Wanswell

{{Short description|Village in Gloucestershire, England}}

{{infobox UK place|

|country = England

|static_image = Wanswell - geograph.org.uk - 135409.jpg

|static_image_caption=

|coordinates = {{coord|51.71|-02.46|display=inline,title}}

|official_name =Wanswell

|population =

|civil_parish= Hamfallow

|shire_district= Stroud

|shire_county= Gloucestershire

|metropolitan_borough=

| metropolitan_county =

|region=South West England

|constituency_westminster= Stroud

|post_town= BERKELEY

|postcode_district = GL13

|postcode_area= GL

|dial_code=01453

|os_grid_reference= SO6801

}}

Wanswell is a village in the civil parish of Hamfallow, in the Stroud district, in Gloucestershire, England. It lies {{convert|1.2|mi}} north of the small town of Berkeley.

The name was first recorded in the 12th century. It refers to a well which has been identified with the spring now known as Holywell Spring, 300 yards north of Wanswell Court. The first element of the name is possibly an Old English personal name.{{cite web|url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/Gloucestershire/Hamfallow/53285a92b47fc40ab30009af-Wanswell+Court%2C+Wanswell+Green|title=Wanswell Court|work=Survey of English Place-Names|publisher=University of Nottingham|accessdate=11 May 2024}}

Wanswell Court dates back to a hall house built in 1450-60, with additions in the 16th and 17th century. It was the family home of the Thorpe family, and George Thorpe, an early colonist in Virginia, was born here in 1576. The house is now a farmhouse. It is a Grade I listed building, listed in 1952.{{NHLE|num=1237928|desc=Wanswell Court Farmhouse|accessdate=11 May 2024}} Wanswell Court lies on an island surrounded by a moat which pre-dates the house. The moat and a nearby fishpond are a scheduled monument.{{NHLE|num=1016768|desc=Moat and fishpond at Wanswell Court|accessdate=11 May 2024}}

The village has a pub, the Salmon Inn, which dates back to the 16th century.{{cite web|url=https://www.gloucestershirepubs.co.uk/pubs/salmon-inn-wanswell-nr-sharpness-gl13-9se/|title=Salmon Inn, Wanswell, nr Sharpness|website=Gloucestershire Pubs and Breweries|accessdate=11 May 2024}}

The Focus School Berkeley Campus, part of the Focus Learning Trust associated with the Plymouth Brethren, occupies a site in the village formerly occupied by the Vale of Berkeley College, a small comprehensive school which closed in July 2011.{{cite news |title=Bristol faith school relocates to Berkeley, Gloucestershire |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-19473773 |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=BBC News |date=4 September 2012}}