Welcome To Chedworth

St Andrew's Church, Chedworth - October 2004

Introducing Chedworth

Whilst there is much evidence of Roman occupation in the countryside surrounding Chedworth, the first mention of it as a settlement appeared in the 9th century when ‘Ceddanwyrde’, or ‘Cedda’s homestead’ was listed. In the Doomsday book the settlement was recorded as Cedeorde. The church of St Andrew’s contains Early English and Norman features so the core of the village must have been well established by that time.

By the beginning of the twentieth century the population was still only a few hundred people but the Parish boasted several farms, at least five pubs, shops, a railway station, post office, cobbler, blacksmith, farrier and many other trades.

Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, the population is around 850 comprised of a mix of long established residents, relative newcomers (we don’t have a time-scale for that) and weekend property owners.

We are fortunate to have a thriving church as well as three pubs within the Parish, plus a new village shop, which opened in 2006.

The village is geographically divided into Upper, Middle and Lower Chedworth. These titles have nothing at all to do with status but merely reflect the position of each settlement on the un-named stream that flows through the valley to feed the River Coln at Fossebridge. The parish of Chedworth also embraces the western part of Fossebridge and part of Fosse Cross within its boundaries.

It is a lively village with a whole host of societies and clubs providing an opportunity for almost everyone to take part in some activity.

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The Parish Church and Church Services

St Andrew’s Church, Chedworth, is combined with Coln Rogers/Coln St Denys and Yanworth-with-Stowell churches to form the Hill & Valley Group of Churches. The three parishes each have their own Parochial Church Council but work together as a group to provide regular services, details of which are published in the church magazine ‘Hill and Valley’, which is delivered each month to every household.

A Sunday Club for younger church-goers takes place in the Church Room every 3rd Sunday at 10.20 am while Play-church happens at 2.30 pm every 4th Wednesday.

Evensong is held at Coln St Denys on the first Sunday of the month at 6.00pm and at Coln Rogers on the 3rd Sunday. You will find a warm welcome in all of our churches.

The Chedworth Church bells are regularly rung. Rehearsal evening is on a Thursday and those interested should contact Malcolm Brown on 01285 720757.

The Vicar:
Reverend Canon George Mitchell
The Vicarage
Chedworth
Telephone 01285 720369

Churchwardens:
John Aylen (01285 720573)
Robert Young (01285 720398)

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Doctors Surgeries

Chedworth is served by surgeries in Rendcomb, Northleach and Bourton-on-the-Water.

Rendcomb Surgery

Telephone: 01285 831257

Practice Partners:

Dr S.W. Drysdale
Dr. S.E. Whittles
Dr I. Davis

In addition to the surgery and dispensing facilities at Rendcomb the Doctor holds an open surgery at the village hall on Thursday afternoons at 3.30pm. You can also arrange to collect medications at that time provided you give 48 hours notice to the surgery at Rendcomb.

For details of surgery times and the appointment system please contact the receptionist at the above number.

Bourton-on-the-Water & Northleach Group Practice

Telephone: 01451 860247

The present practice was formed by an amalgamation of the Northleach and the Bourton-on-the-Water practices more than thirty years ago. Six doctors work from the two main surgeries providing medical care and a 24-hour emergency service.

There is an open surgery at the village hall at 4.30pm on Mondays and prescriptions are delivered to the village on Thursdays. For details of surgery times and the appointment system please contact the receptionist at the number above.

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Schools

Chedworth has a thriving village school – St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School - which takes children from the age of four up to eleven years of age. There are currently 104 children on the roll.

The head teacher , Mrs Tina Buck,is always pleased to show parents of prospective pupils around the facilities and can be contacted on 01285 720427.There is lots more information on the school’s website which may also be reached via the link on the school page on this website.

There is a very active Parent Teachers Association, which organises many social and fund-raising functions.

For older children, Chedworth is in the catchment area of The Cotswold School at Bourton-on-the-Water, which is a comprehensive school for 11-18 year olds. Children also go to Kingshill and Deer Park schools in Cirencester.

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The Village Hall

The Village Hall stands at the crossroads of Fields Road and Cirencester Road. It was built in 1976 to provide a focal point within the village for a variety of community purposes and recreational activities. In addition to the main hall, which incorporates a stage, there are various smaller anterooms for meetings.

The grounds contain a playground for children, and an extensive grassed area to the front of the building. This is used as the venue for the annual horticultural show.

The hall, which has full kitchen and bar facilities, is available for hire and booking forms are available within the entrance. Contacts for further information are Howard Westlake (Chairman - 01285 720499) or Ann Coghlan (Booking Secretary - 01285 720525).

Both doctors’ practices hold open surgeries at the Village Hall (see Doctors’ Surgeries page for details.)

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Local Authority Services

Three local councils cover the services provided in Chedworth:

Gloucestershire County Council

Telephone: 01452 425000

Shire Hall
Westgate Street
Gloucester GL1 2TG

The County Council is responsible for, among other things, Education, Highways, Social Services, Libraries, and Trading Standards.

Cotswold District Council

Telephone: 01285 643643

Trinity Road
Cirencester GL7 1PX

The District Council is responsible for Refuse Collection, Planning, Administering the Council Tax and Cotswold Leisure Centre in Cirencester.

Chedworth Parish Council

Telephone: 01285 720313

The Clerk
Brookvale
Cheap Street
Chedworth GL54 4AB

The Parish Council plays an important role as the grass roots level of Local Government, directly representing and promoting the interests of the community.

The council meets on the third Monday of each month at 7.30pm in the village hall. Meetings are open to the public and there is an opportunity at the each meeting for members of the public to raise matters of concern and ask questions

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Planning Guidance

Much of the village is contained within a Conservation Area and we are governed by strict planning rules affecting not only the construction and modification of homes but also the preservation of the visual amenities of the village, its landscape and trees.

As a basic tenet we want to help retain the visual charm of a long-established Cotswold village, as, we are sure, do most of its residents.

All trees above a certain size within the Conservation area are protected under the 1990 Town & Country Planning Act. Specific procedures must be followed before any pruning or felling can be undertaken. The tree warden for Chedworth is Susie Moore. She can be contacted on 01285 720214.

The Parish Council is not the arbiter of planning permission but Cotswold District Council seeks our views on every application.

Inevitably local planning issues and developments can be controversial so our best advice is to seek professional or competent opinion before going to the expense of submitting planning applications to Cotswold District Council.

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Refuse & Recycling

Collection day is Monday for Fields Road and Tuesday for the majority of the village. Bins should be left out by the roadside.

Re-cycling for cans, paper and glass are collected from the CDC-provided black boxes every other Tuesday. More facilities for for recycling bottles, cans and papers are situated in the car park of the village hall.

A major-refuse area A CDC recycling centre is handily situated at Fosse Cross (turn right along the road leading from the A429 towards Calmsden). All types of household rubbish may be recycled here and it is open seven days a week.

Post Collections

There are a number of post boxes throughout the village and these are emptied twice a day. In the morning collections are between around 8.00am and 8.30am and in the afternoon between 4.00pm and 4.30pm. The boxes in Upper Chedworth are emptied last.

Telephone Kiosks

There are two telephone kiosks in the village. One is in Upper Chedworth by the Vicarage and the other in lower Chedworth at the bottom of the hill to the Hemplands

Bus Services

There are return bus services to Cirencester on several days of the week. Timetables are posted on the notice boards around the village and are also available from the Parish Council clerk on 01285 720313.

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Societies, Clubs & Organisations

There are numerous societies, clubs and organisations in the village and many of them are listed below.

Chedworth Horticultural Society

This is Chedworth’s oldest society in continuous existence. It was first formed in 1880 and is thought to be the oldest such society in Gloucestershire. It is affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society and membership is open to residents of the Chedworth group of Parishes and adjoining areas.

The Society holds an Annual Show and Fete in late summer as well as competitions for Best Garden and Best Vegetable Plots. Meetings are held usually on the third Tuesday of the month. In winter these take the form of talks on matters of horticultural interest, whilst in the summer there are evening visits to interesting gardens within easy reach of the village by car. There are occasional visits further afield.

The Chairman of the Society is Robert Watson (01285 720519) and the General Secretary is Venetia Champnis (01285 720548).

The Chedworth Society

The Chedworth Society was formed in 1969 to promote interest in the preservation and enhancement of the character of the Parish and its surrounding countryside. It is recognised by Cotswold District Council (CDC) as a local amenity society for consultation on matters concerning development, within and adjacent to, the Chedworth Conservation Area.

A number of meetings are held each year including visits to places of historic or conservation interest, talks on matters of local interest and an annual supper in November. Membership is open to all residents and costs £2.00 per person per annum. Currently it has about 180 members all of whom live in Chedworth, the bulk of them within the CDC prescribed Conservation Area.

The Chairman of the Society is Ted Broughton (01285 720440) and the Hon. Sec. is Ronnie Custiss (01285 720479).

In Case Of Emergency

To help the emergency services find your property the Parish council has worked out OS map references for each house in the village and these are available from the parish clerk (720313).

You are advised to keep this number by the phone and if you need to call police, fire or ambulance quote it to them and it will assist them in pinpointing your house and help to save valuable time.