles NE of Cirencester r. station. Post town, Fairford, under Swindon. Acres, 1,190. Rated property, £1,454. Pop., 181. Houses,...
