Gloucestershire
Stuart Court, Minchinhampton
Minchinhampton is one of the Cotswolds best kept secrets. Largely untouched by modern development and surrounded by common land, it rises high above the neighbouring towns of Stroud and Nailsworth, looking down on the beautiful valleys below. At its centre stands the columned 17th century Market House: opposite which is the church of the Holy Trinity, dating back to the 12th century. Now considered a large village, in its heyday Minchinhampton was an important town in the area. Built of local stone, quarried from nearby hamlets to the north of the Parish, many of its buildings date back to the 17th and 18th centuries – the great days of the wool trade that gave it its importance. Eight mills of the former Manor are listed in the Domesday Book.
The area is steeped in history. Remains of the iron age are clearly visible. A defensive network of bulwarks stretches across the Common for nearly a mile: probably the former settlement for the Belgic Dobunni tribe. Many Neolithic and Bronze age long and round barrows break the skyline – an archeologists’ dream. The Common, the alleged site of the Battle of Ethandune, where King Alfred defeated the Danes in 879, is an area of some 600 acres of rough pasture, where wild flowers grow and commoners continue to exercise their rights to graze horses and cattle.
Minchinhampton is an idyllic, thriving, Cotswold village with its church, several shops, bank, library, doctor’s surgery, post office, three good restaurants – and a golf course. It lies 10 miles West of Cirencester, 5 miles North of Tetbury and 4 miles East of Stroud. The nearest railway station is at Stroud.