Dursley

Dursley
Dursley shown within Gloucestershire
Population	5,814 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	ST756981
District	Stroud
Shire county	Gloucestershire
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Gloucestershire
Fire	Gloucestershire
Ambulance	Great Western
European Parliament	South West England
List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire

Coordinates: 51°′″N 2°′″W / 51.6811, -2.3543

Arms of the former Dursley Rural District Council

Dursley is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. It is under the North East flank of Stinchcombe Hill (part of the 'Cotswold Edge'), and about 6km South East of the River Severn. The town is adjacent with Cam which, though a village, is a community of double the size. The two communities (combined population about 12,000) share many facilities.

Dursley gained borough status in 1471 and lost it in 1886. From then until 1974 it was the administrative centre of Dursley Rural District (RDC). In 1974 the RDC became part of Stroud District.

In 1856 a short branch line railway opened, [1] linking Dursley and Cam to the Bristol - Gloucester main line at Coaley Junction. The branch line was closed in 1968. Coaley Junction station was also closed at about this time. However, in 1994 a new railway station called Cam and Dursley [2] was opened on the main line near the site of Coaley Junction.

Dursley was a manufacturing town, producing the famous Dursley Pedersen bicycle [3] as well as being home to the Lister stationary engine company. That company's successor, Lister-Petter, is still based in the town.

Upon his marriage in 1937 the novelist Evelyn Waugh moved to Piers Court near Dursley, where he lived until 1956, when he moved to Combe Florey in Somerset. Local legend also has it that William Shakespeare worked as a schoolmaster in Dursley during his "lost years". References to local landscapes and families in Henry IV are often cited as evidence.

Stinchcombe Hill provides a scenic backdrop to much of the town. It has an 18 hole golf course, said to be a favourite of the actor Hugh Grant. The Hill has had a great deal of work carried out by volunteers (SHV, led by John Smallwood), since 1992. They have attempted to restore the open views over the Severn Vale. The cleared areas can be seen from the M5. The Cotswold Way has now been re-routed around the Hill to take advantage of this work.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling was born in Yate used to visit the town as a child with her parents, and hated it so much she named the awful Dursley family in the Potter books after it.^[1]

The Old Spot is regularly voted Gloucestershire Pub of the Year and features a full range of real ales (including "Old Ric").

Home to the discovery of the 'Tessellating fisheye kaleidoscope' in 1999.

Ancient historical sites in the vicinity give evidence of earlier occupation. Uley Bury, in nearby Uley, is an Iron Age hill fort dating from around 300BC, and the village also has neolithic long barrows, which are evident further afield at Selsley Common and Nympsfield to the north. Notable Roman remains exist at Frocester, West Hill near Uley, Woodchester and Calcot Manor.

References

External links

• Dursley Local History
• Dursley Chamber of Trade Website
• John Wilkes' Dursley website
• Dursley Gazette Website
• Dursley Town Council
• A history of Dursley's railways
• Coaley Junction Action Committee
• Vale Vision Community Development covering Dursley, Cam and the surrounding villages
• Rednock School website
• About the Dursley Pedersen Bicycle

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