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Blockley

( Villages In Gloucestershire )

History

Manor
Churches
Economic and social hist..

Governance
Amenities
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C O N T E N T S

Blockley Church England Parish

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Blockley is a village, civil parish and Parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire.

The civil and ecclesiastical parish boundaries are roughly coterminous, and include the hamlets of Draycott, Paxford and Aston Magna, the residential development at Northwick and the deserted hamlets of Upton and Upper Ditchford.

Blockley village is on Blockley Brook, a tributary of Knee Brook. Knee Brook forms the northeastern boundary of the parish and is a tributary of the River Stour.

History

Manor

In AD 855 King Burgred of Mercia granted a monastery at Blockley to Ealhhun, Bishop of Worcester for the price of 300 solidi. Victoria County History, 1913, pages 265-276 In 1086 the Domesday Book recorded that the Bishop of Worcester held an estate of 38 hides at Blockley. The Bishops of Worcester retained the estate until 1648, during the English Civil War, when the Parliamentary Trustees sold it. After the restoration of the English monarchy the estate was restored to the Bishop of Worcester, whose successors held the manor until at least 1781.

Churches

The Church of England parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul is late Norman,Verey, 1970, page 121 built in about 1180. The ecclesiastical parish now forms part of the Vale and Cotswold Edge team of Church of England churches, with the Team Vicar remaining responsible for Blockley and its outlying villages of Paxford, Draycott and Aston Magna, as well as the parish of Bourton-on-the-Hill. A Church Near You: St Peter & St Paul, Blockley

The church is used as St Mary's Roman Catholic church in the Father Brown television series and the vicarage as the presbytery, Father Brown's residence.

The Baptist Chapel was built in 1835.Verey, 1970, page 123-124

Economic and social history

In 1715 the Vicar, the Rev. Dr. Erasmus Saunders, had a new school built for the parish. Blockley still has a Church of England primary school. Gloucestershire County Council: Details for: Blockley Church of England Primary School

Much of the parish was farmed under an open field system until 1772, when an Act of Parliament provided for the enclosure of the remaining . The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, built between 1845 and 1851, passes through the parish. Blockley railway station was more than northeast of the village and nearer to Paxford. closed Blockley railway station in 1966 but the railway remains open as part of the Cotswold Line. The nearest railway station still open is .

Blockley is home to Watsonian Squire, the largest UK manufacturer of and trailers for motorcycle. It has been based in the village since 1984.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward has the same area and population as the civil parish.

Amenities

Blockley has two . The Crown Inn and Hotel is a former coaching inn.Verey, 1970, page 123 The Great Western Arms belongs to the Hook Norton Brewery.

Blockley Sports & Social Club is the local sports club which has Hockey, Cricket and Football sections. The post office closed in 2007. In May 2008, under a co-operative agreement, the village residents opened a new local not for profit store Blockley Shop & Cafe that is a grocer, newsagent, post office, off-licence and café.

Sources