Hailes Abbey

Hailes (also spelt Hayles) is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanway, in the Tewkesbury district, in Gloucestershire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Winchcombe. The village lies at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment. The remains of Hailes Abbey, a Cistercian abbey active from 1246 to 1539, are here. In 1931 the parish had a population of 83. Hailes was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, in the form Heile. The toponym is of unknown origin. One toponymist has suggested that the name derives from an unrecorded British name for the stream flowing through the village, Saliā ("the dirty one"). In the 11th or early 12th century, Hailes Castle was built here, but was probably demolished in the 1240s to make way for the construction of Hailes Abbey. Hailes was a chapelry of the ancient parish of Didbrook, and became a separate parish in 1837. In 1866 it became a civil parish. On 1 April 1935 the civil parish of Hailes was abolished, and most of it was absorbed into the parish of Stanway. Between 1928 and 1960 the village was served by Hayles Abbey Halt railway station on the Honeybourne Line. The station was reopened in 2017 to serve the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.

Hailes Castle was a castle in the village of Hailes in Gloucestershire, England. The castle was built around the 11th or early 12th century near the church in the village. The castle was moated, although this has since been filled in. The castle was strengthened by Ralph of Worcester at the start of the difficult years of the Anarchy, with Hailes Castle playing a role in the conflict between 1139 and 1145. The castle was probably demolished in the 1240s to make way for the construction of Hailes Abbey.

Hayles Abbey Halt railway station is a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the hamlet of Hailes in Gloucestershire, as well as the nearby Hailes Abbey, between 1928 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1985 and opened in 1987 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although for many years no new halt was provided. The halt was eventually reopened on 5 June 2017 after being rebuilt by volunteers. Unlike the original, however, it only has a single platform. It lies between Toddington and Winchcombe stations.

Didbrook is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanway, in the Tewkesbury district, in Gloucestershire, England, 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Cheltenham. The village lies near the foot of the Cotswold escarpment. In 1931 the parish had a population of 160. Didbrook was an ancient parish, which became a civil parish in 1866. The parish included the township of Pinnock and Hyde, a large detached part high on the Cotswolds. Pinnock and Hyde became a separate civil parish in 1866. On 1 April 1935 the civil parish of Didbrook was abolished, and most of it was absorbed into the parish of Stanway. A smaller part was absorbed into the parish of Toddington. The parish church of St George dates back to the 13th century. It was partly rebuilt about 1475 by William Whitchurch, the last abbot of Hailes Abbey, and has been little changed since then. It is now a Grade I listed building. There is a primary school in the village, now known as Isbourne Valley School. There is also a Type 22 Pillbox opposite the school built in 1940 which was part of the defence of Britain from German Invasion.

Farmcote Grange was a medieval monastic grange at Farmcote in Gloucestershire, England. It was a grange of Hailes Abbey.

The Anglican Church of St Mary at Temple Guiting in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England was built in the 12th century. It is a grade I listed building.

St Faith, Farmcote is a chapel of ease in Farmcote, Gloucestershire, two miles west-north-west of Temple Guiting. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The chapel is located in the small hamlet of Farmcote in the Cotswolds, near Winchcombe. The original building was Saxon; the only remains of the early church are the Saxo-Norman nave, the remains of a doorway and a double bellcote.

Farmcote is a hamlet in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It lies 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the town of Winchcombe and 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Temple Guiting. Farmcote is a small place, a few houses along a dead end lane, but has a long history. Beckbury Camp, half a mile north of the hamlet, is an Iron Age univallate hillfort. St Faith's chapel in the hamlet dates back to Saxon times. Farmcote was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, in the form Fernecote. The toponym is derived from the Old English fearn "fern" and cot "cottage", and so means "fern cottage(s)". In the Middle Ages Hailes Abbey held land here, and built Farmcote Grange, the remains of which are still visible. In 1314 Stephen de Stratford was granted lordship of Farmcote Manor, and his Stratford family descendants held the manor until the estate was sold in 1756. Following the dissolution of Hailes Abbey in 1539 the Farmcote Stratfords occupied Great Farmcote Manor House. The manor house, still bearing the arms of the Stratford family, is now a Grade II listed building. Farmcote became a chapelry of the parish of Guiting Power (also known as Lower Guiting), but in 1883 was transferred to the civil parish of Pinnock and Hyde. The civil parish of Pinnock and Hyde was abolished in 1935 and merged with the civil parish of Temple Guiting.

The Toddington Narrow Gauge Railway (TNGR) is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway running alongside the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway at Toddington. It was built in 1985 when the Dowty Railway Preservation Society needed a new home for its collection of narrow-gauge rolling stock. The rail used on the railway was purchased from the Southend Pier Railway. The railway was originally named the North Gloucestershire Railway, but in 2018 is officially called the Toddington Narrow Gauge Railway.

Toddington railway station serves the village of Toddington in Gloucestershire, England. Since 1984 it has been the main base of operations for the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The station is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon and which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906. The station was a centre of fruit and milk traffic, but receipts dwindled after a railwaymen's strike in 1955. The station closed to passengers in 1960, although the line itself remained open for freight and diversionary use until 1976; the track was lifted in 1979-80.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds in England. The GWSR has restored and reopened around 14 miles (23 km) of track, operating between Cheltenham Race Course and Broadway. The most recent extension to Broadway (completed in 2018) involved the company raising £1.38 million. The 28-mile return trip on steam and heritage diesel trains follows part of the route of the former Great Western main line from Birmingham to Cheltenham. There is a long-term aim of extending a further 6 miles (9.7 km) from Broadway to the national rail network at Honeybourne.

Stanway is a small village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England, and about 1 mile south of Stanton: both villages are on the Cotswold Way. The parish includes the villages of Didbrook, Hailes, Taddington and Wood Stanway. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 343. It is part of the Tewkesbury Borough Council area. The village is dominated by Stanway House, a Jacobean manor house, owned by the Earl of Wemyss and March, undergoing a long 21st century restoration. The demesne estate has the single highest gravity-fed fountain in the UK at just over 300 feet. It was restored for operation in 2004 and can be seen from nearby hills when it spurts. Taddington to the east has the source of the Windrush. The gate of Stanway House is the finish of the 1st Stage (and start of the 2nd Stage) of the Cotswold Way Relay race. St Peter's Church was rebuilt in the 12th century, the tower added in the 13th century and the whole building thoroughly restored in 1896. The Tithe Barn was built in the 14th century for Tewkesbury Abbey. The bell tower contains a ring of five bells dating from (in order 1-5 wish founders) 2014 (Whitechapel, London) 1625 (Worcester Foundry, possibly James Keene), 1904 (Bond of Burford), 1826 (Rudhall, Gloucester) and 1634 (Unknown founder). They are hung for English Change Ringing and were restored in 2015. The largest (Tenor) bell is a maiden (untuned) bell and is listed for preservation. It weighs just over 11cwt. Stanway war memorial is south of the village against the B4077 road and the southernmost end of the Stanton Road. The bronze of St George and the Dragon is by Alexander Fisher, the stone column and plinth by Sir Philip Stott carved by Eric Gill. The war memorial in the church chancel is also by Fisher and Gill. Stanway has a cricket pitch, a fenced ground, in the middle of a field. The field has an undulating surface, which was reportedly made uneven to make landing difficult for - possibly hypothetical - German gliders during the Second World War. The cricket ground - itself flat - possesses a pavilion, which is built on staddle stones, and was the gift of the author J. M. Barrie who stayed at Stanway House in the 1920s. It is famous lore among the area, that Barrie formed his own “literary cricket team”, promising the club he would help pay for the pavilion if he took a hat-trick. In 1993 the manor house reopened its brewery, one of only two coal-fired brewing houses in the country.