Woolaston

Last updated

Woolaston
Netherend Stores - geograph.org.uk - 1809721.jpg
Woolaston village
Gloucestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Woolaston
Location within Gloucestershire
Population1,206 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference SO594003
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Lydney
Postcode district GL15
Police Gloucestershire
Fire Gloucestershire
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°42′N2°36′W / 51.70°N 02.6°W / 51.70; -02.6

Woolaston is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire in South West England. It lies on the north side of the Severn Estuary approximately 5 miles (8.0 kilometres) from the Welsh border at Chepstow and is surrounded by woodland and agricultural land.

Contents

Development of the village

Work has begun to develop the dairy into a small housing development. [2] Recent developments have consolidated rather than expanded the village footprint.

Traveling north west from Netherend with its primary school, village shop and 'The Netherend' pub, you pass what was once the Methodist chapel, then 'Birchwood Road', leading to a housing estate, the 'Ring Fence' a small lane with a number of cottages along it, the 'Rising Sun' one of the village's two public houses and the village allotments.

Woolaston Common is about 1 mile from the main A48 road and north of the main village. Here there is a small hamlet of houses and an area of common ground which, for the most part of the year, is covered in bracken. Adjoining the common is also another hamlet called Sandtumps.

Governance

The village falls in the 'Hewelsfield and Woolaston' electoral ward. This ward stretches from Brockweir in the north east to Woolaston. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 1,690. [3]

St. Andrew's Church

St. Andrew's parish church at Woolaston is about a mile south west of Netherend along the A48 towards Chepstow. The earliest record of its existence is in 1131. [4] However, the old circular churchyard and the nearby Roman road, which ran just to the north-west of the church, suggest a much earlier holy site. The Tower was originally a low one with a short wooden steeple, but following the granting of a faculty in 1774, it was completely rebuilt. [5] It was threatened with closure in 2007 but at the final Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve it was announced the Church will be saved. [6]

Stroat Church and ruined Bible Christian chapel

Stroat Church (previously known as Stroat Mission) is located three miles out of Woolaston on the A48 towards Chepstow. It has been involved in the village of Woolaston for over 120 years. [7]

Its history began with Squire Morgan and his family in the 1880s. [8] They were evangelical Anglicans with a deep concern for the people of the Parish of Tidenham and in particular for those living in Woodcroft and, these being the distinctly rural areas where they most felt a need to evangelise. Scattered though the community was, the work they embarked upon at Woodcroft prospered. People came to worship from a wide area by whatever means they could, but mostly on foot or by horse and cart. Today the car has replaced the cart and the roads are lined with optical fibre broadband, but the countryside is still much as it was back then.

It was in 1889 that the Morgans bought a plot of ground at Stroat and in that same year erected a corrugated iron building that became known as the Iron Room. [8] As the years rolled on Stroat became independent of Woodcoft.

There is a derelict Bible Christian chapel, built in 1836, on Woodside Road, near its junction with Slade Road. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest of Dean</span> Geographical, historical and cultural region in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chepstow</span> Town in Monmouthshire, Wales

Chepstow is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about 2 miles (3 km) above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the Severn Bridge. It is the easternmost settlement in Wales, situated 16 miles (26 km) east of Newport, 28 miles (45 km) east-northeast of Cardiff, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Bristol and 110 miles (180 km) west of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinderford</span> Human settlement in England

Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A48 road</span> Trunk road in Great Britain

The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wales. For most of its route, it runs almost parallel to the M4 motorway. During times of high winds at the Severn Bridge, the A48 is used as part of the diversion route and is still marked as a Holiday Route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest of Dean District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Forest of Dean is a local government district in west 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beachley</span> Human settlement in England

Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the rivers Wye and Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge over the River Wye begins, both bridges carrying the M48 motorway between England and Wales though the motorway is not directly accessible from the village. The tidal range on this stretch of water is the highest in the UK. Before the construction of the bridge it was a ferry port from where the Aust Ferry operated until 1966. The population in 2011 was 764.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newnham on Severn</span> Human settlement in England

Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a village in west Gloucestershire, England. It lies in the Royal Forest of Dean, on the west bank of the River Severn, approximately 10 miles south-west of Gloucester and three miles southeast of Cinderford. It is on the A48 road between Gloucester and Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. The village has a parish council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidenham</span> Human settlement in England

Tidenham is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of west Gloucestershire, England, adjoining the Welsh border. Tidenham is bounded by the River Wye to the west and the River Severn to the south. Offa's Dyke runs through the western part of the parish, terminating at Sedbury cliff above the River Severn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Briavels</span> Village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvington, Gloucestershire</span> Human settlement in England

Alvington is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, situated on the A48 road, six miles north-east of Chepstow in Wales. The parish had a total population of 506 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedbury</span> Human settlement in England

Sedbury is a village in the Forest of Dean district of west Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, facing the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire. The village is in the parish of Tidenham. It had a population of 3,535. Nearby are the villages of Tutshill, Woodcroft and Beachley.

Lydney was a rural district in Gloucestershire, England from 1894 to 1974. It covered an area on the Welsh border by the Severn estuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitcheldean</span> Human settlement in England

Mitcheldean is a market town in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westbury-on-Severn</span> Human settlement in England

Westbury-on-Severn is a rural village in England that is the centre of the large, rural parish, also called Westbury-on-Severn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tutshill</span> Human settlement in England

Tutshill is a village within the parish of Tidenham in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, which forms the boundary with Monmouthshire at this point and which separates the village from the town of Chepstow. The village of Woodcroft adjoins Tutshill to the north, and across the A48 road to the south is the village of Sedbury. A short walk over the river is Chepstow railway station on the Gloucester–Newport line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockweir</span> Human settlement in England

Brockweir is a village in Hewelsfield and Brockweir civil parish, in the Forest of Dean District of Gloucestershire, England. The civil parish also includes the separate village of Hewelsfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hewelsfield</span> Human settlement in England

Hewelsfield is a village in Hewelsfield and Brockweir civil parish, in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodcroft, Gloucestershire</span> Human settlement in England

Woodcroft is a small village in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, opposite Piercefield House, two miles north of the Welsh town of Chepstow. The village is immediately north of Tutshill, within the parish of Tidenham. The population in 2011 was 284.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancaut</span> Human settlement in England

Lancaut is a deserted village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tidenham, in the Forest of Dean district, in Gloucestershire, England, located alongside the River Wye, around two miles north of Chepstow. It occupies a narrow-necked promontory formed by a curve of the river, which acts as the border between England and Wales. Little remains of the village today, except for the roofless church of St. James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hewelsfield and Brockweir</span> Human settlement in England

Hewelsfield and Brockweir is a civil parish in Forest of Dean District, Gloucestershire. The parish was called Hewelsfield until 1994. It contains two distinct villages, Hewelsfield and Brockweir, with scattered settlement on Hewelsfield common.

References

  1. "Parish population 2011". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  2. "Farm in 36 homes plan". Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  3. "Hewelsfield and Woolaston ward 2011". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  4. "Church of St Andrew". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  5. "Woolaston Church - St Andrews". Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  6. "Woolaston in the Forest of Dean". Dean web. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  7. "Stroat Church". Stroat Church. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Stroat Evangelical Church, Stroat, Tidenham". Gloucestershire Places of Worship. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  9. Gill (2011). "Bible Christian Chapel, Woolaston Woodside, built 1836". picasaweb.google.com. Retrieved 16 July 2013.