Cotswold | England, United Kingdom | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Cotswold, district, administrative county of Gloucestershire, south-central England, in the eastern part of the county. Cirencester, in the south of the district, is the administrative centre.

Most of Cotswold district lies within the historic county of Gloucestershire. However, a small area west of Westonbirt belongs to the historic county of Wiltshire. The district also includes areas surrounding the following parishes that belong to the historic county of Worcestershire: Daylesford, Evenlode, Aston Magna, Blockley, Paxford, and Cutsdean. The district spans most of the eastern slopes of the Cotswolds, a hilly limestone tableland that gradually descends from 1,083 to about 600 feet (330 to 180 metres).

From the 14th through the 18th century the grazing of the Cotswold breed of sheep (now relatively rare in Britain) brought great prosperity to the wool traders and cloth merchants of the district. That former prosperity is still evident in the churches and other buildings that grace the villages and market towns strung along the lower easterly edge of the undulating tableland of the Cotswolds. Among the district’s villages and towns are Bourton-on-the-Water (called the “Venice of the Cotswolds” for the charming low bridges that cross the River Windrush, which runs through the centre of town), Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury, Lower Slaughter, and Northleach in the central part of the district; Chipping Campden (a 12th-century planned community with a long, flowing main street that is often referred to as “the jewel in the crown of Cotswold towns”) in the north; and Cirencester (the origins of which date to Roman Britain).

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Old homes in those towns were often built of the local limestone and have gabled roofs of stone or tile. The colour of the stone used generally varied by location, with honey-coloured stone used in the north and northeast, golden stone common in the centre of the region, and the pearly white stone associated with Bath prominent in the south. Stone walls (mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries) rather than hedges typically enclose fields in the district.

Market halls, Tudor houses, and churches, particularly of the Perpendicular Gothic architectural style of the 14th–16th century, reflect the district’s former wealth; the 28 painted glass windows from the 15th–16th century in the parish church of St. Mary at Fairford, 8 miles (13 km) east of Cirencester, were designed by Flemish artisans and are excellent examples of the period. Among the museums located in the district are the Corinium Museum in Cirencester, which has a large collection of antiquities from Roman Britain, and the Cotswold Motoring Museum in Bourton-on-the-Water, which houses vintage automobiles and motorcycles. Some 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of public footpaths traverse the area, including an array of long-distance trails.

The thin but fertile loams of Cotswold district are primarily used to grow barley, wheat, and corn (maize). Cattle have replaced sheep as the principal livestock. Dairy cattle graze the headwaters area of the River Thames and its associated clay valley (300 feet [90 metres] high) along the southern border of the district. In the extreme north the district extends into the Vale of Evesham, a market gardening region particularly known for its brussels sprouts, asparagus, and peas. The local economy focuses on tourism, light engineering, agriculture-oriented enterprises, printing, and financial management. Area 452 square miles (1,170 square km). Pop. (2001) 80,376; (2011) 82,881.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.