Rodborough is a large village and

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 district of Stroud,

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 ...

, in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

. It is directly south of the town of

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

, north of the town of

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road, south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bat ...

and north-west of the town of

Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is a Cotswold Hills, Cotswolds market town and a civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Est ...

. The parish includes the settlements of Bagpath (not to be confused with Bagpath in the Ozleworth valley), Butterrow, Kingscourt, Lightpill and Rooksmoor, and is adjacent to the Stroud suburb of

Dudbridge Dudbridge is a suburb on the southern edge of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. History Dudbridge gains its name from the first bridge in the location, which spanned the River Frome. This made it an important crossing point for traffic headin ...

. The population taken at the 2011 census was 5,334.

Geography

Built on a hill, Rodborough village is near Rodborough Common, a public recreation area popular with walkers. Most of the

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

was donated to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

in 1937 by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (1878–1950), a naval officer and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

. On the common is Rodborough Fort, a

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

built in 1761 that is now a private house.

Amenities

Rodborough Common 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 ...

. The parish has two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s, several

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s, a large hotel called The Bear of Rodborough Hotel and a community hall. It is home to the historic Winstones Ice Cream Factory. It has a large and active Christian community who attend the

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of St.

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

or Rodborough Tabernacle

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

, and its various clubs and societies include a football club, a

Scout group A Scout group is a local organization used in some Scout organizations that groups a Scout troop or unit with other age programs, separate gender-based Scout troops and/or multiple Scout troops. A Scout group that groups Scouts with programs fo ...

and a mother and toddler network. The local newspaper is the '' Stroud News & Journal'' and the parish council also produces a quarterly newsletter called ''The Commoner''.

Governance

Rodborough is served by Rodborough Parish Council,

Stroud District Council Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

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 ...

. Until 1974 much of the parish was part of the Stroud Urban District Council and today it forms part of the Stroud urban area, along with Stroud and

Cainscross Cainscross is a suburban town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, bordering the town of Stroud and forming part of the Stroud urban area. The parish includes the communities of Ebley, Cashes Green and Cainscross, and part of Dudbrid ...

. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name exists. All of this ward is within the civil parish and a reduced population therefore applies: at the 2011 Census it was 4,543.

Notable people

Sir John Dean Paul, 1st Baronet (1775–1852), of Rodborough, was a landowner, banker, and painter.Paul, John Dean (1775-1852), First Baronet of Rodborough (M)

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

, accessed 25 July 2021 The Gothic Revival architect Benjamin Bucknall was born in Rodborough in 1833. He designed the uncompleted Woodchester Mansion and a number of houses and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

churches and convents, particularly in Gloucestershire and

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. In later life he worked in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

'' of children's books that inspired the TV series ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...

'', moved to 30 Rodborough Avenue in 1965 and lived there until his death on 21 March 1997.

References

External links

{{Commons category
Rodborough Parish CouncilStroud Voices mid 20th century oral history from Rodborough residentsBear of Rodborough HotelHistoric photos of Rodborough FortThe Old Endowed School in Rodboroughmap of Stone Stiles (centred on Rodborough)
Stroud District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire Folly castles in England