Longford, Gloucestershire

Longford

Longford Inn during 2007 floods
Longford
 Longford shown within Gloucestershire
OS grid referenceSO839205
    London  103m 
DistrictTewkesbury
Shire countyGloucestershire
Ceremonial countyGloucestershire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Gloucester
Postcode district GL2
Dialling code 01452
Police Gloucestershire
Fire Gloucestershire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentGloucester
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire

Coordinates: 51°53′05″N 2°14′01″W / 51.884602°N 2.233508°W / 51.884602; -2.233508

Longford is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. Although situated within two miles of Gloucester city centre, Longford parish falls within the jurisdiction of the Borough of Tewkesbury. [1]

The village borders the Tewkesbury Road running north out of Gloucester and is bisected by the A40 northern bypass at the busy Longford roundabout.[2]

Longford was severely affected by the July 2007 floods [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] resulting in the many homes being flooded. The bar at the Queen's Head on the Tewkesbury Road was under a couple of feet of water [8] and the flooding extended along the Tewkesbury Road, past the Longford Inn as far as Westfield Terrace.

Longford is primarily residential, and is home to Oxstalls Sports Park and Tennis Centre, the Winfield Hospital [9] and both Longford AFC and Gala Wilton Football Clubs.

In 2016, the former England football captain, Stuart Pearce, briefly came out of retirement to sign a one-match deal with Longford AFC, a team dubbed 'The worst in Great Britain', in order to support the grass roots game.[10] Unfortunately, Longford still lost 1-0.[11]

Every summer since 2013, Oxstalls Sport Park, Plock Court is the venue for the Sportbeat Music Festival, a two day outdoor music and sports festival. "Sportbeat Music Festival" [12]

A new primary school is due to open at Whittington Park, Longford, in September 2017 [13] near the Longford Village Hall. [14] [15]

In 2016, there are final plans to develop Plock Court as part of the University of Gloucestershire Oxstalls Campus redevelopment to include a new sports hall and stadium, 4G pitches, landscaping, and improved community access.

History

From Gloucester, the Tewkesbury road ran northwards from Alvin gate through the settlements of Kingsholm, Longford, and Twigworth. In Kingsholm it was joined by a road from the blind gate, which in its south part was known in 1803 as Dean's Walk and in its north part in 1722 as Snake Lane (later Edwy Parade). Bridges and a causeway carried the Tewkesbury road over water courses and low-lying meadows in Longford, which took its name from the crossing. [16]

On the Tewkesbury road north of Kingsholm a house was converted into three cottages in the early 19th century. Further north in Longford there was a small early settlement at the south end of the causeway, where a medieval cross and possibly a chapel stood. There was evidently a house there by the early 13th century, when a man surnamed of the plock was recorded, and Plock Court, east of the road, occupied the site of a medieval manor house.

In 1851 market gardeners were fairly numerous in Longford and Twigworth, and later there were several market gardens and nurseries at Longlevens (called Springfield) and Innsworth.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Longford like this: [17]

LONGFORD-ST.CATHERINE, a hamlet in St. Catherine parish, Gloucestershire; contiguous to Gloucester city, 1 mile N of Gloucester r. station. Acres, 200. Real property, with Longford-St. Mary, £4,735. Pop.. 213. Houses, 37. The manor belongs to the Bishop of Gloucester; and most of the land, to the Dean and Chapter. A Roman settlement is supposed to have been here.

Sport

References

  1. GloucestershireCC. "Longford Parish Council", Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  2. CitizenNews. "Overnight Closures at Longford Roundabout planned from tomorrow night", Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire, 10 December 2014. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  3. Wikimedia. "Longford village flooding on Tewkesbury Road (A38) - geograph.org.uk", Wikimedia. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  4. BBCNews. "Gloucestershire floods: Longford concerns over new homes", BBC News, Gloucestershire, 18 February 2014. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  5. BBCHome. "Gloucestershire floods photos", BBC Home, Longford, Gloucester. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  6. CitizenNews. "Fears grow over flooding in Longford as a new primary school comes to the area", Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire, 18 February 2014. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  7. SkyNews. "Building Homes On Flood Plains 'To Be Blocked'", Sky News, 6 March 2014. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  8. CitizenNews. "Prime Minister David Cameron visits flood victims in Gloucestershire", Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire, 17 February 2014. Retrieved on 11 November 2015.
  9. WinfieldHospital. "Winfield Hospital", Winfield Hospital, Longford, Gloucestershire. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  10. 1 2 "England legend Stuart Pearce signs for Longford AFC". BBC News. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  11. "Stuart Pearce makes Longford AFC debut as sub". BBC News. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  12. GloucestershireLive. "Coasts and Jaguar Skills announced for this summer's SportBeat Festival in Gloucester", Gloucestershire Live, Gloucestershire, 16 April 2016. Retrieved on 10 July 2016.
  13. GloucestershireCC. "New Primary School for Longford", Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  14. GRCC. "Gloucestershire Rural Community Council, Longford Village Hall", Longford Village Hall, Longford, Gloucestershire. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  15. CitizenNews. "Help raise funds for the Longford Village Hall", Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire, 25 May 2013. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  16. BHO. "Gloucester: Outlying hamlets", British History Online, Gloucester. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  17. VisionOfBritain. "Longford Parish Council", A Vision Of Britain Through Time, Longford, Gloucestershire. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  18. CitizenNews. "Anyone for Tennis? County finals at Oxstalls in pictures", Gloucester Citizen, Gloucester, 2 July 2015. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  19. LTA. "LTA Oxstalls Sports Park", LTA Gloucestershire Tennis, Gloucestershire. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  20. TheFA. "TheFA Full-time League Websites, Ground Directions - Longford", The Football Association, 21 May 2015. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
  21. CitizenNews. "Wanted: 11 players and manager for Longford FC", Gloucester Citizen, Gloucester, 2 September 2015. Retrieved on 10 November 2015.
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