Editing Lechlade

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| type = [[Town]]
| official_name = Lechlade
| static_image_name = A Frosty Day in Lechlade.JPG
| static_image_caption = St Lawrence's seen across the Thames
| coordinates = {{coord|51.699|-1.692|display=inline,title}}
| label_position = top
| os_grid_reference = SU2199
| population = 3139
| population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021 Census]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://citypopulation.de/en/uk/southwestengland/admin/cotswold/E04004241__lechlade/|title=Parish population 2021|access-date= 5 January 2025}}</ref>
| shire_district = [[Cotswold (district)|Cotswold]]
| shire_county = [[Gloucestershire]]
| region = South West England
| country = England
| post_town = Lechlade
| postcode_district = GL7
| postcode_area = GL
| dial_code = 01367
| constituency_westminster = [[South Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)|South Cotswolds]]
| website = [http://www.lechladeonthames.co.uk/ Lechlade-on-Thames official website]
}}

'''Lechlade''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɛ|tʃ|l|eɪ|d}}) is a town at the edge of the [[Cotswolds]] in [[Gloucestershire]], [[England]], {{convert|55|mi}} south of [[Birmingham]] and {{convert|68|mi}} west of [[London]]. It is the highest point at which the [[River Thames]] is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that continues south-west into [[Cricklade]], in the neighbouring county of [[Wiltshire]]. The town is named after the [[River Leach]] that joins the Thames near the [[Trout Inn, Lechlade|Trout Inn]] and [[St. John's Bridge, Lechlade|St. John's Bridge]].

The low-lying land is [[alluvium]], [[Oxford Clay]] and river gravels and the town is surrounded by lakes created from disused gravel extraction sites, forming parts of the [[Cotswold Water Park]]; several have now been designated as [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] and [[nature reserve]]s. Human occupation dates from the [[Neolithic]], [[Iron Age]] and [[Roman Britain|Roman]] periods and it developed as a trading centre served by river, canal, roads and railway, although the station closed in 1962.

The [[Anglican]] [[St Lawrence Church, Lechlade|Church of St Lawrence]] is a Grade I [[listed building]] dating from the 15th century. The development of the nearby [[RAF Fairford]] and [[RAF Brize Norton]] after [[World War II]] contributed to the expansion of the town.

==Etymology==

According to the [[University of Nottingham|University of Nottingham’s]] ''Survey of English Place-Names'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Survey of English Place-Names |url= https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53285ad5b47fc40ab3001b39| website=University of Nottingham |access-date=5 January 2025}}</ref> “Lechlade” is usually interpreted as referring to a passage across the [[River Thames]] near its confluence with the [[River Leach]], but is more likely to mean “a water-course of the Leach”, i.e. some alternative water-channel of the Leach, such as a mill-stream:
{{blockquote|text=The present course of the R. Leach from north of Lechlade Mill to St John's Bridge may be the channel in question, for a second and now minor water-course runs from the former point to join the Thames 1½ miles further east of St John's Bridge and is in fact the county boundary.}}

==History==
A [[Neolithic]] [[cursus]] was discovered from [[cropmark]]s on aerial photographs was identified in 1943.<ref>{{PastScape |mname=Lechlade Cursus |mnumber=332220 |accessdate=18 February 2019}}</ref> There are several archaeological remains of dwellings from the [[Iron Age]] and [[Roman Britain|Roman]] periods, which have now been scheduled as an [[ancient monument]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lechlade: Ancient and Historical Monuments in the County of Gloucester Iron Age and Romano-British Monuments in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/ancient-glos/pp73-77 |website=British History Online |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE |desc=Iron Age and Romano British settlement remains and associated features, 1km south east of Leaze Farm |num=1011604 |accessdate=18 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bateman |first1=Clifford |last2=Enright |first2=Dawn |last3=Oakey |first3=Niall |title=Prehistoric and Anglo-Saxon Settlements to the rear of Sherborne House, Lechlade: excavations in 1997 |journal=Trans. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society |date=2003 |volume=121 |pages=23–96 |url=http://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Sherborne_House_Lechlade_200dpi-1.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lechlade on Thames Town History |url=http://www.fairfordu3a.org.uk/History/Lechlade.html |publisher=Fairford U3A |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

[[William the Conqueror]] gave the manor of Lechlade to [[Henry de Ferrers]], who had accompanied him to England in 1066, and the manor is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Open Domesday: Lechlade|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SU2199/lechlade/|access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=townhist/> A charter granting market to the town was passed in 1210.<ref name=townhist>{{cite web |title=Town History |url=https://lechladeonthames.co.uk/visiting-lechlade/town-history/ |publisher=Lechlade on Thames |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref> [[Lechlade Priory]] was founded in the early 13th century and lasted until 1472.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40298&strquery=Lechlade |title=43. The Hospital of St John the Baptist, Lechlade |editor-first=William|editor-last=Page |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1907 |work=A History of the County of Gloucester|volume=2 |access-date=15 June 2014 |pages=125–126}}</ref> The town developed as a trading centre linked by the river, canal, roads and railway. The [[Lechlade railway station|town's railway station]] opened in 1873 and closed in 1962.<ref name=townhist/> The development of [[RAF Fairford]] and [[RAF Brize Norton]] after [[World War II]] increased local employment and the need for housing.<ref name="neighbourhoodplan"/>

==Governance==
Lechlade falls in the Kempsford–Lechlade [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]]. This ward stretches from Lechlade in the east to [[Kempsford]] in the west. The total population of this ward taken from the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] was 3,973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/kempsford-lechlade-e05004326#sthash.JPh6t7gM.dpbs|title=Kempsford-Lechlade ward 2011|access-date=24 March 2015}}</ref>

Although in Gloucestershire, and traditionally in the [[hundred (county division)|hundred]] of [[Brightwells Barrow]], from 1894 till 1935 the town was administered as part of [[Faringdon Rural District]] in [[Berkshire]]. From 1935 till 1974 it was part of [[Cirencester Rural District]] in Gloucestershire, and since 1974 it has been a part of [[Cotswold District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10382130|website=A Vision of Britain|title=Lechlade AP/CP|publisher= University of Portsmouth|access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

The town is part of the [[South Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)|South Cotswolds UK Parliament constituency]] represented in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|UK Parliament]], since its creation in July 2024, by [[Roz Savage]], a [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr Roz Savage|url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/5352/contact |website=parliament.uk|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref>

==Geography==
The geology of the area consists of [[Alluvium]], [[Oxford Clay]] and River Gravels.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Riverside Marina |date=28 October 2013 |url=http://legacy-reports.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/content/uploads/2014/07/0944-The-Riverside-Marina-Lechlade-WB001242-1-illustration.pdf |publisher=Cotswold Archaeology |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref> The land is generally fairly flat and low lying.<ref name=landscapecharacter>{{cite web |title=The Character Types and Areas of the Cotswold Water Park |url=http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/5.3-river-basin-clay-vale.pdf |publisher=Wiltshire Council |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref> It is surrounded by lakes created from disused gravel extraction sites, forming parts of the [[Cotswold Water Park]] and several have now been designated as [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] and [[nature reserve]]s.<ref name=landscapecharacter/> The Edward Richardson & Phyllis Amey nature reserve consists of marsh and reedbeds which attract [[dragonflies]] and birds such as [[grey heron]] and [[great crested grebe]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Edward Richardson & Phyllis Amey |url=https://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/nature-reserves/edward-richardson-phyllis-amey |publisher=Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref> At Roundhouse Lake common visitors are [[Eurasian wigeon]], [[red-crested pochard]], [[common goldeneye]], [[common pochard]] and [[tufted duck]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Roundhouse Lake |url=https://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/nature-reserves/roundhouse-lake |publisher=Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

==The River Thames==
[[File:The Church of St Lawrence, Lechlade - geograph.org.uk - 333660.jpg|thumb|River Thames and Lechlade]]
Lechlade is the highest town to which the [[River Thames]] is navigable by relatively large craft including [[narrowboat]]s. It is possible to travel by river or walk the [[Thames Path]] from here to London. In the early eighteenth century goods unloaded in [[Bristol]] were transported to [[Gloucester]], carried overland to Lechlade and sent down the Thames to London.<ref>Privateer: Life aboard a British Privateer In the time of Queen Anne 1708–1711 – Captain Woodes Rogers. Chapter 2, Note 1</ref> The [[Halfpenny Bridge]] is therefore the usual start for a water based [[Thames meander]] – the term for a long-distance journey down the Thames. The [[Thames Path]] also continues upstream to the traditional source of the Thames at [[Thames Head]]. The river is actually navigable for a short distance further upstream, near the village of [[Inglesham]], where the [[Thames and Severn Canal]] joins the River Thames. Rowing boats can reach even further upstream, to [[Cricklade]]. Lechlade is a popular resort for Thames boating. Boats of different types can be hired from here, from rowing boats to river cruisers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cotswold Boat & GLS Marine |url=https://www.cotswoldboat.co.uk/ |publisher=Cotswold Boat Hire |access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Thames Canoe Hire at Cotswold Canoe Hire |url=https://www.cotswoldcanoehire.co.uk/ |publisher=Cotswold Canoe Hire |access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref>

The highest lock on the Thames is [[St John's Lock]], at Lechlade, overlooked by a statue of Old Father Thames. There is a view from [[St. John's Bridge, Lechlade|St John's Bridge]] across the lock and the meadows to the spire of St Lawrence's parish church. The River Leach flows into the Thames at St John's Bridge. The poet [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] composed ''A Summer Evening Churchyard'' here<ref>{{cite book |last1=Garrett |first1=M. |title=The Palgrave Literary Dictionary of Shelley |date=2013 |publisher=Palgrave |isbn=978-1-137-32851-9 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1057/9781137328519_1 |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9781137328519_1 |access-date=2020-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603122917/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9781137328519_1 |archive-date=2018-06-03 |url-status=live }}</ref> which includes the lines
<blockquote>Clothing in hues of heaven thy dim and distant spire<br>
Around whose lessening and invisible height<br>
Gather among the stars the clouds of night</blockquote>

==Economy==
[[File:Lechlade, post office and postbox No.s GL7 1 and GL7 80 - geograph.org.uk - 527695.jpg|thumb|The Post Office]]
The town is a popular venue for tourism and river-based activities.<ref name="neighbourhoodplan">{{cite web |title=Neighbourhood Plan |url=https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/media/1460552/Lechlade-Neighbourhood-Plan.pdf |publisher=Cotswold Council |access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref>

There are several pubs, some [[antique shop]]s, a convenience store, food outlets, a garden centre and a Christmas shop.

==Culture and community==
Lechlade has hosted a music festival since 2011.<ref>[http://www.lechladefestival.co.uk Lechlade Music Festival], retrieved 26 May 2015</ref> In 2015 the festival's headline act was [[Status Quo (band)|Status Quo]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=Alex |title=Lechlade Festival: Town gets down with The Quo |url=https://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/music/contemporary/reviews/12977999.lechlade-festival-town-gets-down-with-the-quo/ |access-date=18 February 2019 |work=Oxford Times |date=28 May 2015}}</ref> The festival was cancelled in 2023 due to poor weather causing the ground to be too soft, which resulted in the Lechlade Festival company going into liquidation. <ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-65581795 | title=Lechlade Festival cancelled due to water logged ground | work=BBC News | date=13 May 2023 }}</ref>

Lechlade has a number of youth activities, most of them centred on the Memorial Hall and the adjacent Lechlade Pavilion Hall. Behind the Town Hall are large playing fields, an astro turf pitch, a skate park and a playground.<ref>{{cite web |title=New skate park opens in Lechlade |date=13 April 2018 |url=https://www.soglos.com/sport-outdoor/44140/New-skate-park-opens-in-Lechlade |publisher=So Glos |access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref> The memorial hall was rebuilt after a fire in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lechlade Memorial Hall |url=https://www.book-online.co.uk/lechlade |publisher=Lechlade Memorial Hall |access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref>

1970 Squadron [[Air Training Corps]] was founded in the town in 1997. The squadron's membership consisted of young people from Lechlade and neighbouring towns such as [[Fairford]] and [[Faringdon]]. The unit has disbanded and all cadets transferred, many attending the group in [[Highworth]]. The 1st Lechlade Scout Group can trace its origins back to 1915 when [[Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell|Robert Baden-Powell]] inspected Scouts from Lechlade and the surrounding area.

==Landmarks==

[[Lechlade Manor]], north east of the town centre, was built in a [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] style in 1872.<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Convent of St. Clotilde |num=1303277 |accessdate=18 February 2019}}</ref> During [[World War II]] it became the [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] Convent of [[St Clotilde]].<ref>{{cite web |title=St Clotilde's Convent, Lechlade |url=https://btsarnia.org/2016/06/22/st-clotildes-convent-lechlade/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121021011/https://btsarnia.org/2016/06/22/st-clotildes-convent-lechlade/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=21 January 2017 |publisher=btsarnia |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Lechlade station, 1950 (geograph 5190698).jpg|thumb|The town railway station in 1950]]
The main roads through the town are busy, as the town is at the crossroads of the [[A417 road|A417]] and [[A361 road|A361]]. Where the A361 enters the town from the south it crosses the River Thames on [[Halfpenny Bridge]]. Another tributary of the Thames, the [[River Coln]], joins the Thames at the [[Round House, Inglehsam|Inglesham Round House]].

The [[Lechlade railway station|town's railway station]] opened in 1873 and closed in 1962.<ref name="bho">{{cite web |title=Lechlade Pages 106-121 A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 7. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol7/pp106-121 |website=British History Online |publisher=Victoria County History |access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref>

==Religious sites==
[[File:St Lawrence, Lechlade - geograph.org.uk - 1690239.jpg|thumb|upright|left|St Lawrence, Lechlade]]
The [[Church of England]] [[parish church]] of [[St Lawrence Church, Lechlade|St Lawrence]] is a Grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Church of St Lawrence |num=1155874 |accessdate=18 February 2019}}</ref> It replaced an earlier structure in the 15th century (probably around 1470–1476<ref>David Verey, ''Cotswold Churches'' (B.T.Batsford Ltd, 1976), at page 107</ref>), though the nave roof and clerestory, the north porch, and the tower and spire may have been added in the early 16th century. A west gallery for singers was installed in 1740 and there were further internal additions in the 1880s.<ref name=VCH>[https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol7/pp106-121#h3-0009 ''Lechlade''], in ''A History of the County of Gloucester'': Volume 7, ed. N. M. Herbert (Oxford, 1981), pp. 106-121. British History Online [accessed 15 March 2018].</ref> The church contains a [[Monumental brass]] of [[John Twynyho]] (died 1485), set into his [[ledger stone]] on floor of north [[aisle]]. He, and his wife Agnes, acquired the manor of "Hallecourte" in Lechlade.<ref>C.T. Flower, ed., Calendar of the Close Rolls, Edward IV, Vol. 1, 1461–1468 (London: HMSO, 1949), 100, quoted in [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bobwolfe/gen/pn/p20642.htm#Fp20642N1]</ref> This may have been the same property as "Butler's Court", a 4-yardland estate which in 1304 had been granted by John de Bellew to John Butler. John Twynyho of Cirencester was lord of Butler's Court in 1479.<ref>'Lechlade', in ''History of the County of Gloucester'': Volume 7, ed. N. M. Herbert (Oxford, 1981), pp. 106-121</ref>

There is a [[Baptists|Baptist]] Church on Sherborne Street which was built in 1817.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lechlade Baptist Church, Lechlade |url=http://churchdb.gukutils.org.uk/GLS1250.php |publisher=Place of Worship Database |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE |desc=Baptist Church |num=1089377 |accessdate=18 February 2019}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Reginald Arkell]] (1881–1959) was born in Lechlade. He went on to train as a journalist and then became a script writer and comic novelist who wrote many musical plays for the London theatre.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reginald Arkell |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/430374.Reginald_Arkell |publisher=Good Reads |access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref>
*[[Thomas Prence]] (1599–1673), emigrated to America in 1621 and was a co-founder of [[Eastham, Massachusetts]], a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies, and governor of [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]], Massachusetts (1634, 1638, and 1657–1673).<ref name="plimoth.org">''A genealogical profile of Thomas Prence,'' (pub. Plimoth Plantation and New England Historic Genealogical Society accessed 23 March 2013 ''[http://www.plimoth.org/media/pdf/prence_thomas.pdf]'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101181422/http://www.plimoth.org/media/pdf/prence_thomas.pdf|date=1 November 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lechlade on Thames}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/image_galleries/lechlade_gallery.shtml Lechlade in pictures]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~engcots/LechladePhotos.html Images of the church of St Lawrence]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060830155017/http://www.stlawrencelechlade.org.uk/index.html St Lawrence Church Website]

{{Gloucestershire}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Lechlade-on-Thames| ]]
[[Category:Populated places on the River Thames]]
[[Category:Towns in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Cotswold District]]