Wick, Gloucestershire

Last updated

Wick
Parish Church at Wick - geograph.org.uk - 56555.jpg
St Bartholomew's church
Gloucestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wick
Location within Gloucestershire
Population1,989 
OS grid reference ST705727
Civil parish
  • Wick and Abson
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS30
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
Website wickabsonpcgov.uk/
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°27′10″N2°25′25″W / 51.45278°N 2.42361°W / 51.45278; -2.42361

Wick is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is the main settlement in the civil parish of Wick and Abson. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,989. [1]

Contents

Description

It is situated on the A420 between Bristol and Chippenham, south of the Cotswolds. The River Boyd flows through the old village, with its watermeadows facing St. Bartholomew's Church, a grade II* listed building dating from 1850. [2]

As well as the church, the village has several shops, the Rose & Crown and (now defunct) Carpenters Arms public houses, a village hall, sports ground, and Wick Primary School. Brockwell Park provides a green space for the village with a play area and a trim trail, as well as a Community Orchard planted in 2020.

Nearby Blue Lodge was once the home of Black Beauty author Anna Sewell and Tracy Park on the Bath Road (now a golf club) was thought to be the inspiration for Black Beauty's Birtwick Park.

The picturesque Golden Valley is well known for walking, birding and equestrian activity. It was described by the poet John Dennys of Pucklechurch in his work of 1613 The Secrets of Angling , the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing: [3]

And thou sweet Boyd that with thy watry sway
Dost wash the cliffes of Deington and of Weeke
And through their Rockes with crooked winding way
Thy mother Avon runnest soft to seek. [4]

The authorship of the poem was a mystery for many years, having been published anonymously, and it was partly due to his mention of the rocks of Wick that he was finally identified. The Golden Valley is also a favorite destination for hot air balloonists. Adjacent to Golden Valley is the historic Bury Manor.

Wick Quarry Wick Quarry.JPG
Wick Quarry

Wick Quarry, a limestone quarry previously owned by CEMEX, is no longer operational but is a haven for wildlife and also a birdwatching site. The site is now owned by MJ Church. Part of the site is managed by South Gloucestershire Council as the Golden Valley Local Nature Reserve. [5]

References

  1. "Parish population 2011" . Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST BARTHOLOMEW (1216152)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. David Lambert (1881). Angling Literature in England. London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. p.  43.
  4. Dennys, John. The Secrets of Angling. Book 1, Verse 3.
  5. "Wick Golden Valley Local Nature Reserve". Archived from the original on 2 January 2019.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Wick, Gloucestershire at Wikimedia Commons