Chaceley Village

Chaceley Village History

What’s in a Name?

"Chaceley" is referred to in Mills´ ‘English Place Names’ (page 972) as formerly ‘Ceateweslea’ - possibly a derivative of Celtic "Ced" meaning wood and old English "Lea" meaning wood clearing.

The village lies across the River Severn downstream to the west of Tewkesbury and upstream from Deerhurst.

In 1931 Chaceley was transferred from Worcestershire to Gloucestershire although it had been part of Tewkesbury Rural District since 1894. Chaceley joined the Gloucester Rural District in 1937 when the Tewkesbury Rural District was abolished and became part of the wider Tewkesbury District or Borough after the nationwide municipal reorganization of 1974.

Historical Events

• 1894: Chaceley Parish Council is established.

• 1904: George Lane becomes Chairman of the Parish Council.

• 1939: Catherine Lane (wife of George) is appointed Assistant Reception and Billeting Officer housing evacuees from Birmingham. The schoolroom, now the Village Hall, is the Reception Centre.

• 1942: the Defence Committee is formed. This special unit guards the Hawbridge to Worcester section of the fuel line that runs from Avonmouth to the Midlands. Mr G W Yates is responsible for calling for assistance in the event of an emergency.

  (Editor’s note: ‘ Who do you think you’re kidding, Mr.Hitler, if you think Old England’s done..?). (sic).

• 1946: the Parish Council minutes refer to an application for new houses being received and forwarded to the Rural District Council.

• 1948: Parish Council minutes refer to a ‘scarcity of house thatchers and allotments’.

• 1949: new houses are again an issue.

• 1958: electricity comes to Lower Chaceley.

• 1959: 110 acres of land and 15 houses are transferred to Eldersfield parish.

• 1959: the Avon Sailing Club is established.

• 1980: the former school becomes the Chaceley Village Hall, a formally registered charity (#282185)

Village Minutiae

For those interested in delving deeper into the history of the village and its buildings, more detailed history of Chaceley can be viewed at “British History Online”

Link: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol4/pp53-56#h3-0002

Historical information on some of the key buildings in the village can be found below.

Cottages, Houses, Farms & Buildings

Chaceley Court

Chaceley Court was until 1866 the homestead of Chaceley Court Farm which comprised over 200 acres of arable and pastoral land, orchard and meadow land. In the sale particulars of that year it was described as being ‘close to the Church and adjoining the Grain House’ and there is reference to a new ‘vicarage house’ about to be built on the opposite side of the road. (Editor’s note: now ‘The Old Vicarage’).

The main road through the village from Tirley to Forthampton was originally the Lower Road. Only a cobbled road spurred off around the church and straight ahead opposite the Church bell tower (where steps can still be seen on the wall allowing access to the footpath). This was the original driveway to Chaceley Court and its outbuildings.

Plans of Chaceley Court in the mid-19th Century show several large buildings opposite where the public telephone now stands: these were described as ‘Fold Yard and Outbuildings’. They have all since been demolished, possibly replaced by the outbuildings to the west of Chaceley Court that are used as a summerhouse today. These were originally built as cowsheds and the adjoining double-storey buildings were for stabling and storage of hay and straw - and, remarkably, the mangers in those buildings are still intact.

A row of pigsties extended along the back of the house and today’s sunken lawn was part of the farm yard. In what was a single-storey building adjoining the house, there was a cider mill and cider press obviously built to service the orchards when they surrounded the property. Both these features have been lovingly preserved and imaginatively integrated into the house itself.

At the turn of the 2oth Century a Mrs Chamberlain farmed the land.

By the time that George Yates became tenant in 1921 an additional 40 acres of land including Church Glebe land and the field opposite together with several of the water meadows running down the right of Stock Lane and 4 acres of allotments had been added to the holding.

The farm was purchased in 1953 by Godfrey Russell with George Yates continuing as tenant until his death in the late 1950s. The house lay empty between 1960 and 1967 when Godfrey Russell’s son, Jeremy, moved in following his marriage.

In 1988 all but two fields immediately adjoining the house were sold - five acres to Vicarage Field Farm.

The same year Chaceley Court was sold to Charles Wake who farmed the remaining land in conjunction with the Forthampton Estate as well as running a car dealership in Cheltenham - as a result of which he was Chaceley’s first (and potentially only) Rolls Royce owner.

(Editor’s note: that said, the tradition of collecting and driving British classic cars is still alive and well in the village today).

Mr Wake’s father, Sir Hereward (!), owned a large estate in Northamptonshire and when he fell ill only two years later, Charles left to run the Northamptonshire estate after selling Chaceley Court to its present owners. 

Church Cottage (formerly the village Post Office) - At the turn of the 20th Century, Chaceley had its own post office in Church Cottage. As its name suggests, the cottage was originally owned by the church and at the turn of the last century its tenant was Ernie Porton who was the sexton. Mr Porton married Miss Pounds from Rose Cottage and in conjunction with his church duties they ran the post office and village telephone exchange together from their front room (!).

The postman, Rowley Taylor, lived at Heronsfield and carried out his round by bicycle, collecting mail from Tewkesbury via the ferry crossing at Lower Lode and delivering letters to Chaceley and then Tirley. On his return in the evening he would collect from post-boxes en route. When the Portons left in the late 1940’s the post office business continued from the garden shed until the 1970’s, though the cottage itself had become a worker’s cottage for Chaceley Hall Farm in 1964.

The Old Vicarage - Strangely, very little information is available about the Old Vicarage and its past inhabitants. Some old photographs have come to light which show the Reverend Authy with his daughter, Eirene, who was the cousin of Barbara Cartland (1901-2000), the prolific writer of historical romance primarily set during the Victorian and Edwardian periods..

Miss Cartland would visit as a child when she was in Tewkesbury. According to her cousin, Barbara was always “prissy” and much preferred the company of her own brother and other male cousins. Barbara (Cartland) was apparently not allowed to play with the village children, but envied them particularly during the floods when some would come to school by boat!

Werth Farm - Listed Grade II the farmhouse is described as being from the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries- and the adjoining barn being 15th Century or earlier. Both the house and barn were probably formerly thatched. At the turn of the century the farm covered 100 acres and was tenanted by Joseph Spires who remained there until 1936 when George Bloxham became the tenant. The farm was owned by a Mr Sullivan who, reputedly, was (interestingly) mixed up with “ladies of the night” and who was implicated in a great scandal concerning a body found in the Severn in 1938. The head was discovered by Haw Bridge whilst the torso was found downstream... but the crime was never solved….

In 1938 Werth Farm was bought by the Wellons who had 7 sons and 3 daughters. Father and sons farmed the land until 1993 when it was bought by the current owner and the land holding was increased to 120 acres.

(Editor’s note: Wellon descendants still live in Chaceley today).

Grain House Farm - Listed Grade II, the farmhouse dates from the 18th and early 19th Centuries. Internally one room contains finely painted late 18th Century wall paintings imitating framed pictures of landscapes and flowers. The ceiling was reputed to have been painted to give a ‘cloudlike’ effect. The paintings are attributed to a Dutch painter - many Dutch having worked in Chaceley in the late 18th Century constructing the drainage system. The name derives from a large collecting barn (now gone) which stored grain on behalf of the farmers of the area prior to its being shipped by river to the Midlands. The occupant at the turn of the last century was Bill Spires, a tenant of the Burlingham Estate in Evesham, which was a big horticultural supplier. In 1928 Bill’s son Charlie took over the farm but sadly he died suddenly of a heart attack whilst at the cattle market buying a bull.

(Editor’s note: ‘Caveat Emptor’)!

As Charlie was unmarried, the farm reverted to his mother. In 1932 Charlie’s sister, Molly, married Jack Eaton of Hill End Farm. In 1949 Jack Eaton bought Grain House Farm which his daughter, Brenda, and son in law, Syd, ran until Jack’s death in 1991.

The Cutters (a family still present in Chaceley today) continued to farm at the Grain House until 1993 when the house was sold together with 8 acres of land and Grain House Farm went out of farming.

The remaining land was amalgamated into Werth Farm. The house has recently changed hands once more.

Grain House Cottage - Listed Grade II dates from 17th Century and was probably formerly thatched. Originally the worker’s cottage for Grain House Farm, it was sold into private ownership in 1992.

Rye Court Farm, (formerly Chaceley Rye) - Listed Grade II dates from 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries. Consisting of 120 acres at the turn of the last century, it was farmed by Jack Lord until 1926. Bill Cook then farmed the land, though the house was rented out, until his death in 1970 when the Pooles took over. This property is now in private ownership.

Lanagettes (Langetts) Farm- also known as The Basket-Maker’s house. The farm was a small holding of 5 acres. Until 1960 it was the home of Horace Ventfield, a basket maker, who did the weaving in the now sadly dilapidated brick building to be seen in the adjacent field, now used as seasonal shelter for sheep and cows from New House Farm. The willow was grown in pursh beds situated behind the pub (The Stock Inn, now The Yew Tree Inn) and where the Avon Yacht Club house is now. The willow would grow to 4ft tall before being harvested annually for basket making. The baskets would be made mainly for local purchase for storing and sieving fruit grown locally. It is also thought that they may have been used for shifting marl and gravel for use as ballast for the ‘trow’ barges on the river nearby. This property is now in private ownership.

Danter’s End (formerly New Farm Cottage) - Listed Grade II. Thatched cottage dating from 17th and 19th Centuries. This cottage and grounds remain part of the adjoining Forthampton Estate due to its connection with New House Farm.

Lawn Farm - Previously known as "The Sheds", the farm covered 140 acres and was owned by Mr Mence of Forthampton House. The tenant at the turn of the last century was Charlie Spires who farmed until 1918. From 1930 it was farmed by a succession of people: Frank Benyon until 1936; a Mr Philips until 1938; Richard Edwards until 1942 and Arthur Cresswell until 1959. As a consequence it became know as "the farm where no one stayed". One reason for the high turnover of farmers was the large number of springs which made the land too wet to farm successfully. However, the land has now been drained and improved, though evidence of the springs can still be seen in the pond behind the barns.

Moores Farm - The Apperleys owned this 70-acre farm at the turn of the last century and Mr Apperley was renowned as a great cider maker. Mr Apperley’s son suffered a bad accident and whilst being treated in hospital he fell in love with his nurse. When they married the house was divided between brother and sister and they continued the farm until their deaths around 1950. Two brothers, Ray and Geoff Griffiths, took over and farmed at Moores Farm throughout the war, though they never lived there. In the mid 1950s Gordon Haynes bought the farm but when he sold it it was broken up into 30 acres, now an equestrian riding school, and the remainder of the land went to Sam Barr of Linberry Farm, Hartpury. Whilst the house and farmland remains in Chaceley (Gloucestershire), the riding school is now confusingly in Worcestershire thanks to the boundary change of 1931.

New House Farm - Listed Grade II dates from 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. The house was the home of the Buckle family during 18th and 19th Centuries - whose monuments can be seen in the village church. At the turn of the century it consisted of 180 acres and was farmed by the Jacksons - mother, son Tom and his sister Kathleen - until Tom married in 1930 and the family moved to Eldersfield. Horace Hartland then took over and his family descendents still farm it today.

This is the only farm in Chaceley that still belongs to the Yorke Estate at Forthampton Court.

New Barn Farm - This small 60-acre farm belonged to the Manse at Forthampton and was farmed by Charlie Hawker until his death. Horace Ventfield (see Langettes Farm above) followed at the beginning of the WW2w until it was taken over around 1950 by Walter Weston who lived in Lower Farm, Forthampton but farmed New Barn until 1968. It was then farmed “in hand” by the Russells of Chaceley Court and remains in the Russell’s ownership, though they now live in Forthampton.

Hill End - At the turn of the 20th Century this 200-acre farm was owned by a Mr Baynon but was sold in 1928 to Fred Eaton who farmed there with his family until 1949. Hill End was then sold to a Mr Wilding who sold to one Colonel Braithwaite in 1957, by which time the holding had reduced to 150 acres. Miss Winifred Mills bought it in 1964. The house was sold in 2017 (est) and is now an equestrian centre.

Cobbler’s Cottage - Cobbler, Tommy Davies, traded here making and repairing shoes in the village from 1938 until the mid 1960’s. The cottage together with its neighbours Yew Tree and Heronsfield were originally owned by the Turberville Trust and were rented to Chaceley Hall Farm as cottages for its workers. All are now in private ownership.

Chaceley Hall (originally Chaceley Hole Farm) - Listed Grade II* dates from 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and mid 19th Centuries.

The hall is reported to have been a hunting lodge for hunting wild boar.

The farm had been in the Lane family for 20 generations with the Hall as the farm house until it was sold in 1997. In addition to its own 100 acres, the Lanes also farmed land at Coombes Hill on the Forthampton Estate and Glebelands in the heart of the village. The farm is still run by the Lane family.