Awre

Awre (/ɔːr/)[1] is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, near the River Severn.

Not to be confused with AWRE.

Awre

The War Memorial at Awre
Awre
Location within Gloucestershire
Population1,714 (Civil parish, 2011)
OS grid referenceSO7008
Civil parish
  • Awre
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBlakeney
Postcode districtGL15
Dialling code01594
PoliceGloucestershire
FireGloucestershire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteAwre Parish Council home page

Both the parish and the electoral ward include Blakeney, Etloe, Gatcombe, Viney Hill, and Two Bridges.

According to the 2001 census, Awre had a population of 1,644, increasing to 1,714 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward gives similar figures[2]

History

The name is from Old English; āfor "bitter or sour" and ēa "water-meadow or island" translates to "sour water-meadow".[1]

The manor of Awre is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Together with Lydney and Alvington, the parish of Awre comprised Bledisloe Hundred.[3] Awre was a large parish which included the tithings of Blakeney, Bledisloe, Hagloe, and Etloe.[3] The manors were often in royal hands or in possession of great medieval magnates.[4] The whole of Awre parish was included within the jurisdiction of the Forest of Dean before 1228.[4]

St Andrew's parish church from the southeast

The village was once larger, though probably always scattered in plan.[4] In the 17th century, shipbuilding was established in nearby Gatcombe, once an important anchorage on the Severn.[4] By the early 19th century, the industrial and trading village of Blakeney had replaced Awre as the principal centre.[4]

A church is mentioned in Domesday Book, and by the mid 12th century it was dedicated to St. Andrew.[4] It was rebuilt in the mid-13th century as a large building with a long chancel and a nave and north aisle of six bays. The porch was added in the 14th century and the upper part of the tower was reconstructed in the 15th century.

The church is a Victorian restoration of the 19th century with a 15th-century font and a 15th-century oak rood screen.[4] A medieval dugout chest stands under the tower.[4] The graveyard contains many burials of those drowned in the Severn as a result of shipwreck or other accident.[4]

From 1851 to 1959, the area was served by the Awre for Blakeney railway station.[5]

References
  1. Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Awre", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521168557
  2. "Parish & electoral ward 2011". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  3. Bledisloe Hundred, A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5. Victoria County History
  4. Awre A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5. Victoria County History.
  5. Mike Oakley (2003). Gloucestershire Railway Stations. Wimborne: Dovecote Press. pp. 16–17. ISBN 1-904349-24-2.
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