Broadway, Worcestershire
Coordinates: 52°02′N 1°52′W / 52.04°N 1.86°W
| Broadway | |
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 Broadway
Broadway shown within Worcestershire |
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| Population | 2,496 |
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| OS grid reference | SP095375 |
| District | Wychavon |
| Shire county | Worcestershire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BROADWAY |
| Postcode district | WR12 |
| Dialling code | 01386 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Mid Worcestershire |
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Broadway is a village and civil parish in the Worcestershire part of the Cotswolds in England.[1] Often referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds",[2] Broadway village lies beneath Fish Hill on the western Cotswold escarpment. The "broad way" is the wide grass-fringed main street, centred around The Green, which is lined with red chestnut trees and honey-coloured Cotswold limestone buildings, many dating from the 16th century.
Its population was 2,496 in the 2001 census.
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History [edit]
Originally a busy stagecoach stop on the route from Worcester to London, Broadway became home to artists and writers including Elgar, John Singer Sargent, J. M. Barrie, Vaughan Williams, William Morris and Mary Anderson. Broadway is thought to have been the model for Riseholme, the home of Lucia in the novels of E. F. Benson, before she moved to Tilling (Rye) in Sussex. However, in 2004, Worcestershire Young Archaeologists' Club, a regional branch of the Council for British Archaeology's Young Archaeologists' Club, found evidence of earlier occupation. Their fieldwalk uncovered a large amount of Roman and medieval domestic waste and, most importantly, a large amount of worked Mesolithic flints. This work puts the history of the village back 5,000 years and may be evidence of one of the first partially settled sites in the United Kingdom. It is believed that this would have been a stopping point for hunter-gatherers. Broadway takes its name from the wide main street. In the beginning Broadway had two small streams which ran through the village, people built on either side of the streams, and a road formed down the middle. In the winter the mud from the road was piled up, and in the summer grass grew on the piles, these verges still remain today.
Modern times [edit]
Today, Broadway is a centre for arts and antiques and serves as a natural base from which to explore The Cotswolds or see the horse racing during the busy Cheltenham Gold Cup week. Tourism is important — the village is well-served with hotels, including The Broadway Hotel, Russell's "a restaurant with rooms" and The Barcelo Lygon Arms Hotel, a caravan site, holiday cottages, bed and breakfast lodges, old pubs including the Swan Inn and Crown & Trumpet, shops, restaurants and tea rooms.
Local attractions include the Gordon Russell Museum (celebrating the work of the 20th century furniture maker Sir Gordon Russell MC), the 55-foot (17 m) high Broadway Tower on its hilltop site in the Broadway Country Park, Chipping Campden, Snowshill village, Snowshill Manor (owned by the National Trust), horse riding and, for the many ramblers, the Cotswold Way.
The village is overlooked by Broadway Hill, the highest point in the northern Cotwolds at 309 m (1,014 ft) above sea level, which is popular with hill walkers.
Churches [edit]
The original parish church of Broadway actually lies almost a mile outside of the village. Nevertheless, the Church of St Eadburgha has been a Christian place of worship since the 12th century and continues to be a significant aspect of village life. The dedication of a Christian church to Eadburgha is not common. Eadburgha was the grand-daughter of Alfred the Great. The story is told that as a child Eadburgha was asked to choose between receiving jewels or her own Bible, she chose the Bible.[3]
The Church of St Eadburgha is listed as Grade I by English Heritage (Building ID: 400976). The current structure was built circa 1400 but there are elements that remain of the original 12th century building.[4]
The main Broadway parish church is now St. Michael and All Angels. It was built in 1840 within the village of Broadway itself. It has a fine wood carved pulpit transferred from St Eadburgha.
Broadway, Worcestershire railway station [edit]
Broadway was once served by a railway line, a relative latecomer in British railway history, opened in the early 1900s by the Great Western Railway and running from Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham, part of a main line from Birmingham to the South West and South Wales. Broadway station along with almost all others on this section closed in 1960; though passenger services continued until 1968, and freight continued until 1976 when a derailment south of Toddington damaged the line. It was decided not to bring the section back into use and by the early 1980s, it had been dismantled.
Heritage railways [edit]
The stretch between Toddington and Cheltenham Racecourse has since been reconstructed and reopened as the Heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.
The line is now being extended northwards so that Broadway will become its current northern terminus, though at present nothing remained of the original Broadway station. However, the Broadway Area Group of the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway Trust are currently rebuilding the platforms, signal box and Station buildings,.
This started in 2009, and so far, As of August 2012, platform 1 has been nearly completed and a start has been made on platform 2. A blog is available at http://broadwaygwsr.blogspot.co.uk/ detailing the progress, which is updated several times a week
In addition, (though until 2010 it was) the Stratford on Avon and Broadway Railway Society aimed to re-open the northern part of the line from Broadway to Stratford. This is a long-term project and, at present, the Society is concentrating on the short stretch from Honeybourne to Long Marston.
However reaching Stratford-upon-Avon still remains the GWSR's main dream/official goal within the near future.
Thus, although Broadway has a station site and a Station Road, it is no longer served by National Rail services. The nearest stations are Evesham, Honeybourne and Moreton-in-Marsh, on the main line train service running between Hereford and London Paddington station and on the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester.
| Following the Cotswold Way | |
|---|---|
| Towards Bath |
Towards Chipping Campden |
| 19 km (12 miles) to Winchcombe |
9 km (5.6 miles) to Chipping Campden |
References [edit]
- ^ Broadway Parish Council Retrieved 31 January 2010
- ^ "Broadway Information, History, Accommodation and more". The Cotswolds Guide. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "St Eadburgha, Broadway". The Church of England. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ "Church of St Eadburgha". English Heritage. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Broadway, Worcestershire |
