Pucklechurch
Encyclopedia
Pucklechurch is a village
in South Gloucestershire
, England
, United Kingdom
.
Located near the Bristol
Ring Road (A4174), the quaint village of Pucklechurch is at the top of an escarpment
, with fine views towards the Cotswolds
, about four miles (6 km) east. It is renowned for its village garden competitions, which take place during the summer each year. It is approximately midway between the major cities of Bristol and Bath in south-west England, and around 100 miles west of London.
Pucklechurch is within the parliamentary constituency Thornbury and Yate
.
.
There is a beautiful little recreational ground in the centre of this historic village, called the "Rec". It is near the village hall. Many events are hosted on the Rec throughout the year, including the popular "Pucklechurch Revel".
Ashfield Young Offenders Institute
is located in a secluded location on the outskirts of Pucklechurch, on a small business park, and is hardly noticeable to the casual passer-by.
is the site of an ancient royal villa, where King Edmund I of England
was murdered by exiled robber Liofa on May 26, 946AD. In 950 King Eadred
gave 25 hide (unit)
s of land (at Pucelancyrcan) to the Abbey of Glastonbury
.
records these hides as belonging to St. Mary's church, which was in Glastonbury Abbey
's grounds. It notes:
(d.1422), of nearby Siston
, that is to say they gave him the right to keep all the rents he could collect in exchange for an annual one-off payment of £40. One must assume that Denys would have been willing to pay more than anyone else for the privilege, as he already held the next-door manor of Siston
, making for convenient administration. In the Communar's Accounts of the See of Bath and Wells the following entries are recorded:
It would seem that it was a pleasant day out for a couple of the canons or friars of Wells to hire horses and ride over to talk business with Denys, perhaps an excuse to enjoy some all-expenses paid entertainment. It appears that Denys held the farm until his death in 1422, although records are not available to confirm this. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
the manor was granted to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke from whom it was acquired by Sir Maurice Denys
(d.1561), Treasurer of Calais and builder of Siston Court. From him the manor passed to his cousin Hugh Denys, and a cadet branch of the Denys family became lords of the manor of Pucklechurch until the death of William Dennis in 1701, last of the male line. The Heralds' Visitation of Gloucestershire in 1623 records John Denys(d.1559) as "of Pucklechurch", High Sheriff of Gloucestershire
in 1551. He was the youngest son of Sir Walter Denys(d.1505) of Alveston
, buried in Olveston
Church, and the youngest brother of Sir William Denys
(d.1535) of the adjacent manor of Dyrham
. In St. Thomas a Becket Church is a memorial to Henry Dennis
(d.1638), Squire of Pucklechurch, son of John "Dennys"
, fisherman and poet who wrote the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing "The Secrets of Angling" published in 1613.
operated near Pucklechurch from 1851 to 1936. Bristol Archives hold several documents detailing the leases & sale of the coal mining rights by Mary and Elizabeth Dennis, the co-heiresses of William Dennis(d.1701). A deed dated 2 Feb. 1719 reads thus:
there was a barrage balloon
depot. There was a non-flying Royal Air Force
station called RAF Pucklechurch
from 1952 to 1962, when the site was transferred to HM Prison Service. It was used as a remand centre
and later became Ashfield Young Offender Institution
.
village, called "The Burrell" on the tithe map of 1843, which may mean "a defended site set on a hill". Evidence suggests that Pucklechurch was a place of great importance, even before the tenth century. This was a royal centre, a "burh", with a minster church closely associated with it and eventually came into the hands of Glastonbury Abbey. The Burrell must have retained its royal functions as a meeting place for the hundred the administrative unit in early times and has been an open area for over 1,000 years.
in France. Local community groups often organise trips and short stays with a similar community group from Pringy.
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 South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
, 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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Location
Pucklechurch is a historic village with an incredibly rich past, from the Bronze Age with its tumulus on Shortwood Hill, up to the siting of a barrage balloon depot in World War II. Not many Parishes in England can point to the former existence of a Royal building within their boundaries - Pucklechurch is an exception. Not only that, as the Anglo Saxon Chronicle tells us, King Edmund I was in fact murdered here, at his hunting lodge, in 946: "A.D. 946 . This year King Edmund died, on St. Augustine's mass day. That was widely known, how he ended his days: that Leof stabbed him at Pucklechurch."Located near the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Ring Road (A4174), the quaint village of Pucklechurch is at the top of an escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
, with fine views towards the 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...
, about four miles (6 km) east. It is renowned for its village garden competitions, which take place during the summer each year. It is approximately midway between the major cities of Bristol and Bath in south-west England, and around 100 miles west of London.
Pucklechurch is within the parliamentary constituency Thornbury and Yate
Thornbury and Yate
Thornbury and Yate is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
.
Population & Amenities
Its population is approximately 3,000 and contains a church, a primary school, shops including a small bakery, a small hairdresser, a local convenience store and a newsagent used by both locals as well as passing trade, and a small post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
.
There is a beautiful little recreational ground in the centre of this historic village, called the "Rec". It is near the village hall. Many events are hosted on the Rec throughout the year, including the popular "Pucklechurch Revel".
Ashfield Young Offenders Institute
Ashfield (HM Prison)
HM Prison Ashfield is a male juvenile's prison located in the village of Pucklechurch , in Gloucestershire, England. The prison is operated by the Serco Group....
is located in a secluded location on the outskirts of Pucklechurch, on a small business park, and is hardly noticeable to the casual passer-by.
History
Saxon
Behind Pucklechurch's Star InnINN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
is the site of an ancient royal villa, where King Edmund I of England
Edmund I of England
Edmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
was murdered by exiled robber Liofa on May 26, 946AD. In 950 King Eadred
Edred of England
Eadred was the king of England from 946 until his death in 955, in succession to his elder brother Edmund I.-Background and succession:...
gave 25 hide (unit)
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s of land (at Pucelancyrcan) to the Abbey of Glastonbury
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
.
Domesday Book
The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records these hides as belonging to St. Mary's church, which was in Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
's grounds. It notes:
"St Mary of Glastonbury holds Pucklechurch. There are twenty hides. In demesneDemesneIn the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
are six ploughs and twenty three villans and eight bordars with eighteen ploughs. There are ten slaves and six men render 100 ingots of iron less ten and in GloucesterGloucesterGloucester 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....
one burgess pays 5d and two coliberts pay 34d and there are 3 Frenchmen and two mills rendering 100d. There are sixty acres of meadow and woodland half a league long and a half broad. It was worth £20, now £30".
Held by see of Bath & Wells
The manor of Pucklechurch was held by the Bishop of Bath & Wells since 1275, when he had received it from Glastonbury Abbey, as a document in the Calendar of Bishops of Bath & Wells, dated April 1275 records:
"Accord between Robert Bishop of Bath & Wells and John Abbot of Glastonbury, namely that whereas Robert late Abbot of Glastonbury and the convent quitclaimed to Walter late Bishop of Bath & Wells the manor and advowson of Pokeleschyrch..."
Farmed to Denys family
To save his see from the administrative burden of collecting all the rents within the manor, the Bishop farmed the manor to Sir Gilbert DenysGilbert Denys, knight
Sir Gilbert Denys of Siston, Gloucestershire, was a soldier, and later an administrator. He was knighted by Jan 1385, and was twice knight of the shire for Gloucestershire constituency, in 1390 and 1395 and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1393-4...
(d.1422), of nearby Siston
Siston
Siston is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England east of Bristol Castle, ancient centre of Bristol, recorded historically as Syston, Sistone, Syton, Sytone and Systun etc. The village lies at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon...
, that is to say they gave him the right to keep all the rents he could collect in exchange for an annual one-off payment of £40. One must assume that Denys would have been willing to pay more than anyone else for the privilege, as he already held the next-door manor of Siston
Siston
Siston is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England east of Bristol Castle, ancient centre of Bristol, recorded historically as Syston, Sistone, Syton, Sytone and Systun etc. The village lies at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon...
, making for convenient administration. In the Communar's Accounts of the See of Bath and Wells the following entries are recorded:
- 1400-01 Received from Gilbert Denys, knt, for farm of Pokelchurch £40
- 1400-01 Paid to servant of Sir Gilbert Denys for venison from Pokelchurch for the canons 2s
- 1407/8 Received from Sir Gilbert Denys, farmer of the church at Pucklechurch £40
- 1407/9 Expenses of the steward about the agreement with Sir Gilbert Denys and on other occasions £1 3s 2d.
- 1407/9 Received from Gilbert Denys for wood at Crotesmor £5 13s 4d
- 1408/9 Received from Sir Gilbert Denys for the farm of Pucklechurch, £5 being remitted for the first term £35
- 1414-18 Expenses of holding a court at Pucklechurch and treating with Gilbert Denys at Sixton (Siston) and Olvyston (Olveston
OlvestonOlveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. Alveston became a separate parish in 1846...
) and with Abbatiston (Abson?) parish £1 1s 5½d- 1414-18 Expenses: Sir Gilbert Denys £2 and his bailiff 3s 4d and his entertainment for horses and men at Simon Bayly's (11s 8d) £2 15s
- 1414-18 Expenses hire of 2 horses at Wells and holding a court at Pucklechurch 1s 11d
- 1414-18 Rec'd from the bailiff of Pucklechurch, rent and perquisites of court £1 7s 5d
- 1417-18 Received from Sir Gilbert Denys for the farm of Pucklechurch £40
- 1417-18 Expenses at Pucklechurch, with horse hire, about tithes in Pucklechurch, Abbatiston (Abson?) and Westleigh (Westerleigh?) and arranging with Gilbert Denys £1 8s 1d
It would seem that it was a pleasant day out for a couple of the canons or friars of Wells to hire horses and ride over to talk business with Denys, perhaps an excuse to enjoy some all-expenses paid entertainment. It appears that Denys held the farm until his death in 1422, although records are not available to confirm this. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
the manor was granted to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke from whom it was acquired by Sir Maurice Denys
Maurice Denys
Sir Maurice Denys was an English lawyer in London, a property speculator during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, during which period he served as a "powerful figure at the Court of Augmentations", a Member of Parliament for Malmesbury in Wiltshire, Treasurer of Calais and the builder of Siston...
(d.1561), Treasurer of Calais and builder of Siston Court. From him the manor passed to his cousin Hugh Denys, and a cadet branch of the Denys family became lords of the manor of Pucklechurch until the death of William Dennis in 1701, last of the male line. The Heralds' Visitation of Gloucestershire in 1623 records John Denys(d.1559) as "of Pucklechurch", High Sheriff of Gloucestershire
High Sheriff of Gloucestershire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
in 1551. He was the youngest son of Sir Walter Denys(d.1505) of Alveston
Alveston
Alveston is a commuter village of roughly 3000 people about south of Thornbury, South Gloucestershire and approximately north of Bristol, England. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur Eure, France. It has two hotels, a variety of small shops, several parks and fields, two churches and a...
, buried in Olveston
Olveston
Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. Alveston became a separate parish in 1846...
Church, and the youngest brother of Sir William Denys
William Denys
Sir William Denys of Dyrham, Gloucestershire, was a courtier of King Henry VIII and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1518 and 1526.-Origins:...
(d.1535) of the adjacent manor of Dyrham
Dyrham
Dyrham is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England.-Location and communications:Dyrham is at lat. 51° 29' north, long. 2° 22' west . It lies at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level. It is near the A46 trunk road, about north of Bath and a little south of the M4 motorway...
. In St. Thomas a Becket Church is a memorial to Henry Dennis
Henry Dennis (sheriff)
Henry Dennis was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1629. He was lord of the manor of Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire. The Dennis family produced more Sheriffs of Gloucestershire than any other family...
(d.1638), Squire of Pucklechurch, son of John "Dennys"
John Dennys
John Dennys poet and fisherman was the pioneer of Angling poetry in England. His only work "The Secrets of Angling" was the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing, first published in 1613 in London...
, fisherman and poet who wrote the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing "The Secrets of Angling" published in 1613.
Coal mining
Parkfield CollieryParkfield Colliery
Parkfield Colliery, near Pucklechurch, South Gloucestershire, was sunk in 1851 under the ownership of Handel Cossham. Coal was reached in 1853. The shaft was 840ft deep, but only the upper series of coal veins were worked. These were the Hard, the Top, the Hollybush and Great veins...
operated near Pucklechurch from 1851 to 1936. Bristol Archives hold several documents detailing the leases & sale of the coal mining rights by Mary and Elizabeth Dennis, the co-heiresses of William Dennis(d.1701). A deed dated 2 Feb. 1719 reads thus:
"Articles of Agreement - 1) Mary Dennis of Westminster, Middx. singlewoman 2) John Whitewood of Mangotsfield, Glos., coalminer and Daniell Alsopp of Pucklechurch, Glos. yeo. - granting licence to dig for coals upon farm in or near Shortwood in Pucklechurch rented from her by Daniell Alsopp and to carry away and sell the same. Term 120 years. Whitewood and Alsopp to pay her 3s. for every 20s. worth of coal. Covenants re.making good of damage, appointment of clerk to keep accounts, etc."
World War II
During World War IIWorld 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...
there was a barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
depot. There was a non-flying Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station called RAF Pucklechurch
RAF Pucklechurch
RAF Pucklechurch was a Royal Air Force site in Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire from 9 August 1939 until 31 December 1959. It became known as RAF Pucklechurch on 16 June 1952...
from 1952 to 1962, when the site was transferred to HM Prison Service. It was used as a remand centre
Detention of suspects
The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...
and later became Ashfield Young Offender Institution
Ashfield (HM Prison)
HM Prison Ashfield is a male juvenile's prison located in the village of Pucklechurch , in Gloucestershire, England. The prison is operated by the Serco Group....
.
Recreation Ground
Now the centre for open-air recreation for the village. The Recreation Ground was formerly the great central enclosure for thevillage, called "The Burrell" on the tithe map of 1843, which may mean "a defended site set on a hill". Evidence suggests that Pucklechurch was a place of great importance, even before the tenth century. This was a royal centre, a "burh", with a minster church closely associated with it and eventually came into the hands of Glastonbury Abbey. The Burrell must have retained its royal functions as a meeting place for the hundred the administrative unit in early times and has been an open area for over 1,000 years.
Twinning Association
Pucklechurch is twinned with Pringy, Seine-et-MarnePringy, Seine-et-Marne
Pringy is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Demographics:The inhabitants are called Pringyaciens.Pringy is twinned with the English town of Pucklechurch, near Bristol.-External links:*...
in France. Local community groups often organise trips and short stays with a similar community group from Pringy.