Hucclecote
Encyclopedia
Hucclecote is an affluent and sought-after village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

 (part of Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

), England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 situated on the old Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

 connecting Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

 with Barnwood
Barnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....

, Brockworth, Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...

 and Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

. It is situated on the outskirts of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

 and near the border of Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...


History and Background

Hucclecote was originally a small village that began development prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in 1939. Development was halted during the war and the area was bombed by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 due to the aircraft factories and other industrial facilities in the area which were originally within the boundary of Brockworth. Due to redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

, the airfield from which the world's first jet fighter took off for test flights is now within the boundary of Hucclecote. The area which borders Brockworth is currently undergoing redevelopment, with the derelict land that formerly housed the airfield and factory, now making way for houses, a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 Supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

, a Travel Inn, and many office buildings, with plans to add a restaurant and other retail facilities.

Hucclecote is generally split into two parts; with the dividing line being the M5 Motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...

 bridge. The part to the west of the bridge, and thus closest to Gloucester, is the largest part, and falls under Gloucester City Council, while to the east of the bridge, the Parish of Hucclecote is part of Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...

 Borough Council. The Parish of Hucclecote has considered changing its name in recent times, to reflect its identity as a separate part of Hucclecote. Possible names for this "new" village have included Whittlesfield, after Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...

, who invented the jet engine that powered the plane that took off from the airfield, and Pineholt, which had been used to describe a small part of the area before a housing estate more than doubled the Parish's size in the late 1990s. As of 2011 interest has started to build to change the name formerly to Pineholt, to separate the more desirable area from Hucclecote.

A Roman Villa dating from the second or third century AD has been found at Hucclecote.

Origin of the Name 'Hucclecote'

Possibly, though very doubtfully,Hucclecote derives from Welsh: 'Uchel'+'coed' = high wood (cf Wotton & Barnwood).

Floods of Summer 2007

During the floods of Summer 2007, Hucclecote escaped the damage on the scale that afflicted other parts of Gloucester, however on Friday 20 July 2007, a few roads were submerged, which prevented access to many homes, and were blocked off by the Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

.

Amenities

Hucclecote has many locally owned shops and two pubs; The Royal Oak and The Wagon & Horses, both operated by national chains. National brands such as The Co-operative and Lloyds Pharmacy have branches in the village. There is also an independent green-grocer, deli and butcher.

Property and Income

Hucclecote is an affluent area with most homes being privately owned. The average 3 bedroom semi-detached home was said to be £201,000 in 2010 and the average four-bedroom detached home was said to be £290,000 - both above the national average. The highest priced property was sold at £825,000 in 2009.

According to the office of National Statistics, the average household income was £49,000 - above the national average.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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