Wotton-under-Edge and the Tyndale Monument
The walk begins in Wotton which lies under the escarpment edge. Its full title of 'under-Edge' was added to its Saxon prefix much later, in the 14th century. It came to prominence with the growth of the wool trade, becoming one of the most important wool towns in the Cotswolds. An influx of Flemish weavers gave the industry a boost and, by the early 17th century, the trade was well established, with half the working population involved in some way with the production of cloth. Serious riots in 1825 were indicative of the decline of the trade in the 19th century, but the town managed to foster other local industries and today houses a thriving community. It also managed to preserve much of its fine architectural heritage, such as the ancient street called The Chipping, with its 16th century timbered houses and 18th century town hall. In Church Street there is an attractive row of 17th century almshouses while, elsewhere, the elegant 18th century houses of the wealthy merchants flank the streets. There are plenty of other noteworthy buildings in the town for those with an interest in architecture.
Directions:
a Use the car park 50yds (46m) down the hill from the monument. Walk back to the monument and continue west up the B4508 to Tabernacle Pitch on the right.
b Turn right and follow the road around to the left. At the end of the road continue up a steep path to the road. Turn right along the road to the top of the hill and a footpath signposted âPublic Bridlewayâ on the left.
c Follow the footpath towards the trees, joining the Cotswold Way along the edge of the woodland.
d Stay on the Cotswold Way past a well-defined path to the right (the inward route) and take two right-hand forks past the fort to a âTâ junction. Turn right to a complex of paths.
e Turn left through the gate, emerge from the trees and continue to the monument. Carry on downhill past the monument down the steep steps to the bottom.
f Turn right on to the sunken track and climb uphill to a gate. Walk through (or past) the gate and take the left fork through the woodland. Carry on across the field, through the gate and back to the complex of tracks.
g Continue ahead to the left of the large tree to a junction. Turn left, then after a few yards fork right up a bridleway to a major track.
h Cross straight over and, at the next track, turn left along the same track used on the outward journey to the well-defined path on the left.
i Turn left and, after 100yds (90m) turn right just before the âTâ junction down the track beside the field to the road.
j Turn left, then immediately right along the path to Coombe Hill. After 100yds (90m) turn right at a track and emerge from the trees to a stile.
k Bear half-left downhill past the telegraph pole towards the trees. Pick up the path and follow it downhill across the slope down to the fence. Turn left and cross two stiles on the right. Continue down to the road and turn right back into the village.
Places of Interest:
1 The Iron Age ditches and ramparts of the hillfort of Brackenbury Ditches enclose a roughly triangular area of 6 acres (2.5ha), protected on two sides by the scarp slope and a double ditch and rampart on the third side at the neck. The outer ditch has been cleared but most of the site is overgrown and has never been excavated.
2 The monument was erected in 1866 in memory of William Tyndale, who was born near here some time between 1490 and 1495. He was greatly concerned that ordinary people should be able to follow the Bible in English so he began translating the New Testament from Latin in the early 1520s. His work and unorthodox views attracted much criticism, and he felt it wise to continue the translation abroad in Hamburg. The work was completed in 1526 and, in 1530, he started work on the Old Testament. Despite the changing religious climate in England, the persecution continued and he was imprisoned, charged with heresy, and executed in Flanders in 1536. It is a sad irony that, just two years after Tyndale's death, Henry VIII ordered that every church in England should have an English Bible.
3 These are the remains of strip lynchets â an ancient method of farming sloping land. Earth would be extracted from one edge of the terrace and deposited at the other to smooth out the contours and create areas of flatter land that could be more easily cultivated. The lynchets are of uncertain age.
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