Minsterworth is a village in

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. It lies on the border of the City of

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 ...

, on the north bank of the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

(effectively on the western side of the river) and on the A48 road between Gloucester and

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

. Minsterworth is governed by a parish council. The parish includes the village of Calcott's Green. The population of the village as at the 2011 census was 444. The population in mid-2014 was 470 people, with 70 people aged 0–15, 270 people aged 16–64 and 135 people aged 65+. The higher levels of government are Tewkesbury Borough Council and

Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in England. The council was created in 1889. The council's principal functions are county roads and rights of way, social servi ...

. The village has a long history, at one stage being held by the rebellious

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Simon de Montfort. Its

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

used to be heavily involved with

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

in the Severn, as illustrated by a carving in the local church of three salmon caught in a

fishing net A fishing net or fish net is a net (device), net used for fishing. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised fish trap, and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. #Fyke nets, fyke nets). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by cast ...

. Fishing for elvers remains an important activity. The local

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, St Peter's, lies right next to the river, with three ancient yews in the churchyard. It was rebuilt by Henry Woodyer (who had earlier worked on the nearby church in Highnam) in 1870, but contains many older features such as a fifteenth-century

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

, a Jacobean

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and part of a fourteenth-century

cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

. The village has a church (St Peter's), a primary school (Minsterworth C of E) and a village hall. In December 2017, the primary school was forced to shut down due to a lack of pupils. The school buildings are now utilised as a community centre (The Harvey Centre) and a day nursery for children aged 2-5 (Minsterworth Kindergarten). The Severn Bore Inn, butchers shop and waterski club, often attributed to the village, actually lie outside the parish boundary. It also has a number of listed buildings dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The village of Minsterworth is an Acorn Class 2 area and is one of the more desirable areas in Gloucestershire and the most desirable village in close proximity to the city of Gloucester. Average incomes are higher than average for Gloucestershire and England with the total weekly household income for 2007-2008 estimated at £720, compared to £673 for both Gloucestershire and England as a whole. Interest in current affairs is high. The village is one of the best places to view the Severn Bore, where people can be seen surfing and water skiing from the local water ski club. F. W. Harvey, war poet and broadcaster, dubbed the "Laureate of Gloucestershire", is buried in the village churchyard.

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