Dyrham

Location of Dyrham, Gloucestershire

Dyrham is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England.

Location and communications

Dyrham is at lat. 51° 29' north, long. 2° 22' west (grid reference ST37381757). It lies at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level. It is near the A46 trunk road, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of Bath and a little south of the M4 motorway. The Cotswold Way long-distance footpath runs through the village.

Administration

Dyrham is administered by the civil parish of Dyrham & Hinton and by the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. The population of this parish was 296 at the 2011 census[1]

History

St Peter's Church, parish church of Dyrham. Next to it has stood for many centuries the manor house of Dyrham, the present incarnation of which, Dyrham Park (pictured), dates from the reign of William & Mary, and is thought to incorporate some of the structure of the ancient home of the Russells. In this church can be seen the funerary brass of Sir Maurice Russell(d.1416)

Dyrham is thought to have been the site of the important Battle of Deorham fought in AD 577 between the West Saxons under Ceawlin and Cuthwine, and the Britons of the West Country. The outcome of the battle was a decisive win for the West Saxons, allowing them to colonise three important cities, Glevum (Gloucester), Corinium (Cirencester) and Aquae Sulis (Bath).

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the tenant-in-chief of Dyrham as William FitzWido who held seven hides in Dyrham, formerly the land of Aluric. The manor passed to the Norman magnate Wynebald de Ballon, and then via the Newmarch family to the Russell family, notably being held by John Russell (died c.1224) and William Russell (1257–1311). By the 15th century the manor had passed into the Denys family, the most notable holder being William Denys (1470–1533). After the family accumulated debts in the 16th century, the manor was sold to the Wynter family and then the Blathwayte family, who built the present mansion known as Dyrham Park, which is said to incorporate some of the structure of the earlier manor house.

Nearby features


References

External links

Media related to Dyrham at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 51°29′N 2°22′W / 51.483°N 2.367°W / 51.483; -2.367

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, July 05, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.