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Moreton-in-MarshA Thousand Years of Cotswold HistoryBy Marilyn LoeserIt wasn’t a planned stop, but rather the need for lunch that brought us to Moreton-in-Marsh. By us, I am referring to my traveling companions: My husband Mark, our friends Gill and Clive Shaw and their daughters Eve, 3, and Georgia, 1.
Moreton-in-Marsh is located in the Evenlode Valley, in the heart of the Cotswold Hills, and has been a thriving market town dating back a thousand years to Saxon times. We drove into the busy village just past noon and began to walk along High Street in search of a good place to have a meal. Village HistoryThe earliest evidence of a settlement here points to a Roman military camp covering half an acre and built in 43-50 AD during the conquest of Britain. The camp was established to control the local population until permanent Roman bases were established. The camp predates the Roman Fosse Way which lies some 3 feet below the present High Street.
It was in 1637 that King Charles I granted the market charter which is still exercised every Tuesday when High Street is lined with market stalls and shoppers from all over the Midlands. During the Civil War between King Charles I and a large body of his subjects known as the parliamentarians, Moreton-in-Marsh was a center for the Royalist cavalry. King Charles stayed at the White Hart Royal on his final march from his Oxford headquarters. The establishment of a linen-weaving industry, and the advent of turnpikes on England’s main roads in the mid 18th century, increased the town's importance. Many of the buildings on High Street date from this time. The oldest building in the village is the 16th century Curfew Tower.
Moreton-in-Marsh became one of the fastest growing commerce centers of the North Cotswolds during this time. The church was enlarged in 1858-60 and Redesdale Hall, the village’s main public hall, was built in 1887. Black Bear Inn
After ordering — I had gammon steak (ham) and eggs — we asked our waitress a little about the Inn.
We didn’t meet Fred, but we did enjoy our meal and were soon resuming our stroll along High Street and leisurely browsing in antique and gifts shops. Before we headed toward Tewksbury and its famous Abbey, we took a few photos and bought souvenirs. It was a very nice way to spend an afternoon in the Cotswolds. If you go: Last picture by Eve Shaw. Other pictures taken by Marilyn Loeser. |
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TM
With Clive at the wheel, we left the Shaw’s home in
Abbeymead, a suburb of Glouchester, and set off to explore the region without a
specific plan in mind. Then again, any village in the Cotswolds offers the
trademark honey-colored stone homes and shops, and centuries of interesting
history.
The original village was developed around the church and
this area of town is still known as Old Town. In the 1220s, the Abbot of
Westminster built the “new” Moreton-in-Marsh with its wide street along the
Fosse Way as a market town. Because of its location, the village also became a
convenient stopping place for travelers to and from London and Worcester.
Hotels and inns were kept busy with travelers on the eight
London-Worcester stagecoaches which stopped here every day. Moreton-in-Marsh
also had one of the earliest railways in the country when the Stratford-Moreton
Tramway opened in 1826 followed by the main line between London, Oxford and
Worcester in 1853.
We
walked along High Street for a couple blocks when we came upon the Black Bear
Inn.
We learned parts of the restaurant and hotel dates back 300
years, and it is said, the Inn is home of a very active poltergeist called Fred.