Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a beautiful county in South West England, bordered by Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Bristol, Somerset, and Monmouthshire in Wales. The largest city is Gloucester, with other important towns including Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Cirencester, Stroud, and Yate. The far south of the county, near Filton and Kingswood, is part of the busy Bristol built-up area.

The county covers about 3,150 square kilometres and is mostly rural, with a population of around 975,712 people. It is split for local government into a non-metropolitan county with six districts and the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire is crossed by the River Severn, which flows through a wide valley and into a large tidal estuary. The east of the county includes much of the Cotswolds, while the west features the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley, all recognized as national landscapes. The county has a long history, dating back to the tenth century, and was home to wealthy monasteries and iron production during the late Middle Ages. Though not heavily industrialised during the Industrial Revolution, the Port of Gloucester grew with new docks, and coal was mined in the Forest of Dean area.

History

Main article: History of Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire has a long history, dating back to the 10th century when it was mentioned in old records. Over time, some areas joined the county later, like Winchcombe and the Forest of Dean.

Bristol started as a small town inside Gloucestershire but grew quickly, especially during the Industrial Revolution. It became its own county in 1373. Later, from 1974 to 1996, it was part of a different area called the County of Avon. After Avon was dissolved in 1996, the area north of Bristol became part of Gloucestershire again.

In July 2007, Gloucestershire faced serious flooding that affected many people. Help came from the RAF, who carried out a big rescue operation to save over 120 people from the floods.

Geography and environment

Gloucestershire has three main landscape areas: a big part of the Cotswolds, the Royal Forest of Dean, and the Severn Vale. The Cotswolds cover much of the east and south of the county, while the Forest of Dean is in the west. The Severn River and its valley run between these areas.

The Daffodil Way in the Leadon Valley, near the village of Dymock, is famous for its beautiful spring flowers, orchards, and woodlands. Many people enjoy walking there. In the west, the Wye Valley borders Wales.

Demography

For most of its history, the people of Gloucestershire have mostly shared the same ethnic background. In the 2021 census, Gloucestershire had about 935,500 people living there.

The county is split into two parts: Gloucestershire County Council and South Gloucestershire Council. In 2021, Gloucestershire County Council had around 645,100 people, and South Gloucestershire Council had about 290,400 people.

In terms of ethnicity, most people in Gloucestershire are White British. Other groups include Asian, Black, Mixed, and Other ethnicities. The exact breakdown is as follows:

• White (92.5%): This includes English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British people, as well as Irish, Gypsy or Irish Traveller, Roma, and other White people.
• Asian (3.2%): This includes Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and other Asian people.
• Black (1.3%): This includes African, Caribbean, and other Black people.
• Mixed (2.3%): This includes people with mixed White and Asian, White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean, and other mixed backgrounds.
• Other (0.8%): This includes Arab and other ethnic groups.

When it comes to religion, the most common belief in Gloucestershire is Christianity, followed by people with no religion. Other religions include Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism. Some people did not state their religion.

Governance

Gloucestershire has different groups of leaders who help take care of the area. The Gloucestershire County Council works with six smaller groups called district councils. After elections in May 2025, the leaders are mostly from the Liberal Democrat group, with Reform UK as the second largest.

The southern part of Gloucestershire, called South Gloucestershire, has its own leaders called South Gloucestershire Council. This group works separately but still belongs to Gloucestershire. Since 2017, it has also been part of a larger team called the West of England Combined Authority.

Gloucestershire’s area is represented by seven groups in the big national meetings called Parliament. After changes in 2023, one of these groups includes both Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Economy

This section shows how the economy of Gloucestershire has grown over time. It uses numbers called "gross value added," which tell us how much money the area makes. The numbers are in millions of Pounds Sterling and come from the Office for National Statistics.

Here is a chart showing Gloucestershire's total economy from 1997 to 2009.

In 2009, Gloucestershire's economy was worth about £11,452 million. This is more than the average for the whole South West region, which was £7,927 million.

Education

Secondary schools

Further information: List of schools in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire has many schools for children, including seven special schools for students who need extra help. There are 42 state secondary schools and 12 independent schools. Some schools have special programs for older students called sixth forms.

Higher and further education

Gloucestershire is home to three universities: the University of Gloucestershire, the Royal Agricultural University, and Hartpury University. There are also four colleges that offer classes for older students, with campuses in many places across the county.

The University of the West of England has two locations in Gloucestershire, including one at the Gloucester Docks.

Towns and cities

Main article: List of places in Gloucestershire

See also: List of settlements in Gloucestershire by population

Gloucestershire has one city and 33 towns. The city is Gloucester.

The towns in Gloucestershire include Berkeley, Bradley Stoke, Cheltenham, Chipping Campden, Chipping Sodbury, Cinderford, Cirencester, Coleford, Dursley, and many more.

Main articles: Avon Green Belt and Gloucester and Cheltenham Green Belt

Gloucestershire has two green belt areas. One protects villages and towns near Thornbury and Chipping Sodbury from spreading out too much from Bristol. The other protects areas around Gloucester, Cheltenham, and Bishop's Cleeve from growing too large. Both green belts also help protect parts of the Cotswolds AONB.

Transport

Railways

Gloucestershire used to have many more train stations than it does today. Most of them closed during a big change in the railways many years ago. Now, only 15 stations are left in the county. These stations are mostly along a train route that goes from north-east to south-west and near the northern edge of Bristol. A few stations have reopened recently. Cam and Dursley station opened in 1994, and Ashchurch for Tewkesbury station opened in 1997. Some local groups are working to bring back a few old stations that are no longer used, like Charfield station in South Gloucestershire.

Antiquities

Gloucestershire has many interesting old buildings and places. You can find Roman remains like the Eastgate Viewing Chamber in Gloucester and Chedworth Roman Villa. Important religious buildings include the cathedral of Gloucester and the very old abbey church of Tewkesbury, which has the tallest Norman tower in England.

Many old market towns have parish churches, and some, like those at Deerhurst and Bishop's Cleeve, have special pre-Norman features. Other notable places include Calcot Barn, Thornbury Castle, and Berkeley Castle, which is over 800 years old. The county also has several royal homes, such as Highgrove House and Gatcombe Park.

Places of interest

Gloucestershire has many interesting places to visit. You can explore historic homes like Badminton House and Berkeley Castle, or visit beautiful spots such as Clearwell Caves and Westonbirt Arboretum. The area also features lovely parks, churches, and special events like the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival.

The county includes natural wonders like the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. Train enthusiasts might enjoy riding the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway or the Gloucester to Newport Line.

Media

Gloucestershire has one daily newspaper, the Western Daily Press. Other newspapers like The Citizen and the Gloucestershire Echo used to be daily papers but now come out once a week. These papers, along with free weeklies like 'The Forester', 'Stroud Life', 'The Gloucester News', and 'The Cheltenham and Tewkesbury News', are all published by Local World. There is also a weekly paper called the Stroud News & Journal, published by Newsquest.

There are many radio stations in Gloucestershire, such as BBC Radio Gloucestershire, BBC Radio Bristol, Heart West, Sunshine Radio, and Greatest Hits Radio Gloucestershire. Community radio stations include Gloucester FM, Radio Winchcombe, Forest of Dean Radio, North Cotswold Community Radio, and Severn FM.

Local television for the area comes from BBC West and ITV West Country based in Bristol. In some parts of northern Gloucestershire, you can watch BBC Midlands and ITV Central. Eastern areas like Cirencester sometimes get BBC South and ITV Meridian from Oxford.

In popular culture

Two well-known books about childhood in rural Gloucestershire in the early 1900s are Laurie Lee's Cider With Rosie and Winifred Foley's A Child in the Forest. Part of the novel John Halifax, Gentleman by Mrs. Craik is set in a place called Enderley, which looks a lot like the real town of Amberley. Most of the story happens in Nortonbury, which is easy to recognise as Tewkesbury.

Gloucestershire has been a popular place for movies and TV shows. Some of these include Die Another Day, the Harry Potter films, and the BBC TV series Butterflies. The first episode of a planned Doctor Who spin-off called _K-9 and Company was filmed here. The town of Leadworth in Doctor Who is also imagined to be in Gloucestershire. This is where characters like Amy Pond, Rory Williams, and River Song grew up.

The Witcombe Festival is a yearly music event held in Brockworth. This three-day festival includes music and is closely tied to cider. Past headliners have included many popular musicians.

The old temple ruins in Lydney Park inspired writer J.R.R. Tolkien when he described The Shire in his stories about Middle-earth.

Animals

The Gloucestershire Old Spots pig is a famous breed that comes from Gloucestershire. In places like the Forest of Dean, you can often see sheep and even wild boar in the Wye Valley.

Another special breed found in Gloucestershire is Gloucester cattle. These cows have a white stripe running down their backs. They help make delicious cheeses called Single Gloucester and Double Gloucester.