61-544: The Gloucestershire Old Spots (also Gloucester , Gloucester Old Spot , Gloucestershire Old Spot or simply Old Spots ) is an English breed of pig which is predominantly white with black spots. It is named after the county of Gloucestershire . The Gloucestershire Old Spots pig is known for its docility, intelligence, prolificity, and hardiness. Boars reach a mature weight of 600 lb (272 kg) and sows 500 lb (227 kg). The pigs are white with clearly defined black (not blue) spots. There must be at least one spot on
122-446: A non-metropolitan county , with six districts, and the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire . South Gloucestershire Council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority . Gloucestershire is bisected by the river River Severn , which enters the county near Tewkesbury and forms a wide valley down its centre before broadening into a large tidal estuary . The hills to
183-416: A county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and Somerset, in 1373. It later became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Some northern parts of the county, including Long Marston and Welford-on-Avon , were transferred to Warwickshire in 1931. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the region north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and
244-743: A large part of the Cotswolds, the Royal Forest of Dean and the Severn Vale. The Cotswolds take up a large portion of the east and south of the county, The Forest of Dean taking up the west, with the Severn and its valley running between these features. The Daffodil Way in the Leadon Valley, on the border of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire surrounding the village of Dymock , is known for its many spring flowers, orchards, and woodland, which attracts many walkers. In
305-541: A lieutenant with the wider county from which they had been created. London had instead a commission of lieutenancy , headed by the Lord Mayor . The long-standing practice of appointing lieutenants jointly to the wider county and any counties corporate it contained was formalised by the Militia Act 1882. Apart from the inclusion of the counties corporate, the counties for the purposes of lieutenancy generally corresponded to
366-468: A minimum of 30 years. The GOS is a large breed, white in colour with a minimum of one distinct black spot. It has lop ears which will almost cover the face of a mature pig and hang towards the nose. Standards: Objections: "Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders United" . Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( / ˈ ɡ l ɒ s t ər ʃ ər / GLOST -ər-shər , /- ʃ ɪər / -sheer ; abbreviated Glos. )
427-841: A much larger railway network than it does now with over 100 stations in the county, the vast majority of which were closed during the Beeching cuts . Nowadays, only 15 remain within the county, mostly concentrated on the CrossCountry NE-SW route and around the North Fringe of Bristol . Some stations have been re-opened in recent years; Cam and Dursley railway station opened in 1994, with Ashchurch for Tewkesbury opening three years later in 1997. Local campaign groups are also seeking to reopen several disused stations, including Charfield railway station in South Gloucestershire . There are
488-412: A new non-metropolitan county is created the 1997 Act is amended to redefine the existing areas of the lieutenancies in terms of the new areas. No such amendment was made in 1997 when Rutland was made a unitary authority or in 1998 when Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established; those three therefore have been given their own lieutenants again since the passing of the 1997 Act. The actual areas of
549-663: A number of Roman remains scattered across the county, including the Eastgate Viewing Chamber in Gloucester and Chedworth Roman Villa . There are a variety of religious buildings across the county, notably the cathedral of Gloucester , the abbey church of Tewkesbury (which is over 500 years old and has the tallest Norman tower in England), and the church of Cirencester . Of the abbey of Hailes near Winchcombe , founded by Richard, Earl of Cornwall , in 1246, little more than
610-693: A regional centre at the Gloucester Docks , Alexandra Warehouse, specialising in Adult and Mental Health Nursing; and Frenchay Campus in South Gloucestershire . Gloucestershire has one city and 33 towns: The towns in Gloucestershire are: Suburban town of Stroud : Town in Monmouthshire with suburbs in Gloucestershire: The county has two green belt areas, the first covers the southern area in
671-526: A series of stained-glass windows which are said to have been brought from the Netherlands . These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship. Other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey . Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham , who
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#1732858779399732-513: Is a ceremonial county in South West England . It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town . The county
793-503: Is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of Pounds Sterling. The following is a chart of Gloucestershire's gross value added total in millions of Pounds Sterling from 1997 to 2009 based upon the Office for National Statistics figures The 2009 estimation of £11,452 million GVA can be compared to
854-542: Is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe and the Forest of Dean were not added until the late 11th century. Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, then a small town. Members of local rural communities moved to the port city (as Bristol was to become), and Bristol's population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became
915-903: Is a weekly paid-for newspaper based in Stroud. It is published in a tabloid format by Newsquest . Newsquest also produces the weekly Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard newspaper, which covers the southern and eastern parts of the county as well as the weekly Gloucestershire Gazette , which covers the south of the county and much of South Gloucestershire. Gloucester News Centre is an independent news website with news and information for Gloucestershire. Radio stations in Gloucestershire include BBC Radio Gloucestershire , BBC Radio Bristol (for South Gloucestershire ), Heart West , Sunshine Radio and Greatest Hits Radio Gloucestershire . There are also several community radio stations including Gloucester FM , Radio Winchcombe , Forest of Dean Radio , North Cotswold Community Radio , and Severn FM . Local TV for
976-530: Is mixed. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges , and 12 independent schools, including Cheltenham Ladies' College , Cheltenham College and Dean Close School . All but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms. Gloucestershire has two universities,
1037-834: Is named for Gloucestershire and is historically associated with the county. Sheep roam widely in the Forest of Dean. The Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley also have wild boar . Gloucester cattle , a rare breed, can still be found in and around Gloucestershire. They can be recognised by the white stripe that runs down the centre of their backs to the tip of their tails. The cattle are famous for producing milk for both Single Gloucester and Double Gloucester cheeses. Rudder, Samuel . (1779) A New History of Gloucestershire . Reprint: Nonsuch Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-84588-023-4 (Free download of original here: A New History of Gloucestershire ) Ceremonial counties of England Ceremonial counties , formally known as counties for
1098-443: Is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. In July 2007, Gloucestershire was subject to some of the worst flooding in recorded British history, with tens of thousands of residents affected. The RAF conducted the largest peacetime domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood-affected areas. The damage was estimated at over £2 billion. Gloucestershire has three main landscape areas,
1159-433: Is predominantly rural, with an area of 3,150 square kilometres (1,220 sq mi) and a population of 916,212. After Gloucester (118,555) the largest distinct settlements are Cheltenham (115,940), Stroud (26,080), and Yate (28,350). In the south of the county, the areas around Filton and Kingswood are densely populated and part of Bristol built-up area . For local government purposes Gloucestershire comprises
1220-621: Is the Lincolnshire Curly Coat , a pig that has since gone extinct. The Old Spots is also genetically and characteristically similar to the extinct Cumberland pig and is being used in its attempted recreation in the UK. These breeds were regarded as thrifty and excellent foragers, supplementing their feed with roots and vegetation. Additionally, the GOS gene pool has contributed to the American Spot and
1281-588: Is the Western Daily Press , while The Citizen , which covers Gloucester, Stroud and the Forest of Dean, and the Gloucestershire Echo , which covers Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and the Cotswolds, were published daily but since October 2017 have been weekly publications. All three, along with free weeklies The Forester , Stroud Life , The Gloucester News and The Cheltenham and Tewkesbury News , are published by Local World . The Stroud News & Journal
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#17328587793991342-582: The Avon Fire and Rescue Service . Since 2017, South Gloucestershire has been part of the West of England Combined Authority , which is under the directly elected mayor Dan Norris . There are six parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire , all of which are Conservative controlled as of the 2019 general election . Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , Gloucestershire will be combined with Wiltshire for parliamentary boundary purposes, allowing cross-county electoral divisions. This
1403-463: The Chester White . Additional commonalities among these breeds include excellent maternal instincts and even temperament, as Old Spots tend to be very calm, good-natured animals, another trait that makes them desirable to homesteaders and small farmers. The females tend to be very devoted mothers, while the males seldom pose a threat to piglets. The Old Spots was once a very popular breed of pig. With
1464-626: The Courts Act 1971 which abolished the quarter sessions and assizes . Sheriffs continued to be appointed for each county despite the loss of the judicial functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate appointing their own sheriffs. The counties corporate were all included in a wider county for lieutenancy purposes, except the City of London which had its own lieutenants. The geographical counties were relatively stable between 1889 and 1965. There were occasional boundary changes, notably following
1525-569: The Lieutenancies Act 1997 . When Herefordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire were re-established as local government counties in 1997 and 1998 no amendment was made to the 1997 Act regarding them, allowing them to also serve as their own lieutenancy areas. The lieutenancy counties have not changed in area since 1998, although the definitions of which local government counties are included in each lieutenancy have been amended to reflect new unitary authorities being created since 1997. In legislation
1586-675: The Local Government Act 1894 which said that parishes and districts were no longer allowed to straddle county boundaries. After that most boundary changes were primarily to accommodate urban areas which were growing across county boundaries, such as when Caversham was transferred from Oxfordshire to Berkshire as a result of being absorbed into the County Borough of Reading in 1911. The lieutenancies and judicial / shrieval counties were defined as groups of administrative counties and county boroughs, and so were automatically adjusted if
1647-841: The University of Gloucestershire and the Royal Agricultural University , and four higher and further education colleges, Gloucestershire College , Cirencester College , South Gloucestershire and Stroud College and the Royal Forest of Dean College . Each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. The University of the West of England also has three locations in Gloucestershire; an associate faculty ( Hartpury College ) specialising in animal behaviour and welfare, agricultural and sports-related courses in Hartpury, Gloucestershire ;
1708-445: The militia , overseen by a sheriff . From Tudor times onwards a lord-lieutenant was appointed to oversee the militia, taking some of the sheriff's functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate , which gave them the right to appoint their own sheriffs and hold their own courts. Whilst in theory the counties corporate could have had separate lieutenants appointed for them, in practice all of them except London shared
1769-926: The 2020 episode " Fugitive of the Judoon " was set and filmed at Gloucester Cathedral . A fictional Brimpsfield was the village, home of Peter and Abby Grant, in the 1970s BBC TV series Survivors , with a railway connection to London. Witcombe Festival is an annual music festival held in Brockworth . As well as music, the three-day festival has it roots deep in cider . The festival consists of four stages and has been headlined by Dizzee Rascal , Plan B , Sigma , Ella Eyre , Example , Wiley , Heather Small , Lethal Bizzle and Tinchy Stryder . The Romano/Celtic temple ruins in Lydney Park contributed to J.R.R. Tolkien 's description of The Shire in his Middle-earth Legendarium . The famous Gloucestershire Old Spots pig
1830-653: The City of London, which has two sheriffs ). The Lieutenancies Act 1997 defines counties for the purposes of lieutenancies in terms of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties (created by the Local Government Act 1972 , as amended) as well as Greater London and the Isles of Scilly (which lie outside the 1972 Act's system). Although the term is not used in the act, these counties are sometimes known as "ceremonial counties". The counties are defined in Schedule 1, paragraphs 2–5 as amended (in 2009, 2019 and 2023). Generally, each time
1891-562: The Forest of Dean was also a major iron-producing region in this period. The city of Bristol became an independent county in 1373, by which point it was the third-largest city in England. Gloucestershire was not heavily industrialised during the Industrial Revolution , but the Port of Gloucester was expanded with new docks and the small Forest of Dean coalfield was exploited. Gloucestershire
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1952-486: The Gloucestershire Old Spots has only had pedigree status since the early 20th century." Besides its correct title and variations such as Gloster Spot or just Old Spot, the breed is also known as the "Orchard Pig" and "The Cottager's Pig". Despite these humble origins, both The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal keep GOS pigs on their respective Gloucestershire estates. One other notable contributor
2013-612: The Harry Potter films and the BBC TV series Butterflies . " A Girl's Best Friend ", the pilot for the proposed Doctor Who spin-off K-9 and Company , was filmed in Gloucestershire. The setting is the fictional town of Moreton Harwood. The fictional town of Leadworth in Doctor Who is in Gloucestershire. It is the home of companions Amy Pond , Rory Williams and River Song in their childhoods and young adulthoods. Additionally,
2074-842: The Old Spots, have increasingly been chosen by farmers looking to add value to their products. The GOS pig is on the "Critical" List by The Livestock Conservancy , meaning there are fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated fewer than 2000 global population. In the UK the Old Spots is listed as "At Risk" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as there are fewer than 1000 registered breeding females. An application has been made to gain European Commission Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status for Old Spots pig meat under
2135-542: The South Gloucestershire district, to protect outlying villages and towns between Thornbury and Chipping Sodbury from the urban sprawl of the Bristol conurbation . The second belt lies around Gloucester, Cheltenham, and Bishop's Cleeve, to afford those areas and villages in between a protection from urban sprawl and further convergence. Both belts intersect with the boundaries of the Cotswolds AONB . Gloucestershire once had
2196-561: The South West regional average of £7,927 million. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven selective grammar schools ; two are in Stroud, Stroud High School for girls and Marling School for boys, one in Cheltenham, Pate's Grammar , and four in Gloucester, Sir Thomas Rich's for boys (aged 11–18) and girls (aged 16–18, in the sixth form), and Denmark Road High School and Ribston Hall for girls and The Crypt which
2257-670: The advent of intensive farming , certain lean, pale, high-yield breeds were chosen to suit the factory conditions and needs of mass-production. Many old breeds of pig died out, or were greatly diminished, in this time. However, owing to consumer pressure in the United Kingdom, and changes to the law, both attributable to an increasing awareness of, and concern about, farming conditions, pigs have been increasingly reared outdoors there. In addition, more consumers are looking for quality meat, as opposed to cheap, bland meat product. In these conditions, old breeds well-suited to living outdoors, such as
2318-463: The areas to which high sheriffs are appointed. High sheriffs are the monarch's judicial representative in an area. The ceremonial counties are defined in the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , and the shrieval counties in the Sheriffs Act 1887 . Both are defined as groups of local government counties. The historic counties of England were originally used as areas for administering justice and organising
2379-419: The body to be accepted in the registry. The breed's maternal skills enable it to raise large litters of piglets on pasture. Its disposition and self‑sufficiency should make it attractive for farmers raising pasture pigs and those who want to add pigs to diversified operations. The Gloucestershire Old Spots (GOS) Breed Society was formed in 1913. The originators of that society called the breed 'Old' Spots because
2440-451: The boundaries of those administrative areas changed. There were two exceptions to this rule (one only briefly). The county borough of Great Yarmouth straddled Norfolk and Suffolk for judicial and lieutenancy purposes until 1891 when it was placed entirely in Norfolk for those purposes. The county borough of Stockport straddled Cheshire and Lancashire for judicial and lieutenancy purposes - it
2501-433: The ceremonial counties have not changed since 1998. These are the 48 counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies in England, as currently defined: After the creation of county councils in 1889, there were counties for judicial and shrieval purposes, counties for lieutenancy purposes, and administrative counties and county boroughs for the purposes of local government. The 1888 Act used the term 'entire county' to refer to
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2562-478: The county councils. In counties where the quarter sessions had been held separately for different parts of the county, such as the Parts of Lincolnshire , each part was given its own county council. The area administered by a county council was called an administrative county . As such, some of the judicial or lieutenancy counties comprised several administrative counties and county boroughs. The Ordnance Survey adopted
2623-457: The county is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from Bristol, although in the northern extremes of Gloucestershire, BBC Midlands and ITV Central (West) from Birmingham covers this area. Some eastern parts of the county (Cirencester and parts of the Cotswolds) receive BBC South and ITV Meridian from Oxford. There are two well-known accounts of childhood in rural Gloucestershire in
2684-456: The county, South Gloucestershire is governed by South Gloucestershire Council , which is a unitary authority council independent of the county council but the unitary authority is still part of the ceremonial county. Previously, the area of South Gloucestershire was part of the county of Avon. Although Avon was abolished in 1996, some services in South Gloucestershire are still provided in conjunction with other former parts of Avon county, such as
2745-558: The early 20th century, Laurie Lee 's Cider With Rosie and Winifred Foley 's A Child in the Forest . Part of Mrs. Craik's novel John Halifax, Gentleman is set in Enderley, a thinly disguised Amberley , where she lived at the time of writing. Most of the book is set in Nortonbury, easily recognisable as Tewkesbury . The county has also been the setting for a number of high-profile movies and TV series, including Die Another Day ,
2806-584: The east form the majority of the Cotswolds AONB , and the uplands to the west are part of the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley AONB , which stretches into Wales. Gloucestershire was likely established in the tenth century, and expanded to approximately its current borders in the eleventh. The county was relatively settled during the late Middle Ages, and contained several wealthy monasteries such as Tewkesbury , Gloucester , Hailes , and Cirencester ;
2867-508: The foundations are left, but these have been excavated and fragments have been brought to light. Most of the old market towns have parish churches . At Deerhurst near Tewkesbury and Bishop's Cleeve near Cheltenham , there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. There is also a Perpendicular church in Lechlade , and that at Fairford was built ( c. 1500 ), according to tradition, to contain
2928-432: The group of administrative counties and county boroughs created within each judicial county. The Ordnance Survey used the term 'geographical county' to refer to this wider definition of the county. Yorkshire had three lieutenancies, one for each riding, but was a single judicial county with one sheriff, and was counted as one geographical county by Ordnance Survey. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972 under
2989-435: The judicial counties. The exception was Yorkshire, which was one judicial county, having a single Sheriff of Yorkshire , but from 1660 onwards each of Yorkshire's three ridings had its own lieutenant. In 1889 elected county councils were established under the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions . Certain towns and cities were made county boroughs , independent from
3050-474: The lieutenancy areas are described as 'counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'; the informal term 'ceremonial county' has come into usage for such areas, appearing in parliamentary debates as early as 1996. The shrieval counties are defined by the Sheriffs Act 1887 as amended, in a similar way to the lieutenancies defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. Each has a high sheriff appointed (except
3111-403: The lieutenants were appointed to the new versions of the counties. The counties of Avon , Cleveland and Humberside , each of which had only been created in 1974, were all abolished in 1996. They were divided into unitary authorities ; legally these are also non-metropolitan counties. As part of these reforms, it was decided to define counties for the purposes of lieutenancy differently from
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#17328587793993172-533: The local government counties in some cases, effectively reverting to the pre-1974 arrangements for lieutenancies. Whereas the lieutenancies had been defined slightly differently from the shrieval counties prior to 1974, it was decided in 1996 that the high sheriffs and lieutenants should be appointed to the same areas. Regulations amending the Sheriffs Act 1887 and specifying the areas for the appointment of lieutenants were accordingly brought in with effect from 1 April 1996. The regulations were then consolidated into
3233-428: The main functions of the counties were the administrative functions of local government. Despite the loss of their functions, sheriffs continued to be appointed to the former judicial counties up until 1974. In 1974, administrative counties and county boroughs were abolished, and a new system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties was introduced instead. Sheriffs were renamed 'high sheriffs' and both they and
3294-450: The name "Traditionally farmed Gloucestershire Old Spots pork". This was granted on 29 July 2010, and the designation applies in both the EU and the UK. The TSG certification attests that a particular food product objectively possesses specific characteristics which differentiate it from all others in its category, and that its raw materials, composition or method of production have been consistent for
3355-581: The pig had been known for as long as anyone could remember. The first pedigree records of pigs began in 1885, much later than it did for cattle, sheep and horses because the pig was a peasant's animal, a scavenger and was never highly regarded. No other pedigree spotted breed was recorded before 1913, so today's GOS is recognised as the oldest such breed in the world. From the British Pig Association: "Although if old paintings are to be trusted, there have been spotted pigs around for two or three centuries,
3416-421: The purposes of the lieutenancies , are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. They are one of the two main legal definitions of the counties of England in modern usage, the other being the counties for the purposes of local government legislation. A lord-lieutenant is the monarch 's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have the same boundaries and serve a similar purpose, being
3477-592: The ruins of Witcombe Roman Villa at Great Witcombe are also notable heritage features. There are several royal residences in Gloucestershire, including Highgrove House , Gatcombe Park , and (formerly) Nether Lypiatt Manor . An annual " cheese-rolling " event takes place at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth and the Cotswold Games occurred within the county. Places of interest in Gloucestershire include: Areas of countryside in Gloucestershire include: Scenic Railway Line: Gloucestershire's only daily newspaper
3538-576: The term 'geographical county' to describe the widest definition of the county. In most cases this was the lieutenancy county; the exceptions were Yorkshire, where the judicial county was larger on account of it being split into its three ridings for lieutenancy purposes, and the County of London where the administrative county was larger on account of the City of London and the rest of the county being separate for both judicial and lieutenancy purposes. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972, after which
3599-703: The west, the Wye valley borders Wales. Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. Gloucestershire County Council 's 53 seats are majority-controlled by the Conservatives, though the Liberal Democrats have a sizeable presence on the council. The Council Leader is Mark Hawthorne. The County Council shares responsibility with six district councils: Tewkesbury, Forest of Dean, City of Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and Cotswold. The southernmost part of
3660-535: Was beheaded in 1521. Near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere , of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve. The mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey . At Great Badminton is the mansion and vast domain of the Beauforts (formerly of the Botelers and others), on the south-eastern boundary of the county. Berkeley Castle at over 800 years old and
3721-565: Was placed entirely in Lancashire for judicial purposes in 1956 but continued to straddle the two counties for lieutenancy purposes until 1974. More significant changes to the geographical counties were made in 1965 with the creation of Greater London and of Huntingdon and Peterborough , which resulted in the abolition of the offices of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex , Lord Lieutenant of the County of London , and Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire and
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