Rodborough

Village in Gloucestershire, England

Human settlement in England

Rodborough

Rodborough

Location within Gloucestershire

Population| 5,174 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid reference| SO851051
Civil parish|

* Rodborough

District|

* Stroud

Shire county|

* Gloucestershire

Region|

* South West

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| STROUD
Postcode district| GL5
Dialling code| 01453
Police| Gloucestershire
Fire| Gloucestershire
Ambulance| South Western
UK Parliament|

* Stroud

List of places

England
Gloucestershire

51°44′38″N 2°12′54″W﻿ / ﻿51.744°N 2.215°W﻿ / 51.744; -2.215

Rodborough is a large village and civil parish in the district of Stroud, Gloucestershire, in South West England. It is directly south of the town of Stroud, north of the town of Nailsworth and north-west of the town of Minchinhampton. The parish includes the settlements of Bagpath (not to be confused with Bagpath in the Ozleworth valley), Butterrow, Kingscourt, Lightpill and Rooksmoor, and is adjacent to the Stroud suburb of Dudbridge. The population taken at the 2011 census was 5,334.[2]

## Geography

[edit]

An entrance to Rodborough Fort

Built on a hill, Rodborough village is near Rodborough Common, a public recreation area popular with walkers. Most of the common land was donated to the National Trust in 1937 by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (1878–1950), a naval officer and entomologist.[3] On the common is Rodborough Fort, a folly built in 1761 that is now a private house.[4]

## Amenities

[edit]

Rodborough Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[5]

The parish has two primary schools,[6] several public houses, a large hotel called The Bear of Rodborough Hotel[7] and a community hall.[8] It is home to the historic Winstones Ice Cream Factory.[9] It has a large and active Christian community who attend the Church of England parish church of St. Mary Magdalene or Rodborough Tabernacle United Reformed Church, and its various clubs and societies include a football club, a Scout group and a mother and toddler network.

The local newspaper is the Stroud News & Journal and the parish council also produces a quarterly newsletter called The Commoner.[10]

## Governance

[edit]

Rodborough is served by Rodborough Parish Council, Stroud District Council and Gloucestershire County Council. Until 1974 much of the parish was part of the Stroud Urban District Council and today it forms part of the Stroud urban area, along with Stroud and Cainscross.

An electoral ward in the same name exists. All of this ward is within the civil parish and a reduced population therefore applies: at the 2011 Census it was 4,543.[11]

## Notable people

[edit]

Sir John Dean Paul, 1st Baronet (1775–1852), of Rodborough, was a landowner, banker, and painter.[12]

The Gothic Revival architect Benjamin Bucknall was born in Rodborough in 1833. He designed the uncompleted Woodchester Mansion and a number of houses and Roman Catholic churches and convents, particularly in Gloucestershire and South Wales. In later life he worked in Algiers.[13] The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote The Railway Series of children's books that inspired the TV series Thomas & Friends, moved to 30 Rodborough Avenue in 1965 and lived there until his death on 21 March 1997.[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Stroud". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
2. ^ "Parish population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
3. ^ "Rodborough Common". Stroud History. 2009. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
4. ^ "History of Rodborough Fort". Rodborough Fort. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
5. ^ Natural England SSSI information on the citation, map and units of assessment
6. ^ "Rodborough Community Primary School". Rodborough Community Primary School. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
7. ^ "The Bear of Rodborough". Cotswold Inns. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
8. ^ "Community Hall and Pitch – Bookings". Rodborough Parish Council. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
9. ^ "Winstones Cotswold Ice Cream". Winstones Cotswold Ice Cream. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
10. ^ "The Commoner". Rodborough Parish Council. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
11. ^ "Ward population 2011". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
12. ^ Paul, John Dean (1775-1852), First Baronet of Rodborough (M), University of Victoria, accessed 25 July 2021
13. ^ "The architects". Woodchester Mansion. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
14. ^ "Rev. Awdry". Rodborough Parish Church. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rodborough.

* Rodborough Parish Council
* Stroud Voices mid 20th century oral history from Rodborough residents
* Bear of Rodborough Hotel
* Historic photos of Rodborough Fort
* The Old Endowed School in Rodborough
* map of Stone Stiles (centred on Rodborough)