Redmarley D'Abitot is a civil parish and village in the Forest of Dean district, Gloucestershire, South West England. In addition to the village of Redmarley, the civil parish also includes the settlements of Lowbands, Haw Cross, Playley Green, Kings Green and Durbridge.Welcome to Redmarley D'Abitot At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 705, increasing to 756 at the 2011 census.
Although now in Gloucestershire, Redmarley was in Worcestershire until 1931.
History
The name Redmarley comes from 'woodland clearing with a reedy pond', from the Old English words hrëod and lëah.Mills, A. D. (1991): A Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford University Press. An alternative cod-derivation has been suggested as from the local red heavy clay or marl.Redmarley D'Abitot at genuki.com The difficulty with this explanation is that the word marl entered the language many centuries later. D'Abitot is thought to come from Urse d'Abetot, who was Sheriff of Worcestershire and who held the manor in 1086.Domesday Book
Sometimes a circumflex is placed on the 'o' of d'Abitot, but this usage has been criticised. As Eric Smith says: "It is to be regretted that the Gloucestershire County Council placed a circumflex in the signs on the A417. This is emphatically incorrect, both historically and linguistically, Abitot is a word of (Germanic) Anglo-Saxon origin."Warde, Eric (2007): Prosperity to this Parish, A History of Redmarley D'Abitot
Great Domesday In the reign of William the Conqueror, a report on Redmarley D'Abitot was in the Domesday Book of 1086. People mentioned include: Aethelric; Alvred; Alweard; Ansgot; Azur; Beorhtric son of Aelfgar; Beorhtwine; Cyneweard daughter of Sigrefr; Dodda; Durand; Ealdraed, etc.
Battle of Redmarley Redmarley's fields were the site of a battle in 1644 during the Civil War. About 2000 to 3000 troops were involved and Royalist leader General Mynn was killed.
Governance The village falls in the 'Redmarley' electoral ward. This ward stretches south to Pauntley. The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,856.
Famous residents Alice Roberts was living with her widowed mother, Julia, at Hazeldine House in Redmarley at the time of her engagement to the composer Edward Elgar. Barbara Cartland's mother, Polly Scobell, grew up at the Down House and as a small girl Barbara was a regular visitor from Pershore.John Pearson (Henry Cloud), Barbara Cartland: Crusader in Pink, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1979 Corporal Thomas Priday, the first British soldier to lose his life in the Second World War, lived here.
Distances from Redmarley 3 miles north of Newent 5 miles south of Ledbury 10 miles north west of Gloucester 16 miles south-east of Hereford
References
External links
Redmarley D'Abitot village website "A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3" at british-history.ac.uk Redmarley D'Abitot at genuki.com "Redmarley D'Abitot, Worcestershire, Parish Register Transcripts" transcribed and generously provided by William Good