Wick, Gloucestershire

Wick is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is the main settlement in the civil parish of Wick and Abson. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,989.[1]

St Bartholomew's church

Description

It is situated on the A420 between Bristol and Chippenham, south of the Cotswolds. The River Boyd flows through the old village, with its watermeadows facing St. Bartholomew's Church, a grade II* listed building dating from 1850.[2]

As well as the church, the village has several shops, the Rose & Crown and (now defunct) Carpenters Arms public houses, a village hall, sports ground, and Wick Primary School. Brockwell Park provides a green space for the village with a play area and a trim trail, as well as a Community Orchard planted in 2020.

Nearby Blue Lodge was once the home of Black Beauty author Anna Sewell and Tracy Park on the Bath Road (now a golf club) was thought to be the inspiration for Black Beauty's Birtwick Park.

The picturesque Golden Valley is well known for walking, birding and equestrian activity. It was described by the poet John Dennys of Pucklechurch in his work of 1613 The Secrets of Angling, the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing:[3]

And thou sweet Boyd that with thy watry sway
Dost wash the cliffes of Deington and of Weeke
And through their Rockes with crooked winding way
Thy mother Avon runnest soft to seek.[4]

The authorship of the poem was a mystery for many years, having been published anonymously, and it was partly due to his mention of the rocks of Wick that he was finally identified. The Golden Valley is also a favorite destination for hot air balloonists. Adjacent to Golden Valley is the historic Bury Manor.

Wick Quarry

Wick Quarry, a limestone quarry previously owned by CEMEX, is no longer operational but is a haven for wildlife and also a birdwatching site. The site is now owned by MJ Church. Part of the site is managed by South Gloucestershire Council as the Golden Valley Nature Reserve.[5]

References
  1. "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST BARTHOLOMEW (1216152)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. David Lambert (1881). Angling Literature in England. London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. p. 43.
  4. Dennys, John. The Secrets of Angling. Book 1, Verse 3.
  5. https://www.goldenvalley.org.uk/

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