East Stow Rural District

Transcription

The Cotswolds refers to a region of gentle hill country in south central England, the main range reaching 1083 ft in altitude at its highest. The Cotswolds lie across the boundaries of several traditional English counties: Gloucestershire enjoys by far the largest portion of the region; the county shares this honour significantly with Oxfordshire and south Warwickshire, and to a lesser extent with Wiltshire, Somerset and Worcestershire. Officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966, in recognition of their unique appeal and the beauty of its predominantly rural landscapes, the Cotswolds are known worldwide for their stone-built villages, historical towns, and stately homes and gardens. Many consider the Cotswolds as representative of the archetypal English landscape, within easy striking distance of London and several other English urban centres. The Cotswolds run generally south-west to north-east, the northern and western edges marked by steep escarpments down to the valleys of the rivers Severn and Avon and the city of Gloucester, the eastern boundary by the city of Oxford, the west by Stroud, and the south by the middle reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Cirencester, Lechlade and Fairford. Key physical features of the area, including the characteristic uplift of the 'Cotswold Edge' can be clearly seen as far south as Bath. During the Middle Ages, the Cotswolds became prosperous from the wool trade with the Continent. Much of this wealth was directed towards the building of churches, the area still preserving a large number of large, handsome Cotswold Stone "wool churches". The area remains affluent and has attracted wealthy Londoners and others who own second homes in the area or have chosen to retire to the Cotswolds. Typical Cotswold towns are Broadway, Burford, Chipping Norton, Cirencester, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold.