Home to racing royalty and a favoured destination for TV and film makers, the small Cotswold village of Guiting Power certainly punches above its weight
GUITING POWER
Points of interest on Katie B Morgan’s map:
⦁ Royalty: Royal estate under Edward The Confessor, the seat of his sheriff Aldwyn.
⦁ Origins: The name Guiting is believed to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word getinge, meaning rushing, while the name Power comes from medieval lords of the manor called Le Poer.
⦁ Stones on village green: Remains of the base of ancient market cross.
⦁ The Dyers: Possibly where the woollen cloth made in the village fulling mill was dyed.
⦁ White van: Watsons Bakery, closed in 2019, delivered fresh bread around the villages.
⦁ The Cotswold Guy: State-of-the art delicatessen.
⦁ Musician: Thomas Edwards was mentioned as ‘a musition’ in the Gloucestershire Militia Roll of 1608.
⦁ Foot marks: There are some along ‘tewers’ between cottages, others making the Wardens’ Way, Winchcombe Way and The Diamond Way.
⦁ Border decoration: Carved stone decoration – patterns, hour glass and face – around the Norman arches of St Michael’s Church.
⦁ Stone pipes in border decoration: The Stone Pipe Company, est. 1806 by S.Hill in London, opening a factory at Fox Hill around 1809.
⦁ Monks: In 1898, St Bernard’s Monastery formed in the Old Vicarage, later moving to Prinknash Abbey, near Gloucester.
⦁ Horse shoe: The Old Forge.
⦁ Bell: Once The Bell Pub.
⦁ Chapel: Baptist Chapel, built in 1835 but closed in 2014,
⦁ Greyhound: There used to be a pub called The Greyhound down Well Lane.
⦁ Barley: The old malting house.
⦁ Foodbank white van: North Cotswold Food Bank, Glebe Farm Buildings.
⦁ Trust office: Lots of houses were put up for sale in 1934. A lady called Moyra Davidson bought 12 cottages, to rent to local villagers, and these were later bought by the Guiting Manor Trust. The charitable trust was formed by Raymond Cochrane, who bought most of the estate in 1958. This trust was replaced by the Guiting Power Amenity Trust in 1977.
⦁ Fox: Local hills are Fox Hill, Trinity Hill, Grange Hill, Guiting Hill and Sheep Hill.
⦁ Cat: Castlett is from Old English cattes slad, meaning valley/field of the wild cat.
⦁ Racehorse: Grange Farm, home of Nigel Twiston-Davies – National Hunt racehorse trainer – and Carl Llewellyn, his business partner.
⦁ Village Hall: Used by Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Cheery Club, Art Club, History Society, dog training and many others.
⦁ Bunting: The Guiting Music Festival, founded in 1970, runs for ten days, starting in the last week of July every year. The Annual Open Gardens Event is held on the first Sunday in June. A fete and dog show will be on June 17, 2023.
⦁ Sheep: The Cotswold Lion breed can still be seen at the Cotswold Farm Park.
⦁ Farmer’s Arms: Owned by Donnington Brewery.
⦁ The Hollow Bottom: The iconic racing pub is now owned by Youngs Brewery.
⦁ Old PO: A post office and cafe, popular with walkers and cyclists.
⦁ Tumulus: The excavated foundations of the original Anglo-Saxon church, and a large kerbed bell barrow.
⦁ Swifts: Local nature reserves, Greystones and Chedworth.
⦁ Sheet music: Guiting Power hymn tune by John Barnard, named after the village.
⦁ Book: SAS soldier and author Lofty Large grew up in Guiting Power.
⦁ Building with pyramid roof: A new composting village toilet has been built for the benefit of visitors and locals.
⦁ Father Brown: BBC 1 film The Aerodrome by Rex Warner; The Wyvern Mysteries (1999); Father Brown; and Celebrity Hunted all filmed here.
Written with the help of Roland and Mary Greenhill, and the booklet Guiting Power with Farmcote.
Prints and cards of Katie's maps and other illustrations are available to buy or commission from kbmorgan.co.uk
