| Colesbourne | |
|---|---|
 St James' Church | |
  Colesbourne Location withinGloucestershire | |
| OS grid reference | SO999132 |
| • London | 85 mi (137 km) WNW |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Cheltenham |
| Postcode district | GL53 |
| Dialling code | 01242 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Colesbourne is a village andcivil parish in theCotswold district ofGloucestershire, England. The village and parish lies within theCotswolds, a designatedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The village is 10 miles (16 km) east-southeast from the city andcounty town ofGloucester, and on a 1,000 yards (900 m) east to west section (defined by road entry signs) of theA435 road, which runs locally betweenCheltenham 6 miles (10 km) to the north, andCirencester, 7 miles (11 km) to the south. The civil parish is 4.5 miles (7 km) from north to south.Withington parish is at the north and north-east, withNorth Cerney andRendcomb at the south. At the north-west isCoberley parish; at the west,Elkstone; and at the east,Chedworth. TheRiver Churn flows through the centre of the parish and at the north of the village, where it is joined by its tributary Hilcot Brook, which rises in the farther north parish ofDowdeswell.[2][3]
The village contains The Colesbourne Innpublic house, adjacent to a restaurant, a roadside fuel station, and a village farm with a small retail park which includes a cookery school and wine merchant. At the north of the village is theparish church of St James, and north from this is the house of Colesbourne Park estate.[2] Colesbourne is connected by bus to Cheltenham andSwindon.[4]
In 1872John Marius Wilson recorded Colesbourne as being a parish in the Cirencester district, near the highest source of theRiver Thames and 3 miles (5 km) east from theRoman road of "Ermine-street", actuallyErmin Way (today'sA417). Remains of aRoman villa had been found. There was a post office and fifty-two houses in a parish area of 2,200 acres (9 km2). Colesbourne Park was theseat ofHenry John Elwes, who waspatron of theecclesiastical parishrectory.[5]
There are sixteen Grade IIlisted buildings and structures in the parish. In the village is St James' Church, dating to the 12th century, with later 15th-century tower and chancel, which was largely rebuilt in 1852–53 for Henry John Elwes in earlyPerpendicular style.[5][6] Within the churchyard is an 18th-century tomb to John Brown (d.1760), Mary Brown (d.1736), and Mary Hayden (d.1809).[7] At the southeast of the church is the base of a medieval cross with the remains of a 17th- or 18th-century stone sundial.[8] To the northeast of the church are three listed mid-19th-century coachhouses built for Henry John Elwes of Colesbourne Park.[9][10][11]
On the A435 at the centre of the village is The Colesbourne Inn, acoaching inn dating to 1827, which was "built to serve the new Cheltenham [to] Cirencester turnpike".[12] To the west of the inn is the building listed as the 'Village Institute and Coach House', a c.1827 "former stables and coach house, now partly meeting hall".[13] Farther west, and adjacent, is the c.1850 'Village Stores and Post Office'.[14] To the east of The Colesbourne Inn is the c.17th-century Slys Cottage, a former shop and post office.[15] At the northwest of the village is Southbury Farmhouse, dating to the 17th century with 18th-century additions.[16] Adjacent to the farmhouse are mid- to late 18th centurythreshing barns and stables.[17] At the south of the parish is Rapsgate Park, a late 17th-century "large country house" which was "remodelled and enlarged in the 18th century and altered in 1903".[18] Next to Rapsgate Park is an 18th-century barn.[19] At the west and southeast of the village on the A435 are 19th-century milestones of iron plate.[20][21]
At the north of the village, beyond St James' Church, and bordered at the east by Hilcot Brook, dammed in 1922 to form a lake, is Colesbourne Park, a house with 30 acres (120,000 m2) of garden and an arboretum, which was home to thebotanist and authorHenry John Elwes (1846–1922). The park is significant for its display of 250 cultivars of snowdrops, particularlyGalanthus elwesii which was identified by and named after Elwes.[22][23][24][25]
Media related toColesbourne at Wikimedia Commons
