Cranham is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire. Forming part of the district of Stroud, it is to be found a mile or so east of the A46 road between Stroud and Cheltenham. The Cotswold Way long-distance footpath also runs nearby.
| Cranham | |
|---|---|
 Cranham viewed from the east | |
  Cranham Location within Gloucestershire | |
| Population | 451 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SO896129 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GLOUCESTER |
| Postcode district | GL4 |
| Dialling code | 01452 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Composer Gustav Holst lived in Cranham for a while, and it was there, in the house now called 'Midwinter Cottage' (opposite the Black Horse Inn) that he wrote what is probably the best known tune for the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti.[2] A Ham class minesweeper, HMS Cranham, was also named after the village.
A Fairport Convention album, Gladys' Leap, is named after the leap of local postwoman Gladys Hillier, who would jump over a local stream to avoid a long journey. The Ordnance Survey have renamed that place in her honour.[3]
In 1948, Cranham Scout Centre was opened by the chief scout of the time. Over 2000 people attended the opening ceremony.[4] Since then it has developed from a small campsite into an activity centre with indoor accommodation.
In 1949 George Orwell stayed at a nearby sanatorium, in his search for a relief if not a cure for the tuberculosis from which he was suffering and which would kill him six months later after his admission to University College Hospital.[5] While in the sanatorium he sketched out in four pages of a notebook a short story to be called A Smoking Room Story, set in Burma. The story was never written.[6] The sanatorium was closed in 1956 and most of the buildings were demolished.[7]
In 2010, pop star Lily Allen bought Old Overton House, just outside Cranham, for a reported £3 million.[8][9] Old Overton House is Grade II listed with the earliest part of the property dating back to the seventeenth century.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ^ "Gloucestershire – Places – Shnugget: Carols at Cranham". BBC. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Hamilton, Alan (11 August 2005). "A bridge too late to spare a country postwoman's muddy boots – Times Online". London: The Times. Retrieved 11 January 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "History". Cranham Scout Centre. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Wiles, David (24 June 2009). "George Orwell finished classic during stay in Cranham". Stroud News. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ Larkin, Emma (2011). Finding George Orwell in Burma. Granta Books. ISBN 9781847084552.
- ^ "Cranham | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Smile, you're the proud new owner of £3 million Lily Allen pad". This Is Gloucestershire. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ^ "Lily recovers from serious condition | Gloucestershire News". This is Gloucestershire. 7 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "Old Overtown House – Cranham – Gloucestershire – England". British Listed Buildings. 24 March 1987. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
External links
edit
Media related to Cranham, Gloucestershire at Wikimedia Commons
- Cranham in pictures
- Village website
- Scout Centre based in Village
- GENUKI(tm) page
- Stroud Voices (Cranham filter) - oral history site
- Map sources for Cranham, Gloucestershire
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