TweetIn my opinion, you can never have enough museums that focus on the criminal heritage of England. Gloucestershire is already fortunate, then, to have The Old Prison at Northleach (as regular readers will know, this is one of my favourite … Continue reading
TweetLast Monday, I spent the afternoon watching the annual Woolsack Races in Prince Charles’s neighbourhood – Tetbury (although the man himself was rather tied up with his mother’s jubilee celebrations to attend!). The races involve men, women and children racing … Continue reading
TweetIf you read many social history books, they will paint a tale of doom and gloom, of sick children and starving families, where reaching adulthood was an achievement. Mortality rates in urban areas can certainly make depressing reading; and many … Continue reading
TweetOne morning, in the summer of 1797, 30-year-old spinster Ann Evans, of Hulkerton, near Tetbury, left her father William’s house in order to go to Cirencester. It was a Wednesday, the 14th of June, and it may have been market … Continue reading
TweetWatchmaking is one of the trades in Tetbury with a long history, and traditionally, a local clock and watchmaker would be chosen to have the contract to maintain the clock on the Market House in town. John Pitt carried out … Continue reading
TweetOne of my favourite cafes in the Cotswolds is the slightly eccentric Blue Zucchini in Tetbury. Situated on Church Street, in winter, the cafe provides fur or woollen blankets for its customers, so they can still sit outside and people-watch, … Continue reading
TweetI recently went on a tour of the gardens at Highgrove House, the Prince of Wales’s home just outside Tetbury, in the company of Robert, a rather jovial and incredibly knowledgeable garden guide. Highgrove House was originally named High Grove, … Continue reading
TweetOn Thursday 4 December, 1851, a collision took place near the Salperton tunnel in Gloucestershire, part of the Great Western Railway that ran between Gloucester and Swindon. At around midday on 4 December, a goods train had left Swindon, and … Continue reading
TweetTwo annual and historic Cotswold events are coming up again, so you may want to put the dates in your diary now. The Tetbury Woolsack Races take place this year on 30 May. Not only can you get to watch … Continue reading
TweetOn the evening of 29 July 1833, William Ratcliffe was returning home to the Stroud area from the Tetbury Fair, when he fell asleep. Unfortunately, he was on his horse at the time; the animal, not realising that his master … Continue reading
