History

Unlike neighbouring villages, such as Brookthorpe

Brookthorpe

Brookthorpe is a village in Gloucestershire, England....

 and Upton St Leonards

Upton St Leonards

Upton St Leonards is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire.Forming part of the district of Stroud it is a mile or so north of the A46 road between Stroud and Cheltenham....

, Matson is not mentioned in 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...

. It appears to have been a part of Kings Barton at the time of the survey. The origins of the name are unclear but early versions recorded include Matesknolle, Mattesdune and Matesden and it is likely that the names refer to Robinswood Hill, a large hill which lay entirely within the ancient parish of Matson and on the flanks of which the village lies.

It has been suggested that iron ore was mined from Robinswood Hill in Saxon times although there is little evidence for this. A spring called the Red Well rising just above Matson is ferruginous

Ferruginous

Ferruginous can refer to:* Iron oxide* Ferruginous bodies* Ferruginous Hawk* Ferruginous Duck...

 in nature.

Matson House, a large manorial house, was the headquarters of King Charles during the Siege of Gloucester.

1950s to Present

Today, Matson is best known for the council estate

Council house

A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...

 that was built in the village after the Second World War.
Parmjit Dhanda

Parmjit Dhanda

Parmjit Singh Dhanda is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Gloucester from 2001 to 2010, succeeding Tess Kingham as the Labour MP for the seat...

 former MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Gloucester

Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency)

Gloucester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was established in 1295 to return two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons but in 1885 representation was reduced to one member under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885...

 (2001-2010) lives in Matson with his family. Matson contains a ski slope, a pub, a shopping parade, doctors surgery, Neighbourhood Project and several churches.

Matson police station was closed in 1994 . A new motorway service station is planned near Matson

Matson is bordered primarily by Robinswood Hill, a large hill that rises to 283m above sea level. Much of Matson is built on the sides of the hill including the Gloucester Ski Centre.