Nailsworth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nailsworth |
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 Town Clock, Nailsworth, 2009 |
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 Nailsworth
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| Population | 5,794 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | ST8499 |
| Civil parish |
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| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Stroud |
| Postcode district | GL6 |
| Dialling code | 01453 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament |
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Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Stroud and about 25 miles (40 km) north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a population of 5,794 at the 2011 census.
Contents
History
In ancient times Nailsworth was a settlement at the confluence of the Avening Valley and the Woodchester Valley, on the Nailsworth Stream. Among many notable historic medieval buildings in the area are Beverston Castle and Owlpen Manor.
In the modern era Nailsworth was a small mill town and centre for brewing. It was connected directly to the UK national rail network between 1867 and 1947 with a station that was the terminus of the Stonehouse and Nailsworth Railway. The River Frome, which runs through the town, was also the site of an important trout fishery.
These days Nailsworth is visited in the summer by walkers. It holds a farmers' market every fourth Saturday in the month. Local events such as the market and the Nailsworth Festival are announced by the town crier.
Over the past decade the small town centre has been reinvigorated. Besides numerous restaurants and cafes, it now contains a number of shops, including bakers, a delicatessen with a fishmonger, one hardware store, butchers, craft shops, bookshops, art galleries and a gardening shop. Nailsworth is a Fairtrade Town and is twinned with the French village of Lèves, with which it enjoys an exchange visit in alternating years.
St. George's Church
Built on the higher ground at the centre of town, St. George's was consecrated in November 1900. It can seat 500 and was designed in the Early English style by M. H. Medland of Gloucester. A lack of funds, however, meant that the church originally consisted only of a nave, aisles and south porch, without any chancel or tower. The chancel, Lady Chapel and vestries, dedicated to the memory of those who died in World War I, were added in 1939. A church tower was never added. In 1980 a large extension to the vestries was accomplished, in the form of a Parish Room. The church has no churchyard.
Three of the stained glass windows in the south aisle, depicting St. Luke, St. Paul and St. Barnabas, are by Charles Eamer Kempe. Three others depict St. Richard of Chichester, St George and St Martin. The other window is by Herbert Bryans and shows the prophetess Anna. The East window was designed by Peter Strong and was installed in 1977. On the West wall is a mural, painted by Sir Oliver Heywood in 1985, showing depicting community life in the town.
Christ Church and Tabernacle Church
The Baptist chapel at Shortwood was rebuilt in 1837. In spite of the emigration of over 80 members to Adelaide between 1838 and 1840, the adult congregation was at least 1,000 in 1851. In 1864 a dispute over a new minister led to the secession of some members, who built their own chapel, opened in 1868, on Bristol Road; this was known as the Nailsworth Tabernacle Church. In 1910 the community rejoined the original Baptist church.
In 1967 the Shortwood congregation united with the Forest Green Congregationalists to form a new church called Christ Church, Nailsworth. Services alternated for a few years with the Lower Forest Green Chapel, but the chapel on Newmarket Road, after modernisation, became the permanent place of worship in 1972. In that year Christ Church became a member of the new United Reformed Church, although retaining its links with the Baptist Union. It had a membership of 147 in 1973.
Sport and recreation
Forest Green Rovers is the premier football club in Nailsworth and plays in the EFL League Two at The New Lawn stadium in Forest Green, after winning the 2017 National League Play-off Final. In doing so, it made Nailsworth the smallest settlement ever to host an English Football League team. The town also has a non-League football club, Shortwood United F.C. at the Meadowbank Ground in Shortwood. It plays in the Hellenic League Division One West, part of the tenth tier of the English football league system.
Notable people
In birth order:
- Mary Deverell (1731–1805), sermon writer, poet and playwright, died here.
- Joseph Edkins (1823–1905), translator and missionary to China, was born here.
- W. H. Davies (1871–1940), Newport-born tramp poet, lived here from the mid-1920s until his death.
- John Furnival (1933–2020), artist of visual and concrete poetry who lived most of his life near Nailsworth.
- Michael Bichard, Baron Bichard (born 1947), civil servant, is from Nailsworth.
- Pete Reed (born 1981), Olympic rower, was brought up in Nailsworth.
See also
In Spanish: Nailsworth para niños
