Tortworth

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Tortworth
Tortworth Court Front.JPG
Tortworth Court
Gloucestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tortworth
Location within Gloucestershire
Population147 
OS grid reference ST7093
Civil parish
  • Tortworth
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Wotton-under-Edge
Postcode district GL12
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°38′00″N2°26′00″W / 51.633333°N 2.433333°W / 51.633333; -2.433333 Coordinates: 51°38′00″N2°26′00″W / 51.633333°N 2.433333°W / 51.633333; -2.433333

Tortworth is a small village and civil parish, near Thornbury in Gloucestershire, England. It has a population of 147 as of 2011. It lies on the B4509 road, which crosses the M5 motorway to the west of Tortworth. [1]

Contents

History

In the Domesday Book of 1086 the manor is recorded as held by Turstin FitzRolf. [2] Tortworth is noted for its ancient chestnut tree in St. Leonard's churchyard, which became known as the "Great Chestnut of Tortworth" as early as 1150. This tree measured 51 feet in circumference at 6 feet from the ground in 1720. [3] The tree is one of fifty Great British Trees, selected in 2002 by The Tree Council to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. [4]

Geography

The Tortworth inlier is the most complete section of "Silurian" rocks in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area. [5] Old red sandstone is most dominant. [6]

Notable landmarks

St Leonard's church St Leonard's church Tortworth - geograph.org.uk - 1577616.jpg
St Leonard's church

The civil parish contains Tortworth Court. It was formerly the home of the Earls of Ducie, but is now run as a hotel. [7] [8] Tortworth Rectory, was part of Oriel College. [9] It was renowned for its library collection, which was eventually purchased by the Earls of Ducie. [10]

There is a national prison nearby, HM Prison Leyhill, which was converted into a prison from an army hospital in the post-war period. [11] In 1985 the prison won the Windlesham Trophy for the best-kept prison gardens. [12]

Related Research Articles

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Tortworth Court

Tortworth Court is a Victorian mansion in Tortworth near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. England. It was built in Tudor style for the 2nd Earl of Ducie. It is a Grade II* listed building.

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Siston Human settlement in England

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Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie

Henry John Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie, styled Lord Moreton between 1840 and 1853, was a British courtier and Liberal Party politician. He notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1859 to 1866, and Lord Warden of the Stannaries from 1888 to 1908.

Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie

Henry George Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie, styled the Hon. Henry Reynolds-Moreton from 1808 to 1837 and the Lord Moreton from 1837 to 1840, was a British Whig politician, agriculturalist and cattle breeder.

Henry Haughton Reynolds-Moreton, Lord Moreton DL, was a British Liberal Party politician.

Oldbury-on-the-Hill Human settlement in England

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Burnett, Somerset Human settlement in England

Burnett is a small village within the civil parish of Compton Dando, approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the River Chew in the Chew Valley within the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset in Somerset, England. The nearest town is Keynsham, which lies approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the village. The parish had an acreage of 608 acres (246 ha). It is within the Bristol/Bath Green Belt.

Berkeley Moreton, 4th Earl of Ducie

Berkeley Basil Moreton, 4th Earl of Ducie, was a British peer and a politician and pastoralist in Australia. He was a Member of both the Queensland Legislative Assembly and the Queensland Legislative Council.

Julia Reynolds-Moreton, Countess of Ducie, formerly Julia Langston, was an English noblewoman, the wife of Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie.

Tortworth Chestnut Individual tree in South Gloucestershire

The Tortworth Chestnut is an ancient sweet chestnut tree in Tortworth, South Gloucestershire. The exact age of the tree is unknown, but various sources provide estimates. Two accounts in 1664 and 1712 record the tree growing in, respectively, the 12th and 13th century, dating it at over 800 years old. The tree was known as "the Old Chestnut of Tortworth" in 1150, suggesting it is over 1,000 years old. More romantically, a legend recounts that the tree sprang from a nut planted in 800 AD during the reign of King Egbert.

References

  1. Google (29 August 2016). "Tortworth" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  2. Williams, Ann; Martin, Geoffrey Haward (2003). Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. Penguin Books. p. 469. ISBN   978-0-14-051535-0.
  3. Sylvan sketches; or, A companion to the park and the shrubbery, by the author of the Flora domestica. 1825. p. 96.
  4. "Tortworth Sweet Chestnut". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  5. British Geological Survey 1:50,000 geological map sheet no 264 (England & Wales series) Bristol & 1" scale Bristol District:special sheet, BGS, Keyworth, Notts
  6. Transactions Of The Geological Society. Cadell. 1824. p. 341.
  7. The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, for the Year ... Edw. Cave. 1853. p. 87.
  8. Hospitality. Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management Association. 2003. p. 637.
  9. Mabey, Richard (1986). Gilbert White: A Biography of the Author of The Natural History of Selborne. University of Virginia Press. p. 96. ISBN   978-0-8139-2649-0.
  10. Ker, Neil Ripley; Perkin, Michael (2004). A Directory of the Parochial Libraries of the Church of England and the Church in Wales. Bibliographical Society. p. 373. ISBN   978-0-948170-13-3.
  11. The British Journal of Delinquency. Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency and Baillière, Tindall and Cox. 1951. p. 25.
  12. GC & HTJ. Haymarket Publishing. 1985. p. 4.