Dowdeswell is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the ward of Chedworth,

Cotswold The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the be ...

, in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is separated into Upper and Lower Dowdeswell, the former being south of the latter. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 134. About 7.1 km (4.4 mi) to the northwest is

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, and 19 km (12 mi) to the west is

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. In 2001, it had a population of 185. The Church of Saint Michael and All Saints is a Grade I listed building.

Environment

Northwest of Lower Dowdeswell, there is Dowdeswell Woods. Immediately south of these woods is Dowdeswell Reservoir. Both are managed as nature reserves through the

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is the Gloucestershire local partner in a conservation network of 46 The Wildlife Trusts partnership, Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are local charities with the specific aim of protecting the United K ...

(formerly named Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation). On the opposite hillside to Dowdeswell Woods lies Lineover Wood which is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and is on the steep face of the Cotswold scarp. The Cotswold Way runs at the edge of Dowdeswell Woods, crosses the A40 and runs through Lineover Wood. The nature reserve of Arle Grove lies in the parish of Dowdeswell.Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserves information online
/ref>

Railways

In 1891, Dowdeswell was the name given to a station in the nearby village of Andoversford on the

Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' t ...

; the name was to avoid confusion with Andoversford station on the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

line. The name of Dowdeswell station was changed to Andoversford and Dowdeswell in 1892. The station closed to passengers in 1927 after the GWR had taken over the M&SWJR; however, it remained open for goods traffic until 1962.

References

Bibliography

* ''Gloucestershire: the Cotswolds'', David Verey,

Pevsner Architectural Guides The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pu ...

: The Buildings of England, Penguin, 1970, . pp. 216–219. * ''Gloucestershire Railway Stations'', Mike Oakley, Dovecote Press, 2003,

External links

Cotswold District CouncilDowdeswell Village
Civil parishes in Gloucestershire Cotswold District {{Gloucestershire-geo-stub