Talk:Cromhall

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At a guess, I would say that the entry for Cromhall was written by a child, both from the style and a number of factual mistakes. For example, I know of no evidence that St.Andrews church was built upon the site of a monastery.

Axelowtl 11:57, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't be too hasty to judge. I don't know where the information in the article came from, but one old text I have in front of me here talks about Cromhall Abbotts and says "of newe erected by K Hen VIII, in the 34th of his Raigne, out of the Ruines of Part of that Monastery". However, it's talking about the manor and parish; the church isn't mentioned. One day I'll spend some time digging info out... --Southglos 17:24, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Cromhall Abbotts

It might be a good idea if someone edited the Cromhall entry to say it was a child's view. I am not sure if I am up to it. I would guess that the article talking about the ruins of a monastery is not literally a reference to real remains but is referring to the dissolution of the Abbey of St. Augustines in Bristol of which Cromhall Abbots was a part. There is a legend about there being an abbey in Abbotside with a passageway to the church. There were cellars under the fields in front of Abbotside Farm which might have encouraged this idea.There are compotus rolls of St.Augustines Abbey which mention the limestone quarry in Cromhall between Priestwood and Jones's Wood. Emmetsmeade (talk) 23:05, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

This is all very interesting! I did a little research into the village's history about 10 years ago, but what is really needed is a dedicated local history/archaeology group to sort the facts from the legends.

 I'm dubious about tunnels from St.Andrews Church to Abbotside; any suchtunnel would have to go down into a steep, narrow valley, with a stream running through it (i.e., Fiddler's Bottom) and up the other side to Abbotside Hill. Of course, that's assuming it went all the way. I think there was also a story about a tunnel from the Old Rectory.
 Until the early 1980s there was an overgrown ruin of an old building beside the track leading to Abbotside Farm. I believe a photo still exists. It had the remains of a large, Gothic-type traceried window at one end, and an undercroft or cellar of some sort. Unfortunately, it was demolished... Perhaps this is part of the origin of the cellars at Abbotside? There are certainly depressions and marks in the ground where cottages and small fields used to stand on the hill, which are still visible. There is also an 18th century map of 'Cromhall Abbots' including now-vanished houses and field boundaries, kept at the REcord Office in Gloucester. 

88.105.224.236 (talk) 22:20, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Re: some of the place-names in the parish, 'Cunnigers' (a word sometimes spelled 'conygres', 'conigers' or even 'coney-ground') refers to an area where rabbits were found, or actually kept, as in a warren. As it happens, a stream *does* run through this part of the village, which is a sort of small valley, and was partly dammed with earth embankments to create fishponds, which *may* be Mediaeval. The banks are still there, but becoming badly eroded by livestock and some sporting activities.

 'Cowship Lane' crosses the parish boundary into Wickwar after a fairly short distance; one reason why the lane may be called 'Wickwar Road'. Another possibility is that local residents imagine that Cowship sounds too much like the vulgar 'cow-shit' (the parish has alway had a ready supply of organic fertiliser...); I have seen it mis-spelled 'Cowslip Lane', but cannot prove bowdlerization was intended! In fact, the 'ship' is short for 'shippon', an old word for barn, and there is a cowshed on the corner of the road where it joins onto the main road (B4058) to Wotton-under-Edge.

Axelowtl (talk) 16:17, 10 September 2008 (UTC)