Pucklechurch
Pucklechurch is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom.
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 was in fact murdered here, at his hunting lodge, in 946: "A.D. 946 . This year King Edmund I died, on St. Augustine's mass day. That was widely known, how he ended his days: that Leof stabbed him at Pucklechurch."[1]
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, currently held by the Liberal Democrats Steve Webb MP which replaced Northavon as part of the parliamentary boundary review changes.
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 office.
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[2], on a small business park, and is hardly noticeable to the casual passer-by.
History
Behind Pucklechurch's Star Inn 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[3].
The Domesday Book records these hides as belonging to St. Mary's church, which was in Glastonbury Abbey's grounds[4]. It notes:
St Mary of Glastonbury holds Pucklechurch. There are twenty hides. In demesne 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 Gloucester 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[5].
Parkfield Colliery operated near Pucklechurch from 1851 to 1936.
During World War II there was a barrage balloon depot[6]. 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. In St. Thomas a Becket Church is a memorial to John Dennys(d.1609), Squire of Pucklechurch, fisherman and poet who wrote the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing "The Secrets of Angling" published in 1613.
Recreation Ground
Now the centre for open-air recreation for the village. The Recreation Ground was formerly the great central enclosure for the 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.
Twinning Association
Pucklechurch is twinned with Pringy,_Seine-et-Marne in France. Local community groups often organise trips and short stays with a similar community group from Pringy.
References
- ^ "Here King Edmund died on St Augustine’s Day [26 May]. It was widely known how he ended his days, that Liofa stabbed him at Pucklechurch. And Æthelflæd of Damerham, daughter of Ealdorman Ælfgar, was then his queen." Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MS D, tr. Michael Swanton.
- ^ HMP & YOI Ashfield
- ^ Puckleweb
- ^ Glastonbury Abbey at Brittania History
- ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.454
- ^ A short history of No.11 Balloon Centre at Pucklechurch, 1939 to 1945, and RAF Station Pucklechurch, 1945 to 1959