COTTESWOLD HILLS, or COTSWOLDS

This article appears in Volume V07, Page 253 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: COR-CRE

COTTESWOLD HILLS, or COTSWOLDS , a range of hills in the western midlands of England. The greater part lies in Gloucestershire, but the system covered by the name also extends into Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and. Somersetshire. It extends on a line from N.E. to S.W., forming a part of the great Oolitic belt extending through the English midlands. On the west the hills overlook the vales of Evesham, Gloucester and Berkeley (valleys of the Worcestershire Avon and the Severn), with a bold escarpment broken only by a few abrupt spurs, such as Bredon hill, between Tewkesbury and Evesham. On the

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

they slope more gently towards the basins of the upper Thames and the Bristol Avon. The watershed lies close 'to the western line, except where the Stroud valley, with the

Frome

FROME

, draining to the Severn, strikes deep into the heart of the hills. The principal valleys are those of the Windrush, Lech, Coln and Churn, feeders of the Thames, the Thames itself, and the Bristol Avon. The last, wherein lie Bath and Bristol, forms the southern boundary of the Cotteswolds; the northern is formed by the valleys of the Evenlode (draining to the Thames) and the Stour (to the Worcestershire Avon), with the low divide between them. The crest-line from Bath at the south to Meon Hill at the north

measures

MEASURES

57 M. The breadth varies from 6 m. in the south to 28 towards the north, and the area is some 300 sq. m. The features are those of a pleasant sequestered

pastoral

PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

region, rolling plateaus or wolds and bare uplands alternating with deep narrow valleys, well wooded and traversed by shallow, rapid streams. The average

elevation

ELEVATION

is about 600 ft., but Cleeve'COTTIN 253
Cloud above Cheltenham in the Vale of Gloucester reaches 1134 ft., and Broadway Hill, in the north, io86 ft. These heights command splendid views over the rich vales towards the distant hills of Herefordshire and the Forest of Dean. The picturesque

village

VILLAGE

of Broadway at the foot of the hill ofthat name is much in favour with artists.
In the soil of the hill country is so much lime that a liberal

supply

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

of manure is required. With this good crops of barley and oats are obtained, and even of wheat, if the soil is mixed with clay. But the poorest land of the hill country affords excellent pasturage for sheep, the staple commodity of the

district

DISTRICT

; and the sainfoin, which grows wild, yields abundantly under cultivation. The Cotteswolds have been famous for the breed of sheep named from them since the early part of the 15th century, a breed

hardy

and prolific, with lambs that quickly put on fleece, and become hardened to the bracing cold of the hills, where vegetation is a month later than in the vales. Improved by judicious crossing with the Leicester sheep, the modern Cotteswold has attained 'high perfection of weight, shape, fleece and quality. An impulse was given to Cotteswold farming by the chartering in 1845 of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester.
A number of small market-towns or large villages lie on the outskirts of the hills, but in the inner parts of the

district

DISTRICT

villages are few. The "

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of the Cotteswolds " is Cirencester, in the

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

. In the north is Chipping Campden, its great Perpendicular church and the picturesque houses of its wide street commemorating the wealth of its wool-merchants between the 14th and 17th centuries. Near this town, in the parish of Weston-sub-Edge, Robert Dover, an attorney, founded the once famous Cotteswold games early in the 17th century. Horse-racing and coursing were included with every sort of athletic exercise from quoits and skittles to wrestling, cudgels and singlestick. The games were suppressed by act of parliament in 1851.
See Proceedings of the Cotteswold Naturalists' Field Club, passim; W. H. Hutton, By Thames and Cotswold (London, 1903).

End of Article: COTTESWOLD HILLS, or COTSWOLDS

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/COR_CRE/COTTESWOLD_HILLS_or_COTSWOLDS.html">
COTTESWOLD HILLS, or COTSWOLDS
</a>

(Previous)
COTTER, COTTAR, or COTTIER

(Next)
COTTET, CHARLES (1863 )

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email