Cliffords Mesne is an English village in Gloucestershire, two miles (3.2 km) south-west of the town of Newent. It became the home of the autobiographical author Winifred Foley from the mid-1970s, after the success of her first book of Gloucestershire reminiscences, A Child in the Forest. [1]
Cliffords Mesne possesses a public house, the Yew Tree Inn. It is close to May Hill, which is owned by the National Trust, and to the International Centre for Birds of Prey. [2] The Village Hall was refurbished in 2013 and holds regular social and musical events. [3]
There is a single weekly bus service to and from Ross-on-Wye on Thursdays, but daily bus services between Gloucester and Ross-on-Wye pass through nearby Kilcot (4 km). [4] The nearest railway station is Gloucester (20 km).
The small Anglican church is dedicated to St Peter. Designed by E. S. Harris, it was built in 1882 of stone, with a central bellcote, a nave, a chancel, a south porch and a south vestry. It has contemporary stained glass dedicated to a local falconer and a memorial tablet to two local men who died on active service in the Second World War. [5] The church parish is merged with Gorsley. It shares clergy with the benefice of Newent and lies in the Diocese of Gloucester. [6]
An earlier stone church built in Gothic style in 1872 and extended in 1877, became the village school, which is now closed. [7] The building serves as a non-denominational village hall. [8]
The single listed historic building in Cliffords Mesne is the outlying Ravenshill Farmhouse, north of the village. Most of this dates from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. [9] The combined population of Cliffords Mesne and Gorsley was 1320 in 1876. [10]
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford to Gloucester, where it linked to the River Severn. It was opened in two phases in 1798 and 1845, and closed in 1881, when the southern section was used for the course of the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway. It is the subject of an active restoration scheme.
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.
Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, which had a population of 8,494 at the 2011 census.
Newent is a market town and civil parish about 10½ miles north-west of Gloucester, England. Its population was 5,073 at the 2001 census, rising to 5,207 in 2011, and estimated in 2019 at 5,082. Once a medieval market and fair town, its site had been settled at least since Roman times. The first written record of it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book.
Forest of Dean is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England, named after the Forest of Dean. Its council is based in Coleford. Other towns and villages in the district include Blakeney, Cinderford, Drybrook, English Bicknor, Huntley, Littledean, Longhope, Lydbrook, Lydney, Mitcheldean, Newnham and Newent.
May Hill is a prominent English hill between Gloucester and Ross-on-Wye. Its summit, on the western edge of Gloucestershire and its northern slopes in Herefordshire, is distinguishable by a clump of trees on its summit, which forms an official Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is reached by three public footpaths, two as parts of the Gloucestershire Way and Wysis Way.
Forest of Dean is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Mark Harper, a Conservative.
St Briavels, is a medium-sized village and civil parish in the Royal Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England; close to the England-Wales border, and 5 miles (8 km) south of Coleford. It stands almost 800 feet (240 m) above sea level on the edge of a limestone plateau above the valley of the River Wye, above an ancient meander of the river. To the west, Cinder Hill drops off sharply into the valley. It is sheltered behind the crumbling walls of the 12th century St Briavels Castle.
Huntley, Gloucestershire, is a village on the A40 located seven miles (11 km) west of Gloucester. It is in the north of the Forest of Dean.
Aston Ingham is a village in south-eastern Herefordshire, England, near Newent and about 7 miles (11 km) east of Ross-on-Wye. The population of the village at the 2011 census was 398. There is a church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, which has been a Grade II* listed building since 17 March 1987.
Mitcheldean is a historic market town in the east of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.
Gorsley is a small village in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, forming part of the civil parish of Gorsley and Kilcot in the South West England. Nearby Gorsley Common and Little Gorsley are both in Herefordshire.
Littledean Hall is a country house in the village of Littledean, Gloucestershire, England. It is has been described as one of the most haunted houses in England and is thought to be the oldest house in the United Kingdom which is still occupied. Saxon and Celtic remains have been uncovered in the cellars. Part of the house is designated an SSSI as it is a proven breeding roost for the Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum).
Upton Bishop is a small village in Herefordshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 census was 602.
Newent Community School is a secondary school in Newent, Gloucestershire, England. It is an Academy of 1,340 students, serving the town and the rural community. The school provides secondary education for ages 11 to 18. The school offers GCSEs as well as A Levels. In 2001, the school was granted Arts College specialist status. In 2007 the school was also granted Science College as a second specialism. In addition, the school has been awarded Sportsmark Silver, Artsmark Gold and Healthy School. The school became an academy in 2012.
Winifred Mary Foley was an English writer. She is known best for an autobiographical account of her childhood in the Forest of Dean: A Child in the Forest.
Gloucester 1 is an English rugby union league which sits at the ninth level of league rugby union in England for teams based primarily in the county of Gloucestershire but also on occasion teams from Bristol. Promoted clubs move into Gloucester Premier and relegated clubs drop into either Gloucester 2 North or Gloucester 2 South depending on location. Each year clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.
Gloucester 3 was an English rugby union league which sat at the eleventh level of league rugby union in England for teams based in Gloucestershire as well as some in Bristol. Promoted clubs moved into Gloucester 2, and since the cancellation of Gloucester 4 at the end of the 1995–96 season there had been no relegation. The division was discontinued at the end of the 2017–18 season and Gloucester 2 was divided into north and south regional divisions.
Oxenhall is a village and civil parish 10 miles (16 km) north west of Gloucester, in the Forest of Dean district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 243. The parish touches Dymock, Gorsley and Kilcot, Kempley, Newent and Upton Bishop. Oxenhall has a parish meeting.
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