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Dursley

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the hamlet in Wiltshire, see Dursley, Wiltshire. For the fictional Dursleys (Harry Potter's relatives), see Dursley family.
Dursley
Market town
Dursley is located in GloucestershireDursleyDursley
Location within Gloucestershire
Population 7,463 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid reference ST756981
Civil parish 
Dursley
District 
Stroud
Shire county 
Gloucestershire
Region 
South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DURSLEY
Postcode district GL11
Dialling code 01453
Police Gloucestershire
Fire Gloucestershire
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament 
Stroud
List of placesUKEnglandGloucestershire
51°40′52″N 2°21′14″WCoordinates: 51°40′52″N 2°21′14″W
Dursley is a market town and civil parish in southern Gloucestershire, England, almost equidistant from the cities of Bristol and Gloucester. It is under the northeast flank of Stinchcombe Hill, and about 3+3⁄4 miles (6.0 km) southeast of the River Severn. The town is adjacent to Cam which, though a village, is a slightly larger community in its own right.

The population of Dursley was 7,463 at the 2021 Census.[1]

History

Dursley Town Hall
Dursley once had a castle, built by Roger de Berkeley in 1153.[2]

Dursley gained borough status in 1471 and lost it in 1886. From 1837 to 1851 it was the administrative centre of Dursley Registration District which recorded vital records of people living in the parishes of North Nibley, Coaley, Slimbridge, Stinchcombe, Uley, Dursley, Cam, Nympsfield, Kingswood, Wotton-under-Edge and Owlpen.[3] From 1886 until 1974 it was the administrative centre of Dursley Rural District (RDC). In 1974 the RDC became part of Stroud District.

The Grade I listed[4] parish church of St. James the Great dates from the 13th century. The modern building is largely of 14th and 15th century construction and carries the Tudor coat of arms on the outside below the guttering, indicating that some of its construction was funded by the Tudor royals. The original church spire collapsed in January 1699 during a bell-ringing session, causing casualties. The current belltower, in an imposing Gothic survival style, was built by Thomas Sumsion of Colerne in 1708–09.

Dursley Town Hall, a structure complete with statue of Queen Anne and bell turret, dates from 1738, when the town's markets attracted farmers and traders from miles around. It is now maintained by the Dursley Town Council.[5]

In 1856 a short branch line railway opened,[6] called the "Dursley Donkey" by locals, linking Dursley and Cam to the Bristol–Gloucester main line at Coaley Junction. The branch line was closed in 1968 and Coaley Junction station was also closed at about this time. However, in 1994 a new station called Cam and Dursley was opened on the main line, 330 yards north of the site of Coaley Junction.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Dursley was a large-scale manufacturing town, and engines built here by the Lister engine company were used around the world. That company's successor, Lister Petter, was based in the town until 2014, though much of the original 92-acre (37 ha) factory site was acquired in 2000 by the South West Regional Development Agency and then in 2011 by Stroud District Council. It is now being developed as a large housing development with some industrial units.[7] The Towers, a large gothic-style house, formerly part of the Lister Petter estate, still overlooks the town and has been converted into flats and a residential care home.[8] The Lister Hall theatre is named after the company.


Church of St James the Great
Other large factories based in the town included Mawdsley's, an electrical equipment manufacturer; Bymack's, an upholsterers; and the Bailey Newspaper Group, a newspaper printer, all of which have reduced or closed operations in recent years.

Ancient historical sites in the vicinity give evidence of earlier occupation. Uley Bury is an Iron Age hill fort dating from around 300BC. The area also has neolithic long barrows; one called "Hetty Pegler's Tump" can be entered. Notable Roman remains exist at Frocester, West Hill near Uley, Woodchester and Calcot Manor.

Character and amenities
The town sits on the edge of the Cotswolds escarpment where it drops off towards the Severn Vale and the River Severn.

Dursley's main watercourse is the River Ewelme which becomes the River Cam when it enters Cam. The town is surrounded by woodland and countryside, and the Cotswold Way long distance trail passes through Dursley town centre.

In March 2010 Sainsbury's opened a newly built 20,000 sq ft supermarket within walking distance of the town centre.[9] Other recent arrivals include Lidl (November 2009, in premises on Kingshill Road previously occupied by the Regal Cinema and then Kwik Save[10]) and Iceland (July 2010, replacing Somerfield in the town centre[11]). The C