The History of Cold Aston
Citation: Carol Davidson Cragoe, A R J Jurica and Elizabeth Williamson, 'Parishes: Cold Aston', in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 9, Bradley Hundred. The Northleach Area of the Cotswolds, ed. N M Herbert (London, 2001), pp. 9-20.
Background
Cold Aston, also known as Aston Blank, and incidentally the only English village with two official names, is a rural parish lying beside the Fosse Way, and two miles from the former Roman camp and fortified Iron Age farmstead of Bourton-on-the-Water. Remote and high, served by single track roads, the village has retained much of its historic character. The ancient parish contained 2,360 acres and was roughly rectangular in shape. The boundaries, some of which were described in a pre-Conquest perambulation of Cold Aston and Notgrove, included the river Windrush on the north-east, the Fosse Way on the east and the course of a stream on the south-west. In the southern corner of the parish that stream joins the Sherborne Brook at Broadwater Bottom (part of the valley called Turkdean Valley (Anglo-Saxon - Twrch - wild boar, Dene – valley). The Cold Aston boundaries remained unchanged until 1987 when the parish was enlarged to 2,375 acres by the addition of a few houses on the north-western boundary and the former mill with some land at Little Aston on the north-eastern boundary, which were transferred from the parishes of Notgrove and Upper Slaughter respectively.
Village Name
In the earliest records the parish was called simply Aston or Aeston, the eastern most part of the Hundred of Wacrescumbe mentioned in the Doomsday Book. By mid 13th century it was commonly known as Cold Aston. In the Middle Ages, the village was sometimes called Great Aston to distinguish it from the hamlet of Little Aston which, when it was part of the parish of Windrush, was a separate manor and a separate tithing. The name Aston Pipard, recorded in the early 14th century incorporated that of the principal landowning family of that time. In 1535, Aston Blank, possibly a reference to the lands bareness, but more probably the name of the Lord of the Manor, Robert Blanc, gained official, if not local, acceptance. The official name was changed back from Aston Blank to Cold Aston in 1972. Village residents had never used the name Aston Blank, always using Cold Aston. Be clear with delivery instructions as we are occasionally confused with Cold Ashton near Bath, which never improves the mood of delivery drivers!
Land
The land of the parish rises from 476ft in the river valleys on its north-eastern and south-western sides to over 689ft in the west. Most of the land is formed by Inferior Oolite. The underlying Midford Sand and Upper Lias Clay are revealed in the Windrush valley and the higher ground is formed by drifts of fuller's earth, valuable in cleaning fleeces, capped by the Great Oolite. The open, rolling farmland drains mostly to the south in valleys formed by streams, which in places follow underground courses. One stream, rising in Notgrove, flows east of Cold Aston village to Broadwater Bottom where three winter streams join to disappear underground. There is a network of springs and wells which served the village with laundry being done at Town Well by Spring Cottage until mains water was connected in 1951, although the big houses were served by a subscription supply from the water tower next to the church from 1909. Electricity was connected in the 1930s, but surprisingly the telephone was the first service in the village in the 1920s. Much open land at the north side of the Parish with evocative names such as Cow Common, Bowman’s Hay, Coursers Hill, Vent (windy) Hill and Dryground. The downs bordering the Windrush were inclosed before the rest of the parish, which retained large open fields until 1796, with an unusual four field rotational strip system. Apart from Aston Grove and its coppicing crop of ash trees in the south of the parish and several small coppices on the steep side of the Windrush valley in the north-east, there was little woodland in the mid 18th century. Although some planting took place soon after the inclosure of 1796, Cold Aston had only 54 acres of woods and plantations in 1905. Photos from that era are notable for the bareness of the sky line in contrast to the current treescape, this in itself threatened by ash dieback. Several new plantations were created later in, and above, the Windrush valley, but the area of woodland in the parish in 1986 was 111 acres.
Population
Cold Aston Manor, comprising the whole parish except Little Aston, had 18 tenants in 1309 and 18 parishioners were assessed for the subsidy in 1327. The lord of the Manor at that time had passed from Pipard to James Butler, later the Earl of Ormonde under whose banner Cold Aston village men would have fought at Crecy and later, Agincourt. The 100 years war and the black death resulted in depopulation of Little Aston in the early 14th century which fell into disrepair. There had been an overall decline in population by 1524 when there were only ten taxpayers. The number of households in 1563 was said to be nine. In 16th century the population probably remained unchanged, the number of communicants being estimated at 48 in 1551 and 50 in 1603. In 1650 there were said to be 14 families, but the hearth tax return of 1672 named 25 householders. In the 18th century the population increased gradually from 120 in 1710, to 216 in 1801. By 1861 it had grown to 325, but for the rest of the 19th century it fell and in 1901, it was back to 214. Three of the four farms at that time were owned by Nancy Cunard of the shipping line, who also owned Notgrove. Thereafter, the population fluctuated between extremes of 254 in 1911 and 205 in 1931 when the village had a cobbler, two blacksmiths, two pubs, a wheelwright, two carpentry shops, a bakery and four thriving farmsteads. The 1991 census showed the number of residents was again 214.
In-depth information about the history of Cold Aston can be found at the British History Online website.
Background
Cold Aston, also known as Aston Blank, and incidentally the only English village with two official names, is a rural parish lying beside the Fosse Way, and two miles from the former Roman camp and fortified Iron Age farmstead of Bourton-on-the-Water. Remote and high, served by single track roads, the village has retained much of its historic character. The ancient parish contained 2,360 acres and was roughly rectangular in shape. The boundaries, some of which were described in a pre-Conquest perambulation of Cold Aston and Notgrove, included the river Windrush on the north-east, the Fosse Way on the east and the course of a stream on the south-west. In the southern corner of the parish that stream joins the Sherborne Brook at Broadwater Bottom (part of the valley called Turkdean Valley (Anglo-Saxon - Twrch - wild boar, Dene – valley). The Cold Aston boundaries remained unchanged until 1987 when the parish was enlarged to 2,375 acres by the addition of a few houses on the north-western boundary and the former mill with some land at Little Aston on the north-eastern boundary, which were transferred from the parishes of Notgrove and Upper Slaughter respectively.
Village Name
In the earliest records the parish was called simply Aston or Aeston, the eastern most part of the Hundred of Wacrescumbe mentioned in the Doomsday Book. By mid 13th century it was commonly known as Cold Aston. In the Middle Ages, the village was sometimes called Great Aston to distinguish it from the hamlet of Little Aston which, when it was part of the parish of Windrush, was a separate manor and a separate tithing. The name Aston Pipard, recorded in the early 14th century incorporated that of the principal landowning family of that time. In 1535, Aston Blank, possibly a reference to the lands bareness, but more probably the name of the Lord of the Manor, Robert Blanc, gained official, if not local, acceptance. The official name was changed back from Aston Blank to Cold Aston in 1972. Village residents had never used the name Aston Blank, always using Cold Aston. Be clear with delivery instructions as we are occasionally confused with Cold Ashton near Bath, which never improves the mood of delivery drivers!
Land
The land of the parish rises from 476ft in the river valleys on its north-eastern and south-western sides to over 689ft in the west. Most of the land is formed by Inferior Oolite. The underlying Midford Sand and Upper Lias Clay are revealed in the Windrush valley and the higher ground is formed by drifts of fuller's earth, valuable in cleaning fleeces, capped by the Great Oolite. The open, rolling farmland drains mostly to the south in valleys formed by streams, which in places follow underground courses. One stream, rising in Notgrove, flows east of Cold Aston village to Broadwater Bottom where three winter streams join to disappear underground. There is a network of springs and wells which served the village with laundry being done at Town Well by Spring Cottage until mains water was connected in 1951, although the big houses were served by a subscription supply from the water tower next to the church from 1909. Electricity was connected in the 1930s, but surprisingly the telephone was the first service in the village in the 1920s. Much open land at the north side of the Parish with evocative names such as Cow Common, Bowman’s Hay, Coursers Hill, Vent (windy) Hill and Dryground. The downs bordering the Windrush were inclosed before the rest of the parish, which retained large open fields until 1796, with an unusual four field rotational strip system. Apart from Aston Grove and its coppicing crop of ash trees in the south of the parish and several small coppices on the steep side of the Windrush valley in the north-east, there was little woodland in the mid 18th century. Although some planting took place soon after the inclosure of 1796, Cold Aston had only 54 acres of woods and plantations in 1905. Photos from that era are notable for the bareness of the sky line in contrast to the current treescape, this in itself threatened by ash dieback. Several new plantations were created later in, and above, the Windrush valley, but the area of woodland in the parish in 1986 was 111 acres.
Population
Cold Aston Manor, comprising the whole parish except Little Aston, had 18 tenants in 1309 and 18 parishioners were assessed for the subsidy in 1327. The lord of the Manor at that time had passed from Pipard to James Butler, later the Earl of Ormonde under whose banner Cold Aston village men would have fought at Crecy and later, Agincourt. The 100 years war and the black death resulted in depopulation of Little Aston in the early 14th century which fell into disrepair. There had been an overall decline in population by 1524 when there were only ten taxpayers. The number of households in 1563 was said to be nine. In 16th century the population probably remained unchanged, the number of communicants being estimated at 48 in 1551 and 50 in 1603. In 1650 there were said to be 14 families, but the hearth tax return of 1672 named 25 householders. In the 18th century the population increased gradually from 120 in 1710, to 216 in 1801. By 1861 it had grown to 325, but for the rest of the 19th century it fell and in 1901, it was back to 214. Three of the four farms at that time were owned by Nancy Cunard of the shipping line, who also owned Notgrove. Thereafter, the population fluctuated between extremes of 254 in 1911 and 205 in 1931 when the village had a cobbler, two blacksmiths, two pubs, a wheelwright, two carpentry shops, a bakery and four thriving farmsteads. The 1991 census showed the number of residents was again 214.
In-depth information about the history of Cold Aston can be found at the British History Online website.
