Gloucestershire (pop. 645,076) is one of the most beautiful counties in England. It lies on either side of the majestic River Severn in west-central England. Gloucestershire is famed for its scenery, including the Cotswold Hills, and its attractive market towns and villages. Gloucester is the administrative center. The county covers an area of 1,024 square miles (2,653 square kilometers).
People and government
Local customs.
On Whit Monday, a large cheese is rolled down a steep hill at Birdlip. A group of villagers chase the cheese, and the person who catches it is allowed to keep it.
Recreation.
Gloucestershire has a first-class cricket club that dates back to the time of the great cricketer W. G. Grace in the 1870’s. Rugby football is popular, especially in Gloucester and the Forest of Dean. Sports connected with horses are popular in Gloucestershire. Cheltenham has a race course that stages the famous Cheltenham Gold Cup race each spring.
The county has a number of cultural activities that attract many visitors. Every third year, the Three Choirs Festival takes place in Gloucester Cathedral. Cheltenham has a music festival and a literary festival each year. Stroud has an arts festival.
Local government.
The county is divided into six local government districts for administration. They are Cheltenham; Cotswold, which covers the eastern part of the county; Forest of Dean; Gloucester; Stroud; and Tewkesbury. The local police force is the Gloucestershire Constabulary, which has its headquarters at Cheltenham. The crown court meets at Gloucester.
Economy
Manufacturing.
Since World War II (1939–1945), manufacturing industry has come to play a large part in the economy of Gloucestershire. Gloucester has long had an engineering industry, but now also produces nylon and ice cream. Cheltenham has an extensive engineering industry, with aircraft components as one of its major products. Other products made there include clocks and watches, polishes, and vacuum cleaners.
An industrial area has grown up in the valleys of the southern Cotswolds, centering on Stroud. Among the area’s products are mining equipment, paper, pianos, and plastics. Cloth production, for which the area was once famous, is now carried on by only a few firms. Some factories make the cloth for dress uniforms.
In the Forest of Dean, new industries have developed to replace coal mining, which employed many workers until the 1930’s. The area’s products include agricultural machinery, brushes, paper, and plastics. Berkeley has a nuclear power station.
Agriculture and quarrying.
For centuries, Cotswold farmers concentrated on sheep farming but it has declined, though many farmers keep sheep in the Forest of Dean. In northern Gloucestershire, green vegetables, potatoes, and sugar beets are grown. Near Newent, many farmers grow salad vegetables and tomatoes. Dairy farming is important in southern Gloucestershire, along with the breeding of beef cattle. Pig and poultry farming are increasing in importance.
Quarries in the Forest of Dean produce limestone. Gravel is extracted in the Cirencester and Tewkesbury areas. Open-pit coal mining takes place around Lydney.
Transportation and communication.
The M5 motorway links Gloucestershire with northern England and with southwest England. The M5 runs through the middle of the county between Gloucester and Cheltenham. The M50, which runs from the M5 to Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, crosses northwest Gloucestershire. The A40 road links Gloucester and Cheltenham with London.
Railroad lines link Cheltenham and Gloucester with London via Swindon. Other lines lead to Bristol, Birmingham, and South Wales. The River Severn, once important for shipping freight, has lost much of its importance. The county has a small airport, at Staverton.
Gloucester and Cheltenham each publish daily newspapers. The county has several weekly papers. An independent local radio station at Gloucester, Severn Sound, serves Gloucester and Cheltenham. The Government Communications Headquarters (G.C.H.Q.), which processes British intelligence information, is in Cheltenham.
Tourism
is a major industry. The beauty of the Cotswolds, the Severn Vale, and the Forest of Dean attracts millions of visitors. Cheltenham is a center for touring the Cotswolds and holds cultural festivals.
Land and climate
Location and size.
Gloucestershire was reduced in size in the local government reorganization of 1974. It is now bordered by Worcestershire and Warwickshire in the north, Oxfordshire in the east, and Wiltshire and the unitary authorities of Swindon and South Gloucestershire in the south. Herefordshire unitary authority lies in the northwest, and the Welsh unitary authority of Monmouthshire in the west. The county’s maximum distance from north to south is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) and from east to west about 42 miles (68 kilometers).
Land regions.
Gloucestershire has three distinct land regions: the Forest, the Vale, and the Cotswolds.
The Forest of Dean
is a wooded area of great beauty, covering nearly 50 square miles (130 square kilometers). Old red sandstone rocks, rising steeply from the banks of the Severn and the Wye, surround the forest.
The Vale of Berkeley,
with its northward extension the Vale of Gloucester, lies between the forest upland of Dean and the Cotswold Hills. The River Severn winds its way to the sea along the Vale, which varies in width between about 6 and 13 miles (10 and 21 kilometers).
The Cotswold Hills.
The third and largest region is a range of limestone hills, with a steep slope overlooking the Vale. It slopes gently to the east.
Climate.
Temperatures average about 39 °F (4 °C) in January and 63 °F (17 °C) in July. Rainfall is heavy, particularly where the moist southwesterly winds rise over the forest and the edge of the Cotswolds. Rainfall over the rest of Gloucestershire averages from 27 to 32 inches (69 to 81 centimeters).
History
Two major Roman towns in Gloucestershire were Cirencester, a tribal capital with its own amphitheater, and Gloucester, a legionary city. The Romans developed the iron mines in the Forest of Dean. The Saxons settled in the area east of the Severn in the A.D. 500’s.
William the Conqueror paid regular visits to Gloucester. There, in late 1085, he ordered his clerks to make the survey we now call the Domesday Book (see Domesday Book ). Edward II was murdered at Berkeley Castle.
From the Middle Ages onwards, and possibly earlier, the people of the Cotswolds produced and wove large quantities of wool. Gloucestershire broadcloth became famous. At that time, the Forest of Dean produced much of England’s iron. During the 1700’s, the number of iron mines dwindled, but cloth production flourished.
Edward Jenner, discoverer of the principle of vaccination, began his practice as a doctor at Berkeley in 1773. Robert Raikes, a Gloucester printer, has been called one of the founders of universal education.
