Woolaston

Woolaston is an English village in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire in South West England. It lies on the north side of the Severn Estuary approximately 5 miles (8 kilometres) from the Welsh border at Chepstow and is surrounded by woodland and agricultural land.

At one time the parish of Woolaston stretched between the River Severn and the River Wye, but now it does not (though it is still quite large). It used to contain much of the area now in the Hewelsfield and Brockweir CP. The Woolaston parish contains many smaller hamlets.

The Village and its Inhabitants

The centre of population in Woolaston is around the Netherend area to the east of the parish, very close to Alvington. Here there is a thriving primary school, one of two pubs in the village, a small post office and a new memorial hall. The small shop has undergone substantial re-development and has recently reopened selling general provisions and locally sourced fresh food, cheese and meats. In bygone years there were several more shops, a blacksmith and more, but they are all long gone now as the character of the village changes. The village is well placed to serve the housing needs of those who work in the Forest of Dean and also in Chepstow, Bristol, Newport and even as far as Cardiff. The agricultural population is becoming increasingly replaced by a newer population of office based professionals, many in the design, media, computer and communication industries based in Bristol and Cardiff.

Development of the Village

There are plans to develop the dairy into a small housing development. Recent developments have consolidated rather than expanded the village.

If you travel north west from Netherend you pass a Methodist church, then Birchwood road, popular and largest housing estate in Woolaston, the 'Ring Fence' which is a small lane with a number of cottages along it, one of the village public houses, the 'Rising Sun' and the village allotments.

Woolaston Common is about 1 mile from the main A48 road and north of the main village. Here there is a small hamlet of houses. There is also an area of common ground which for the most part of the year is covered in bracken. Adjoining the common is also another hamlet called Sandtumps.

Woolaston parish church is about a mile south west of Netherend along the A48 towards Chepstow. It was threatened with closure in 2007 but at the final Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve it was announced the Church will be saved.

Hamlets/areas (no particular order):

Local hamlets include Netherend, Woolaston Common, High Woolaston, Woolaston Woodside, Woolaston Slade, Common Wood, Stroat, Keynsham, Plusterwine, Brookend, Smallbrook, Clap-Y-Ates and Clanna.

St. Andrew's Church

The earliest record of St. Andrew's parish church at Woolaston is in 1131. However, the old circular churchyard and the nearby Roman road, which ran just to the north-west of the church, suggest a much earlier holy site. The Tower was originally a low one with a short wooden steeple, but following the granting of a faculty in 1774, it was completely rebuilt.

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3679922 photos of Woolaston and surrounding area on geograph]