The Parish features some lovely and interesting buildings including the Jacobean manor house with the Renaissance-style archway. Next door is the Old Rectory, dating from the 16th century. Sir Bevil Grenville, a Cornish Royalist Civil War leader was brought here to die after being struck in the head with a pole-axe in the Battle of Lansdown in 1643. Tucked away behind trees is the historic Holy Trinity Church. Walkers on the Cotswold Way, the 100-mile walk from Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire to Bath pass through the churchyard.
Cold Ashton is ancient. It is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and is the site of two round barrows known as Robin Hoods butts. By the mid 19th century the population was as high as 600. There were farmers, wheelwrights, a blacksmith. The village had a shop and a bakehouse, which produced almost 200 loaves of bread a day. Children flocked to the sweet shop and in April every year a man called George Legg did a weeks brewing, producing thousands of gallons of beer that would keep the workmen happy in the summer. People crammed into the few houses – a family of six boys and six girls were raised in Rose Cottage, now a small, two bed-roomed holiday let. In 1878, 63 children attended the village school. By 1958 it was down to 10 and the school is no more – children go to the nearby Marshfield primary.
Following the Local Government Act of 1894 the first parish council meeting was held at the village schoolroom just before Christmas that year.
The minute book for the parish hall begins on August 1922. Twelve men were elected to form a working men’s committee including Messrs Purnell and Shackell. Their descendants still live in and serve the parish. Early decisions included setting up a board outside the hall – and the appointment of a “sanitary inspector.”
Special events have long been celebrated in the village. In 1887 Queen Victoria’s jubilee was marked with a torchlit procession and every man given an ounce of tobacco and a clay pipe
More than a century on, the parish council, which meets every other month, is still run by committed councillors and a dedicated clerk. The parish hall also still thrives and a committee continues to meet to organise events including pub nights and a Christmas party. The building is available to hire.
Finally, yes, it can be chilly in the winter (try Freezing Hill Lane). There is not a lot to get in the way of winds when they whistle in from the west, north or east.