Harescombe
{{Short description|Village in Gloucestershire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| static_image_name = Harescombe_Church.jpg
| static_image_caption= The Church of St. John the Baptist
| coordinates = {{coord|51.791|-02.239|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Harescombe
| population =247
| civil_parish=Harescombe
| shire_district= Stroud
| shire_county= Gloucestershire
| region=South West England
| constituency_westminster=Stroud
| post_town=Gloucester
| postcode_district =GL6 6
| postcode_area=GL
| dial_code=01452
| os_grid_reference= SO8310
}}
Harescombe is a small village in Gloucestershire, England.{{cite book
| author=Welbore St. Clair Baddeley
| title=Place-names of Gloucestershire: a handbook
| url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924030976504
| accessdate=24 June 2011
| year=1913
| publisher=J. Bellows
| page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924030976504/page/n113 78]}} It is situated {{convert|5|mi|0}} south of Gloucester. It is thought the name of the village is derived from a combination of the Celtic term "cwm" (valley) and the Saxon term "here" (army), thus the full meaning of "Harescombe" would be "the Army's Valley".{{cite book|last=Melland Hall|first=Rev. J.|title=Transactions – Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|year=1885|publisher=C. T. Jeffries and Sons|location=Bristol|pages=67–132|url=https://archive.org/stream/transactionsbris10bris/transactionsbris10bris_djvu.txt}}
The community is indeed in a valley as it rests at the foot of the well-known range of the Cotswolds called the Haresfield Beacon and Broadbarrow Green, which were sites of ancient British and Roman encampments. These encampments were a part of a chain of fortresses expressly mentioned by Tacitus as having been raised by Ostorius Scapula between the Severn and Avon Rivers: old British works adapted by the Romans to their own requirements.
Hilles House was designed by Detmar Blow. He built the mansion for himself after 1914,{{cite book |last1=Musson |first1=Jeremy |title=Secret Houses of the Cotswolds |date=2018 |publisher=Frances Lincoln |isbn=978-0711239241|pages=70-75}}{{cite web |title=Hilles House and terraced gardens |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1090823 |website=National Heritage List for England |publisher=Historic England |accessdate=6 September 2020 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314033832/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1090823 |url-status=live }}
The Church of St. John the Baptist
The Church of St. John the Baptist in Harescombe was constructed in the 13th century. It was consecrated in 1315. The walls are ashlar limestone, and the roof is of stone slate. The church has an unusual bellcote and a small octagonal stone spire, as well as small octagonal pinnacles on the four sides. Small iron crosses were added to these pinnacles in 1870–71 when Francis Niblett restored the church.{{cite book|last=Verey|first=David|title=Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds|year=1979|publisher=Penguin|isbn=0-14-071040-X}} The belfry has two bells, one of which has been determined to be the oldest bell (circa 1180) in Gloucestershire.{{cite web|title=The Beacon Benefice|url=http://www.beaconbenefice.org.uk/harescombe/index.asp|accessdate=29 June 2011|archive-date=13 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113114552/http://www.beaconbenefice.org.uk/harescombe/index.asp|url-status=dead}}
Several of the memorial inscriptions on markers in the adjacent graveyard date from the 17th century, with the oldest being for Thomas Roberts, Gent., dated 20 January 1632.{{cite book|last=Blacker|first=Rev. Beaver H|title=Gloucestershire Notes and Queries|year=1881|publisher=Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and Co., Ltd.|location=London}}
The Church of St. John the Baptist is a grade 2* listed building with English heritage.{{cite web|title=Listed Buildings in Stroud|url=http://www.stroud.gov.uk/info/listed_buildings/harescombe.pdf|access-date=29 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216055827/http://www.stroud.gov.uk/info/listed_buildings/harescombe.pdf|archive-date=16 December 2011|df=dmy-all}}
References
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External links
{{Commons category-inline|Harescombe}}
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