Tormarton | |
---|---|
Tormarton High Street | |
Location within Gloucestershire | |
Population | 348 (2011) [1] |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Badminton |
Postcode district | GL9 |
Dialling code | 01454 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Tormarton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. Its name may come from Thor Maer Tun meaning The settlement with the thorn (tree) on the boundary. [2] Another source suggests the name derives from the church tower (Tor) on the border between Wessex and Mercia (Anglo-Saxon Meark). [3] It is one mile North-East of junction 18 of the M4 motorway, with the A46 road and close to the border between Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. In 2001 and 2011 there were 144 households and the population was 348. [4] A National Trail, the Cotswold Way passes through the village. [2] There is a church, a hotel, a pub and also a number of bed and breakfasts in the village. A Highways Agency depot with a salt dome is situated near to the village. [5]
It is thought that humans have been active in the area of Tormarton for more than 6000 years. [6] In 1968 the bodies of three Bronze Age men were discovered near Tormarton, when a gas pipeline was being installed. Unusually, two of the bodies showed combat wounds; they are now in Bristol City Museum. Further excavations were made in 1999 and 2000, which found remains of two other bodies estimated to be 3,500 years old. They are all thought to have all died at a similar time and were then buried in a ditch. [7] A BBC documentary, Meet The Ancestors, was made that followed the second excavation. [8]
The area is thought to have been inhabited by the Romans [2] as a stone coffin was found in nearby Hinton. [9] The village was on the border of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia. The medieval village was larger than today: extensive earthworks to the north and east of the church suggest that this area may have been settled previously. [10] Some historic buildings remain in Tormarton; St Mary Magdalene Church, Manor Farm and Tormarton Court.
The Old Manor House, originally home of the St Loe family of Tormarton and Sutton Court at Chew Magna, was later owned by the de la Riviere family. Much of it was demolished in the English Civil War between 1642 and 1649, but some sections survived and were incorporated into today's Manor Farm.
Tormarton Court is a Grade II listed Georgian house. [10] The village became part of the Badminton estate, owned by the Duke of Beaufort, in 1789. [11] In 1848 the population of the parish was 620. [12]
Baron Altrincham, of Tormarton is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was created in 1945 for the politician Edward Grigg and then held by John Grigg who disclaimed the title under the Peerage Act of 1963.
The M4 motorway to the west of Tormarton opened in 1967, with the section to the east running to Stanton St Quintin (Junction 17) opening four years later. [13]
In 2008, SITA made a planning application to build a large in-vessel composting facility near Tormarton. [14] Previously SITA had been proposing to site it on a brown field site in Pucklechurch but this was met with opposition from residents due to concerns it could pose a health risk and be an eyesore. The proposed facility would handle 30,000 tonnes of waste a year. BBC News reported that it was controversial with residents in Tormarton too. [15]
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.
Baron Altrincham, of Tormarton in the County of Gloucester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 1 August 1945 for the politician Edward Grigg. His son, the second Baron, was a politician, journalist, historian and writer. Soon after the passage of the Peerage Act 1963 on 31 July 1963, he disclaimed the title for life. As of 2020 the title is held by his nephew, who succeeded as 4th Baron on his father's death in that year.
Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Bristol and about 28 miles (45 km) south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M48 motorway. The village has a chapel, a church and a public house. There is a large area of farmland on the river bank, which is sometimes flooded due to the high tidal range of the Severn. Aust Cliff, above the Severn, is located about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the village. The civil parish of Aust includes the villages of Elberton and Littleton-upon-Severn.
Tetbury is a town and civil parish inside the Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census, increasing to 5,472 at the 2011 census. The population further increased to 6,453 in the 2021 Census.
Dodington is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The village lies in a small, fertile valley between Codrington and Old Sodbury, and runs together with the even tinier hamlet of Coombes End. It is about 2.5 miles southeast of Chipping Sodbury and four miles from Yate railway station.
Pucklechurch is a large village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It has a current population of about 3000. The village dates back over a thousand years and was once the site of a royal hunting lodge, as it adjoined a large forest.
Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne. It is on the outskirts to the north east of the city of Bristol.
Edward William Macleay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, was a British colonial administrator and politician.
The Frome Valley Walkway is an 18-mile (29 km) footpath which follows the River Frome from the River Avon in the centre of Bristol to the Cotswold Hills in South Gloucestershire. The path also links the Cotswold Way National Trail at one end with the Avon Walkway at the other.
Sutton Court is an English house remodelled by Thomas Henry Wyatt in the 1850s from a manor house built in the 15th and 16th centuries around a 14th-century fortified pele tower and surrounding buildings. The house has been designated as Grade II* listed building.
The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.
This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester.
The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative. The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign's representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.
Sir William St Loe (1518–1565) was a 16th-century English soldier, politician and courtier. He was the third husband of Bess of Hardwick, his second wife. His official positions included Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, Chief Butler of England and Member of Parliament for Derbyshire.
Sir William Denys of Dyrham, Gloucestershire, was a courtier of King Henry VIII and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1518 and 1526. The surname is sometimes transcribed as Dennis.
Sir John Young, of The Great House, Bristol, of London and of Melbury Sampford, Dorset, was an English politician.
The historic manor of Iron Acton was a manor centred on the village of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, England, situated about 9 miles (14 km) north-east of the centre of the City of Bristol. The manor house, known as Acton Court is a Tudor building which survives today, situated at some distance from the village and parish church of St Michael. It was long the principal seat of the prominent Poyntz family, lords of the manor, whose manorial chapel is contained within the parish church.
Grumbald's Ash Hundred was a subdivision of the county of Gloucestershire, England. Hundreds originated in the late Saxon period and lasted as administrative divisions until the 19th century. It has been reported that the court was originally held under an Ash tree situated in Doddington parish, although this location would not be consistent with the previous split of hundred. Its name survives in the Grumbolds Ash with Avening electoral ward of Cotswold district council.
Media related to Tormarton at Wikimedia Commons