Upper Rissington is a 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

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 ...

district of

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 is located about two-and-a-half miles east of

Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village ...

and is one of the highest villages in the Cotswolds at an elevation of 275 m. It is a recent settlement, with much of its original housing built after 1945 as officers' quarters for the adjacent

RAF Little Rissington Royal Air Force Little Rissington or more simply RAF Little Rissington is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, satellite station in Gloucestershire, England. It was once home to the Central Flying School, the Vintage Pair and t ...

, an active airfield. The housing was sold off by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in 1996, with further housing built since then. Several buildings of architectural interest, including the Station Headquarters and the Officers' Mess, have been retained and converted into housing. According to the Gloucestershire Mid-2004

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

and

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Population Estimates it had a population of 994. According to the Local Insight Profile it had a population of 1,040 in 2014 but this has since grown rapidly due to the new housing. The village is one of the youngest and most dynamic communities in the Cotswolds with 30% of the population under 18. Once known for its social life when it housed hundreds of young trainee pilots, the new village has well established community events such as firework displays. Upper Rissington Village Hall

Local amenities

A mini shopping mall has been constructed as part of the new development, which includes a Co-operative Society shop, Pharmacy, gym and a Barnado's charity shop. In 2019 the original Co-operative shop re-opened as a vets. There is also a village hall, a primary school, tennis courts, football pitches and many green spaces around the village. The village is within the catchment of the

Cotswold School Cotswold School is an 11 to 18 academy school located in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, Great Britain. The school achieved academy status in September 2010. The principal from 2012 is Mr Will Morgan. In 2023, the school had 1430 student ...

, "the Comprehensive School of the Year 2015/16" according to the Sunday Times.

Governance

The village has its own Parish Council. The village is the most populous area of the 'Rissingtons' district council

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 ...

. This ward starts in the south at

Great Rissington Great Rissington is a village in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 367. History The church of St John the Baptist is 12th century, with the central tower decorated with battlements and pin ...

and stretches north to

Icomb Icomb is a village in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, near to Stow on the Wold. The population taken at the 2011 census was 202. The village appears as ''Iacumbe'' in the Domesday Book. Parish Church The Church of St Mary is the parish church ...

. The total population taken at the 2011 census was 2,103. The village is in the

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman ...

county council electoral division and is one of the three largest population centres, along with Stow and

Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. Its flat and low-lying site is surrounded by the Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode r ...

Climate

References

External links

Upper Rissington Images

Upper Rissington Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire Cotswold District