Eastleach

Eastleach

St. Michael & St. Martin
Eastleach
 Eastleach shown within Gloucestershire
Population 306 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO2016905239
   – London 84 mi (135 km)  
DistrictCotswold
Shire countyGloucestershire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town CIRENCESTER
Postcode district GL7
Dialling code 01367
Police Gloucestershire
Fire Gloucestershire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentCotswold
Websitehttp://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=14352&contactid=652
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire

Coordinates: 51°45′58″N 2°02′13″W / 51.766°N 2.037°W / 51.766; -2.037

Eastleach is a civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It was created in 1935 when the separate parishes of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin were combined as the civil parish of Eastleach.[2] Today the two villages of the parish—Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin—are separated only by the narrow River Leach, which is crossed by a stone road bridge[3] and a stone slab clapper footbridge.[4]

Eastleach Martin

On the east bank of the Leach is Eastleach Martin, the smaller of the two villages. Today, the two principal structures are the church of St. Michael & St Martin, and Eastleach House, with a formal garden and extensive grounds open to the public.[5] Eastleach Martin was also known as Bouthrop or Burthrop.

Keble clapper bridge across the River Leach

St. Michael & St. Martin

A Grade I listed structure,[6] St. Michael & St. Martin is of early Norman in origin. Founded by Richard Fitz Pons, it was given to Great Malvern Priory in 1120, later passing to Gloucester Abbey. The present church is mostly 13th century; there are a Perpendicular font and some decorated Gothic windows terminating in tiny carved heads, but the interior is relatively plain. Although no longer used for worship, the church is maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust.[7]

Eastleach Turville

The larger of the two villages today, Eastleach Turville has a plethora of listed houses and farm structures,[8] in addition to the parish church of St. Andrew.

St. Andrew

St Andrew, Eastleach Turville

Also a Grade I listed structure,[9] St. Andrew sits directly across the Leach from St. Michael & St. Martin. Decoratively the more interesting of the two churches, St. Andrew's most prominent feature is the Christ in Majesty tympanum over the west door of the church. The lectern is said to have come from Tewkesbury Abbey. The 13th- or 14th-century tower of the mostly-Norman church has a simple gable roof known as a saddleback.[10] St. Andrew remains a functioning parish church.[11]

Notable people

John Keble was curate of St. Michael & St. Martin, Eastleach Martin, in the early 19th century, where he founded a Sunday School; the clapper footbridge over the Leach is named after him. The priest and antiquary Peter Bailey Williams also served in Eastleach Martin, early in the 18th century.

The journalist, diplomat and intelligence agent, Jona von Ustinov, father of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov, died in Eastleach in 1962.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011.Retrieved 25 March 2015".
  2. ↑ Eastleach CP, on A Vision of Britain through Time website
  3. ↑ Grade II listed on 5 February 1987
  4. ↑ Grade II listed on 23 January 1952
  5. ↑ Official website of Eastleach House
  6. ↑ Listed on 26 January 1961
  7. ↑ Pictures
  8. ↑ List of listed buildings
  9. ↑ Listed on 26 January 1961
  10. ↑ Pictures
  11. ↑ Church page on Church of England website

External links

Media related to Eastleach at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 25, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.