__NOTOC__ Whitminster 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

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 ...

district, 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, on the A38 trunk road approximately south 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 ...

and north-west of

. The parish population at the 2011 census was 881. The hamlet of Wheatenhurst is signposted from the A38 at Whitminster. Whitminster is close to Junction 13 of the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

, with

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

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 ( ...

and the south

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

all within an hour's drive. Wheatenhurst manor, with Whitminster House and the parish church of St Andrew, lies about to the west of the modern village. Plans for additional new housing were announced in Spring 2017. Whitminster has two

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s: The Old Forge Inn, a traditional English pub, and The Whitminster Inn offering accommodation. There is a village shop, a chip shop, a Chinese restaurant and takeaway, and an

Indian takeaway Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

. The local school is the Whitminster Endowed C.O.E Primary School. The village also contains a commercial 'Krate Village' containing multiple businesses including a

Pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

shop and

Falafel Falafel (; , ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spic ...

store.

History

The manor was originally known as ''Wheatenhurst''—the name changed officially in 1945—and was recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' in 1086 as ''Witenhert''. The name means "white wooded hill", or possibly "wooded hill of a man named Hwita". The name was corrupted to ''Whitnester'' and then ''Whitmister'', and by the 17th century evolved by

popular etymology A false etymology (fake etymology or pseudo-etymology) is a false theory about the origin or derivation of a specific word or phrase. When a false etymology becomes a popular belief in a cultural/linguistic community, it is a folk etymology (or po ...

to Whitminster. There was never a minster here. Either or both names were used of the parish until the 20th century, but the village on the A38 came to be known as Whitminster, whereas the smaller group of houses west of the main road in the centre of the parish came to be known as Wheatenhurst. The manor of Wheatenhurst was held by Brictric "of Newton Valence", at the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

and post-Conquest it was held by

Harding of Bristol Harding of Bristol or Harding Fitz Eadnoth (c. 1048 – c. 1125) was sheriff (reeve) of Bristol, with responsibility for managing a manorial estate and perhaps similar duties to those of a magistrate. He was the son of Eadnoth the Constable, an A ...

in pledge from Brictric.''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'', Wheatenhurst, Gloucestershire It later passed to the de Bohun family, as part of their large landholdings in the west of England. Whitminster is used in the 1919 published short ghost story titled " The Residence at Whitminster", by

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Univers ...

, in his third collection of ghost stories, ''

A Thin Ghost and Others ''A Thin Ghost and Others'' is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1919. It was his third short collection. " The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance" and " An Episode of Cathedral History" had bee ...

''. There appears to be no connection, apart from the name, with the real village, though the name of a major character in the story, the 16 year old Viscount Saul, is possibly inspired by Saul Junction, close to the parish church.

Notable people

Richard Owen Cambridge Richard Owen Cambridge (14 February 1717 – 17 September 1802) was an English poet. Life Cambridge was born in London. He was educated at Eton and at St John's College, Oxford. Leaving the university without taking a degree, he took up resi ...

, poet

References

External links

Victoria County History: Wheatenhurst or Whitminster

Whitminster Parish Council Website

Whitminster Cricket Club

OS Bench Marks in WhitminsterStroud Voices mid 20th century oral history from Whitminster residents
{{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire Stroud District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire