Gloucestershire
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| Geography | |
| Status | Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county |
|---|---|
| Origin | Historic |
| Region: | South West England |
| Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area |
Ranked 16th 3,150 km² Ranked 17th 2,653 km² |
| Admin HQ: | Gloucester |
| ISO 3166-2: | GB-GLS |
| ONS code: | 23 |
| NUTS 3: | UKK13 |
| Demographics | |
| Population - Total (2004 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop. |
Ranked 24th 820,300 260 / km² Ranked 21st 572,800 |
| Ethnicity: | 97.3% White |
| Politics | |
 Gloucestershire County Council |
|
| Executive | Conservative |
| Members of Parliament | |
| Districts | |
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Gloucestershire (pronounced [ˈglɒstəʃə]; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is Gloucester, and other principal towns include Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester, and Tewkesbury.
When considered as a ceremonial county, Gloucestershire borders the preserved county of Gwent in Wales, and in England the ceremonial counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Bristol.
Gloucestershire's county flower is the Wild Daffodil[1].
History
Historically, Gloucestershire has also included Bristol, but Bristol is not part of the ceremonial or administrative county. The area of South Gloucestershire was made part of the administrative County of Avon in 1974. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, it became a unitary authority, and returned to Gloucestershire for ceremonial purposes.
The official former postal county abbreviation was "Glos.", rather than the frequently used but erroneous "Gloucs." or "Glouc.".
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added4 | Agriculture1 | Industry2 | Services3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 5,771 | 196 | 1,877 | 3,698 |
| 2000 | 8,163 | 148 | 2,677 | 5,338 |
| 2003 | 10,617 | 166 | 2,933 | 7,517 |
Note 1: includes hunting and forestry
Note 2: includes energy and construction
Note 3: includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Note 4: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Towns and villages
Antiquities and Other Places of interest
- Berkeley Castle, an example of a feudal stronghold.
- Forest of Dean
- Hailes Abbey
- Sudeley Castle
- Tewkesbury Abbey
- Tyndale Monument
- Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Slimbridge
The cathedrals of Gloucester and Bristol, the magnificent abbey church of Tewkesbury, and the church of Cirencester with its great Perpendicular porch, are described under their separate headings. Of the abbey of Hailes near Winchcombe, founded by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in 1246, little more than the foundations are left, but these have been excavated with great care, and interesting fragments have been brought to light.
Most of the old market towns have fine parish churches. At Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishop's Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. The Perpendicular church at Lechlade is unusually perfect; and that at Fairford was built (c. 1500), according to tradition, to contain the remarkable series of stained-glass windows which are said to have been brought from the Netherlands. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, and are one of the finest series in the country.
The great Decorated Calcot Barn is an interesting relic of the monastery of Kingswood near Tetbury. Thornbury Castle, in the same district, is a fine Tudor ruin, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded in 1521. Near Cheltenham is the fine 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve. The mansion contains a tiled floor from Hayles Abbey. At Great Badminton is the mansion and vast domain of the Beauforts (formerly of the Botelers and others), on the south-eastern boundary of the county.
There are several royal residences in Gloucestershire, including Highgrove House, Gatcombe Park, and Nether Lypiatt Manor.
Gloucestershire in Popular Culture
- In Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, Colonel White's family estate is in Gloucestershire.
Notes
- ^ BBC News, 5 May 2004.
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| United Kingdom | England | Traditional counties of England | |
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Counties that originate prior to 1889 Bedfordshire | Berkshire | Buckinghamshire | Cambridgeshire | Cheshire | Cornwall | Cumberland | Derbyshire | Devon | Dorset | Durham | Essex | Gloucestershire | Hampshire | Herefordshire | Hertfordshire | Huntingdonshire | Kent | Lancashire | Leicestershire | Lincolnshire | Middlesex | Norfolk | Northamptonshire | Northumberland | Nottinghamshire | Oxfordshire | Rutland | Shropshire | Somerset | Staffordshire | Suffolk | Surrey | Sussex | Warwickshire | Westmorland | Wiltshire | Worcestershire | Yorkshire |
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