Editing Blockley

{{Short description|Village in Gloucestershire, England}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{infobox UK place 
|official_name= Blockley
|static_image= 
|static_image_caption= 
|coordinates = {{coord|52.0127|-1.7624|type:city(2000)_region:GB-GLS|display=inline,title}}
|os_grid_reference= SP1634
|population= 2,041
|population_ref= ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120860&c=GL56+9BT&d=16&e=62&g=6426902&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1427021496511&enc=1 |title=Parish population 2011|access-date= 22 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091536/https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120860&c=GL56+9BT&d=16&e=62&g=6426902&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1427021496511&enc=1 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref>
|shire_district= [[Cotswold (district)|Cotswold]]
|shire_county= [[Gloucestershire]]
|region= South West England
|country= England
|post_town= [[Moreton-in-Marsh]]
|postcode_district= GL56
|postcode_area= GL
|dial_code= 01386
|constituency_westminster= [[North Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)|North Cotswolds]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Location of North Cotswolds |url=https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4201/location |website=parliament.uk|access-date=29 January 2025}}</ref>
|website= [https://www.blockley.org.uk Blockley Parish Council]
}}

'''Blockley''' is a village, [[Civil parish#United Kingdom|civil parish]] and [[Parish|ecclesiastical parish]] in the [[Cotswold (district)|Cotswold district]] of [[Gloucestershire]], England, about {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} northwest of [[Moreton-in-Marsh]]. Until 1931 Blockley was an [[Enclave and exclave|exclave]] of [[Worcestershire]].

The civil and ecclesiastical parish boundaries are roughly coterminous, and include the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlets]] of [[Draycott, Gloucestershire|Draycott]], [[Paxford]] and [[Aston Magna]], the residential development at [[Northwick Park, Gloucestershire|Northwick]] and the deserted hamlets of Upton and [[Upper Ditchford]].

Blockley village is on Blockley Brook, a tributary of Knee Brook. Knee Brook forms the northeastern boundary of the parish and is a tributary of the [[River Stour, Warwickshire|River Stour]].

==History==
{{see also|History of Worcestershire|History of Gloucestershire}}

===Manor===
In AD 855 King [[Burgred of Mercia]] granted a monastery at Blockley to [[Ealhhun]], [[Bishop of Worcester]] for the price of 300 [[Solidus (coin)|solidi]].<ref name=VCH>''[[Victoria County History]]'', 1913, pages 265-276</ref> In 1086 the [[Domesday Book]] recorded that the Bishop of Worcester held an estate of 38 [[Hide (unit)|hides]] at Blockley.<ref name=VCH/> The Bishops of Worcester retained the estate until 1648, during the [[English Civil War]], when the Parliamentary Trustees sold it.<ref name=VCH/> After the [[English Restoration|restoration of the English monarchy]] the estate was restored to the Bishop of Worcester, whose successors held the manor until at least 1781.<ref name=VCH/>

===Churches===
[[File:Blockley - geograph.org.uk - 47112.jpg|thumb|Blockley village including [[Church of St Peter and St Paul, Blockley|Saints' Peter and Paul Church]]]]
The [[Church of England parish church]] of [[Church of St Peter and St Paul, Blockley|St. Peter and St. Paul]] is late [[Norman architecture|Norman]],<ref name=Verey121>Verey, 1970, page 121</ref> built in about 1180.<ref name=VCH/> The ecclesiastical parish now forms part of the Vale and Cotswold Edge team of Church of England churches,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mission and Pastoral Measure Pastoral Scheme|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/media/2059230/230914%20chipping%20campden.pdf|website=Church of England|publisher=Diocese of Gloucester|access-date=9 April 2016|date=18 August 2014}}</ref> with the Team Vicar remaining responsible for Blockley and its outlying villages of Paxford, Draycott and Aston Magna, as well as the parish of [[Bourton-on-the-Hill]].<ref>[http://www.achurchnearyou.com/blockley-st-peter-st-paul/ A Church Near You: St Peter & St Paul, Blockley]</ref>

The church is used as St Mary's Roman Catholic church in the ''[[Father Brown (2013 TV series)|Father Brown]]'' television series and the vicarage as the presbytery, Father Brown's residence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cotsworld journal|url=http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/9774502.TV_series_filmed_in_Cotswolds/|access-date=17 January 2014}}</ref>

The [[Baptist]] Chapel was built in 1835.<ref>Verey, 1970, page 123-124</ref>

===Economic and social history===
In 1715 the Vicar, the Rev. Dr. [[Erasmus Saunders (priest, died 1724)|Erasmus Saunders]], had a new school built for the parish.<ref name=VCH/> Blockley still has a [[Voluntary controlled school|Church of England]] primary school.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120722014118/http://ww5.gloucestershire.gov.uk/findaschool/searchdetails.asp?SchoolSelect=30 Gloucestershire County Council: Details for: Blockley Church of England Primary School]</ref>

Much of the parish was farmed under an [[open field system]] until 1772, when an [[Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom|Act of Parliament]] provided for the enclosure of the remaining [[common land]]s.<ref name=VCH/>
[[File:Blockley railway station 1972848 1377e09f.jpg|thumb|Blockley railway station in 1962]]
The [[Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway]], built between 1845 and 1851, passes through the parish. [[Blockley railway station]] was more than {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} northeast of the village and nearer to Paxford. [[British Rail]]ways closed Blockley railway station in 1966 but the railway remains open as part of the [[Cotswold Line]]. The nearest railway station still open is {{stnlnk|Moreton-in-Marsh}}.

Blockley is home to [[Watsonian Squire]], the largest UK manufacturer of [[sidecar]]s and [[motorcycle trailer|trailers]] for [[motorcycle|motorbikes]]. It has been based in the village since 1984.<ref name=MIB>{{cite web |url=http://www.madeinbirmingham.org/watsonian.htm |work=Made in Birmingham |title=Watsonian Sidecars |access-date=20 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119045542/http://madeinbirmingham.org/watsonian.htm |archive-date=19 January 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref>

==Governance==
An [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] in the same name exists. This ward has the same area and population as the civil parish.

==Amenities==
[[File:Russell Spring, Blockley.jpg|thumb|Russell Spring, a 19th-century roadside spring in the village]]
Blockley has two [[public house]]s. The Crown Inn and Hotel is a former [[coaching inn]].<ref>Verey, 1970, page 123</ref> The Great Western Arms belongs to the [[Hook Norton Brewery]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101019000034/http://www.hooky-pubs.co.uk/pubs/pub_pages09/Great_Western_Arms_BlockleyGL569DT.html The Great Western Arms]}}</ref>

Blockley Sports & Social Club is the local sports club which has Hockey, Cricket and Football sections. The [[post office]] closed in 2007. In May 2008, under a co-operative agreement, the village residents opened a new local [[not for profit]] store<ref>[http://blockleyshop.org.uk Blockley Shop & Cafe]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211203955/http://blockleyshop.org.uk/ |date=11 December 2008 }}</ref> that is a grocer, newsagent, post office, off-licence and café.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/nov/26/communities-blockley-village-shop|title=Collective spirit|publisher=The Guardian|date=2008-11-26|access-date=2008-12-07 | location=London | first=Pamela | last=Readhead}}</ref>
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==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |author=Verey, David |title=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]]: Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds |year=1970 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-071040-X |pages=121–125}}
*{{Cite book |title=[[Victoria County History]]: A History of the County of Worcester, Volume 3 |year=1913 |pages=265–276}}

==External links==
*[https://www.cotswolds.info/places/blockley.shtml Blockley Tourist Information Guide]
*{{Commons category-inline|Blockley}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Cotswold District]]
[[Category:Cotswolds]]