Fairford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fairford |
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 River Coln, Fairford |
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 Fairford
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| Population | 3,236 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SP149010 |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Fairford |
| Postcode district | GL7 |
| Dialling code | 01285 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament |
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| Website | Welcome to Fairford Town Council |
Fairford is a town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswold hills on the River Coln, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Cirencester, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Lechlade and 9 miles (14 km) north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park.
Events
There is for 3 days every year RAF Fairford which hosts the world's largest military air show – the Royal International Air Tattoo. The event brings a boost to the economy of the town and surrounding areas.
In March 2003 "Flowers to Fairford" was held as a protest against the use of USAF Fairford as the base for the 14 B-52 bombers aircraft which were used to bomb Iraq. Several thousand people attended and there was a large police presence, but the event passed off peacefully and without incident.
Other people intending to protest certainly did experience an incident. The Fairford Coach Action group states that, "On 22 March 2003, the police used surprisingly extreme tactics to prevent more than 120 activists from reaching [the] legally sanctioned anti-war demonstration in Fairford, (Gloucestershire, UK). The demonstration outside a US Airforce Base in Fairford was well attended with estimates of up to 5,000 activists attending. Among the scheduled speakers on the day were writer George Monbiot and Caroline Lucas (MEP). The people who police prevented from attending were a diverse group with a broad range of affiliations. The main thing that they had in common was the desire to travel from London by coach and the intention of joining the legal protest in Fairford. Two of the four main scheduled speakers for the Fairford demonstration were travelling on these coaches from London. After the coaches had travelled two and a half hours from London, the coaches were stopped by police just miles from the demonstration. Using section 60 powers (of the Public Order and Criminal Justice Act 1994) police slowly searched the coaches for weapons for one and a half hours. The passengers cooperated with this search, and they were invited to reboard the coaches when the search concluded. NO ARRESTS WERE MADE FOR ANY BEHAVIOR OR ITEMS FOUND. Passengers now believed they were going to proceed to the demonstration at Fairford. After all the passengers boarded, the coaches were forced all the way back to London under a continuous 9–12 vehicle police escort." The Police action resulted in a Court Case
The Ernest Cook Trust has its headquarters in Fairford Park, which also hosts the annual Fairford Steam Rally and Show. This is attended by many hundreds of enthusiasts .
In July 2007 Fairford suffered unseasonably high rainfall which led to major flooding of 64 homes on Milton Street and London Street as well as in some other surrounding areas. This meant that many of the annual events had to be cancelled.
Literature
"The Secret Diary of Sarah Thomas, 1860 – 1865", is a published journal by a Victorian diarist living in Fairford. It features many local landmarks.
Sport and leisure
Fairford has a non-league football team Fairford Town F.C. who play and train at Cinder Lane. Fairford have their own rugby team FRFC, playing in green and black strip. The town also has the Walnut Tree Field: a large playing field and park, a cricket club, and a leisure centre.
Fairford also has a youth football club, based at Horcott Road which caters for children between the ages of 5 and 15 years old. The club, established in 1976, is a FA Chartered Club, run by volunteers for the benefit of local children from Fairford and surrounding villages. Teams from u8 and above play in the North Wiltshire Youth Football Leagues. New players are always welcome. The club has a website - http://fairfordlechladeyfc.co.uk/
Transport
Fairford was formerly linked to Oxford by the Witney Railway and its extension the East Gloucestershire Railway. There have been reports that part of the old track could be cleared of accumulated mountains of detritus and overgrown trees to be re-opened as a cycle path. There is a bus service to Cirencester and Lechlade, from where travellers can transfer to another bus and travel onwards to Swindon.
Education
The town's secondary school is Farmor's School, an 11–18 co-educational academy. The school was judged to be of outstanding standard, having achieved grade 1 in its Ofsted inspection in 2010. There is also a primary school (Fairford Primary), and a playgroup. Coln House School was a 9-16, residential/day, state special school. After being put into special measures following a 2016 Ofsted report, the school closed in March 2017. Built in 1822 by Alexander Ilse as a private asylum called The Retreat, it became a school in 1949.
Images for kids
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Parish church of St. Mary (consecrated 1497)
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The tomb, in St. Mary's Church, of wool merchant John Tame (d.1500) who rebuilt the church and his wife Alice Twynyho (d. 1471)
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Monumental brass for Edward I Tame (d. 1534), son and heir of John Tame, in the north wall of the Lady chapel. Kneeling opposite are his first wife Agnes Greville and second wife Elizabeth Tyringham, kneeling behind is his son Edmund II Tame
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Tomb with effigies of Katherine Denys (d. 1584) and her third husband Roger Lygon of Madresfield, Hereford. Katherine was daughter of Sir William Denys (d. 1535) of Dyrham, Gloucestershire and widow and heiress of Sir Edmund II Tame.
See also
In Spanish: Fairford para niños
