Mitcheldean - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Mitcheldean is a small town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

in the east of the Forest of Dean

Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...

, 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....

, 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...

History

Mitcheldean was a thriving community for many centuries due to the town's proximity to iron ore deposits. During the 19th century, the town grew due to revenues produced by the local brewing

Brewing

Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...

industry, while in the 20th century the town grew further due to the Rank Xerox

Rank Xerox

Rank Xerox was formed in 1956 as a joint venture between the Xerox Corporation of U.S. and the Rank Organisation of UK, to manufacture and market Xerox equipment initially in Europe and later in Africa and Asia...

photocopier factory. Although this industry significantly declined during the latter half of the 20th century, much of the former Rank Xerox site (now Vantage Point Business Village) is now occupied by small businesses, new manufacturing and distribution businesses.

Amenities

There are several shops in the centre of the town, including a post office, a new larger Co-operative store, a butcher, a greengrocer, a hairdresser, a pharmacy, a florist and several fast food outlets serving Chinese food, fish and chips, and Pizza. There are also a library, a surgery, a town hall and three pubs, although the George inn is currently closed.

Church of St Michael

Mitcheldean's wealthy tradition is evident in some of its buildings in the town centre, particularly the church of St. Michael.

Schools

The town has a secondary school, Dene Magna Community School, which has performed consistently well since 1995. The school does not have a sixth form, so Year 12 students have to go to either the Royal Forest of Dean College

Royal Forest of Dean College

Royal Forest of Dean College is a college of further education located close to the town of Coleford, in the Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire. Together with its secondary site at Mitcheldean, and around 30 further outreach sites, the college serves a mainly rural area...

near Coleford

Coleford, Gloucestershire

Coleford is a small market town in Gloucestershire, England in the west of the Forest of Dean with a population of 8,351 . It is situated some four miles east of the Welsh border, and is close to the Wye Valley, a popular walking and canoeing area...

, Gloscat

Gloucestershire College

Gloucestershire College abbreviated GC is a college of further education in the county of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom...

in 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....

, Newent

Newent

Newent is a small market town about 8 miles north west of Gloucester City, on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean, and lying within the Forest of Dean Local Authority District. Its population at the 2001 census was 5,073...

or one of the grammar school-based sixth form

Sixth form

In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...

s in Gloucester. As well as a secondary school, Mitcheldean has a primary school of about 250 children. Both schools, put together, make schooling for local residents easy.

Housing developments

A new housing estate was completed in 2008 and construcion of a second estate has been put on hold.

Football teams

The village also has a football club supporting the whole community with three men's teams, a ladies' football team and many youth teams.

External links

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