Cranham, Gloucestershire

Cranham is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire. Forming part of the district of Stroud it is to be found a mile or so east of the A46 road between Stroud and Cheltenham. The Cotswold Way long-distance footpath also runs nearby.

Cranham

Cranham viewed from the east
Cranham
Location within Gloucestershire
Population451 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO896129
Civil parish
  • Cranham
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGLOUCESTER
Postcode districtGL4
Dialling code01452
PoliceGloucestershire
FireGloucestershire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

Composer Gustav Holst lived in Cranham for a while, and it was there, in the house now called 'Midwinter Cottage' that he wrote what is probably the best known tune for the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti.[2] A Ham class minesweeper, HMS Cranham, was also named after the village.

Midwinter, the house where Gustav Holst wrote the tune "Cranham" for In the Bleak Midwinter.

A Fairport Convention album, Gladys' Leap, is named after local postwoman Gladys Hillier, who would jump over a local stream to avoid a long journey. The Ordnance Survey have renamed that place in her honour.[3]

In 1948, Cranham Scout Centre was opened by the chief scout of the time. Over 2000 people attended the celebration of the opening ceremony.[4] Since then it has developed from a small campsite into an activity centre with indoor accommodation.

In 1949 George Orwell stayed at a sanatorium near the village, in his search for a relief if not a cure for the tuberculosis from which he was suffering and which would kill him six months later after his admission to University College Hospital.[5] While in the sanatorium he sketched out in 4 pages of a notebook a short story to be called A Smoking Room Story, set in Burma. The story was never written.[6]

In 2010, pop star Lily Allen bought Old Overton House, just outside Cranham, for a reported £3 million.[7][8] Old Overton House is grade II listed with the earliest part of the property dating back to the seventeenth century.[9]

References
  1. "Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  2. "Gloucestershire – Places – Shnugget: Carols at Cranham". BBC. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  3. Hamilton, Alan (11 August 2005). "A bridge too late to spare a country postwoman's muddy boots – Times Online". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  4. "History". Cranham Scout Centre. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  5. Wiles, David (24 June 2009). "George Orwell finished classic during stay in Cranham". Stroud News. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  6. Larkin, Emma (2011). Finding George Orwell in Burma. Granta Books. ISBN 9781847084552.
  7. "Smile, you're the proud new owner of £3 million Lily Allen pad". This Is Gloucestershire. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  8. "Lily recovers from serious condition | Gloucestershire News". This is Gloucestershire. 7 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  9. "Old Overtown House – Cranham – Gloucestershire – England". British Listed Buildings. 24 March 1987. Retrieved 4 April 2012.

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