Barnsley, Gloucestershire
Encyclopedia
Barnsley is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Cotswold district
Cotswold (district)
Cotswold is a local government district in Gloucestershire in England. It is named after the wider Cotswolds region. Its main town is Cirencester....

 of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire 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....

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, north-east of Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 162.

History

Barnsley's ancient history dates back to the Iron Age settlement in Barnsley Park. In A.D. 360, upon the Roman invasion, a Roman villa was built at the settlement, but by 577, after the capture of Cirencester, a Saxon village called Bearmodeslea (Bearmod's glade) was established at the site.

The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 recorded the village's population at 24. After becoming known as Barndesley in 1197, the village became royal property under the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 three hundred years later. Henry was known to let each of his wives solely enjoy the village by turns. During the time of the village's status as royal property, many of its inhabitants earned their living through agriculture and sheep, helping make Cotswolds the centre of the wool trade.

The Bouchier family became the owners of the village in 1548 and held it for the next two hundred years. The family is responsible for building the village's lasting Barnsley House, Church Cottage and parts of the Church farm.

The village architecture was expanded during 1810-1820 when new cottages were built along the Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...

-Bibury
Bibury
Bibury is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is situated on the River Coln, about northeast of Cirencester.The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is Saxon with altar additions...

 road. Barnsley's population peaked in 1821 at 318 and during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the village had an estimated 200 inhabitants, of which six lost their lives during the war years of 1914-18.

Culture

One of the village's most famous features is Barnsley House with its attractive garden, designed by its former resident Rosemary Verey
Rosemary Verey
Rosemary Verey, OBE, VMH was an internationally known English garden designer, lecturer and prolific garden writer who designed the famous garden at Barnsley House, near Cirencester....

. The Barnsley House was initially built in 1667 by Brereton Bourchier. The renowned residence has since been converted into The Barnsley House Hotel with its famous gardens still a major tourist attraction. The Barnsley Village Garden Festival was inaugurated in 1998 and celebrated its 20th anniversary on 17 May 2008.

Brereton Bourchier also built the village's Church Cottage and the oldest part of what is now called the Church farm. By the 1660s, with the village's population at about 100, there was also an inn situated in the midst. The village today has its own church and pub.

External links

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