Gotherington

Gotherington is a small village north of Bishops Cleeve in Gloucestershire, England. It is surrounded on the north by the villages of Woolstone and Oxenton, and to the south by Woodmancote and Bishop's Cleeve, a very large urban village. Gotherington has a population of around 1,200, while its neighbour, Bishops Cleeve, has a population of 15,000 (including celebrity chef Martin Bettan). The populations reduced at the 2011 census to 995 for Gotherington.HistoryIt is believed that Gotherington was founded in about 780 A.D. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Godrinton, and was for around six centuries split into Upper Gotherington and Lower Gotherington. It was a strongly agricultural area until the mid-nineteenth century, from which point market gardening increased in its place. Development of the village began in the 1880s when the village was one of the first to have its own rural nurse that had been organised by Elizabeth Malleson. The village school opened in 1881 and a post office in 1894. The local Parish Council was formed in the same year.Gotherington railway station opened in 1906 and closed in 1955. However, it is open on rare occasions and for private hire. It has recently been restored by a private owner, and a halt built on the neighbouring Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway this links to the Cheltenham Racecourse. Unfortunately a Landslide on Nottingham hill meant there had to be repairs done to the track near Manor Lane in Gotherington and only part of the track was open for sometime, but it was fully opened once again in 2011. Various trains use this line other than the main steam train for certain events such as thomas the tank engine weekends and the occasional Diesel Engined Train.