| Matson | |
|---|---|
 The Musket | |
  Matson Location within Gloucestershire | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Matson is a suburb of Gloucester, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 40. [1]
Unlike neighbouring villages, such as Brookthorpe and Upton St Leonards, Matson is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It appears to have been a part of Kings Barton at the time of the survey. The origins of the name are unclear but early versions recorded include Matesknolle, Mattesdune and Matesden [2] and it is likely that the names refer to Robinswood Hill, [2] a large hill which lay entirely within the ancient parish of Matson and on the flanks of which the village lies.
It has been suggested that iron ore was mined from Robinswood Hill in Saxon times [2] although there is little evidence for this. A spring called the Red Well rising just above Matson is ferruginous in nature.
Matson House, a large manorial house, was the headquarters of King Charles during the Siege of Gloucester. [3] It subsequently became the property of Major General William Selwyn in 1679. [4] It is now (2017) the Selwyn Care Home.
On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and became part of Gloucester, Brookthorpe and Upton St. Leonards. [5]
The housing estate, which occupies the majority of Matson, was built between the 1950s and 1970s. Many housed dock and factory workers, many of whom worked at the Gloucester Docks.
Today, Matson is best known for the council estate that was built in the village after the Second World War. Parmjit Dhanda, former MP for Gloucester (2001-2010), lived in Matson with his family. Matson contains a ski slope, a pub, a shopping parade, doctor's surgery, Neighbourhood Project and several churches.
Matson police station was closed in 1994. [6] In 2009 plans were revealed for the construction of a new motorway service station. [7] Following the planning process and a judicial review [8] Gloucester services was built near Matson with the northbound services opening on 7 May 2014 [9] and the southbound services due to open in May 2015. [9]
Matson is bordered primarily by Robinswood Hill, a large hill that rises to 283 metres above sea level. Much of Matson is built on the sides of the hill, which features the Gloucester Ski Centre.
In 2017, Matson was the site of a near-fatal "hit and run" incident. [10] Local resident Delroy Nelson bought a car so that he could drive over his former partner in an attempt to kill her. The incident was motivated by Mr Nelson being denied access to a sum of criminal proceeds that had been kept in a shared bank account.
The Matson estate, along with neighbouring area to the north of the estate, Tredworth has the highest crime rate within the City of Gloucester. Antisocial behaviour, drug addiction and more recently (especially in the Tredworth area) knife crime associated with street gangs.
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge named his "expensive" curry sauce after the sauce that he used to buy from his local chipshop on the Matson estate. [11]
Puriton is a village and parish at the westerly end of the Polden Hills, in Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,968. The local parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. A chapel on Woolavington Road was converted to a private house some 20 years ago. The parish includes the hamlets of Dunball and Down End.
Tewkesbury is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley. It continues past Bromsgrove, Droitwich Spa, Worcester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Taunton, terminating at junction 31 for Exeter. Congestion on the section south of the M4 is common during the summer holidays, on Friday afternoons and bank holidays.
Upton-upon-Severn is a town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Lying on the A4104, the 2021 census recorded a population of 2,903 for the town.
Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England, and a civil parish which also includes the villages of Hortham, Gaunt's Earthcott, Over, Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Hallen and Berwick.
Patchway is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated 6 mi (9.7 km) north-north west of central Bristol. The town has become an overflow settlement for Bristol and is contiguous with Bristol's urban area, along with the nearby towns of Filton and Bradley Stoke.
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Strategically the area has been and remains an important part of the region's maritime economy particularly for larger vessels for the unloading and exporting of heavier goods as well as in industry including warehousing, light industry, electrical power and sanitation. The area contains a junction of and is connected to the south by the M5 motorway and other roads, railway tracks and paths to the north, south-east and east.
Abbeydale and Abbeymead are modern suburbs of the city of Gloucester in the county of Gloucestershire, England. They lie approximately 3 miles south-east of the city centre, and are bounded by the suburbs of Coney Hill to the north west, Barnwood and Hucclecote to the north and north east, Matson to the south west and the M5 motorway to the south and east. Mostly connected with Segregated Bicycle Paths into Gloucester city along Metz Way. The village of Upton St Leonards is directly across the M5 motorway.
Ashchurch is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashchurch Rural, in the Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the town of Tewkesbury, 11 mi (18 km) southwest of Evesham, 10 mi (16 km) north of Cheltenham, 13 mi (21 km) north-north-east of Gloucester and 10 mi (16 km) south of Pershore.
Brookthorpe-with-Whaddon, formerly just Brookthorpe is a civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 308, increasing to 322 at the 2011 census. In 2019 the population was estimated at 395. It consists of the small villages of Brookthorpe and Whaddon, both to the south of Gloucester.
Newland is a village and civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Malvern Link, Worcestershire, England, on the A449 road.
Woodchurch is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, in England. Administratively, Woodchurch is within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, its parliamentary constituency is Wirral West, and its local council ward is Upton. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 8,400. Woodchurch is dominated by a large housing development, known as the Woodchurch Estate. The district is served by several schools and has the major Arrowe Park Hospital just outside its boundary, which was built on 15 acres (61,000 m2) of the park itself and opened in 1982.
Eastington is a village and civil parish in the Gloucestershire, England. It lies 4 miles west of Stroud and 9 miles south of Gloucester at the entrance to the Stroud Valley. It is west of the town of Stonehouse and south of Junction 13 of the M5 motorway and the A38 and A419 roads. Since the M5 and its access roads were opened, the main road no longer runs through the village.
Strensham is a village in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire. In the 2001 census, the civil parish of Strensham had a population of 314 across 127 households. Since 1991, the population has risen 28.7% from 244 residents.
Poolbrook is a village and a suburb of Malvern, Worcestershire, England, situated approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Great Malvern, the town's centre, and about 0.5 miles (08 km) from the Malvern suburb of Barnards Green on the Poolbrook Road (B4208). The village comprises several shops, a traditional English pub, and a number of council and private housing estates. St Andrew's C of E parish church was built in Early English style in 1882 as a memorial to a member of the Chance Brothers glass manufacturing family. The village occupies the geographical centre of the Chase ward of Malvern Town Council.
Gloucester Services are a pair of Motorway Service Areas (MSA) serving the northbound and southbound carriageways of the M5 between Junction 11A and Junction 12, near Whaddon, Gloucester. It specialises in selling artisanal food, and does not offer outlets for popular chain food brands. Fuel is provided by Esso and electric vehicle charging facilities are available.
Link Top is a locality of Malvern Link, a major population area of the town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is situated at the western extremity of Malvern Link at its boundary with Great Malvern and North Malvern. It is centred on a sharp left hand bend in the Worcester Road (A449) that forms a complex junction with the North Malvern Road, Hornyold Road, Newtown Road, and Lygon Bank,
Sherrard's Green is a village and a suburb of Malvern, Worcestershire, England, situated approximately 1.5 miles southeast of Great Malvern, the town's centre, and about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the Malvern suburb of Barnards Green. The village comprises a number of council and private housing estates and the small parish church of St Mary's, Pickersleigh, and a Tesco convenience store that opened in 2011 on the site of a former pub, The New Gas Tavern.