List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Gloucestershire County

Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England, spanning the River Severn. It covers 3,150 km2 (1,220 sq mi) and had 937,371 residents at the 2021 census. Gloucester is both the county town and the largest settlement.

Gloucestershire County Council runs six districts: Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury. South Gloucestershire, in the south around Yate and Thornbury, is a separate unitary authority. Bristol is not part of the county.

Towns and Villages in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire holds 755 named towns, villages and hamlets on record. The list below gives 260 of them, split between the county council area and South Gloucestershire, alphabetical within each group.

Gloucestershire County Council area (190 of 623 listed)

• Abbeymead
• Alderley
• Alvington
• Ampney Crucis
• Ampney St Peter
• Andoversford
• Apperley
• Arlingham
• Arlington
• Ashleworth
• Aston Magna
• Avening
• Aylburton
• Badgeworth
• Barnsley
• Barnwood
• Baunton
• Berkeley
• Berkeley Heath
• Bibury
• Bishops Cleeve
• Bisley
• Bledington
• Bledisloe
• Blockley
• Bourton on the Hill
• Bourton on the Water
• Brand Green
• Bream
• Brimscombe
• Broadoak
• Bromesberrow Heath
• Buckland
• Calmsden
• Cambridge
• Cerney Wick
• Chalford
• Charlton Kings
• Chedworth
• Cheltenham
• Cherington
• Chipping Campden
• Churchdown
• Cinderford
• Cirencester
• Claypits
• Clearwell
• Coalway
• Coates
• Coleford
• Colethrop
• Compton Green
• Corse
• Cowley
• Crossways
• Deerhurst
• Didmarton
• Donnington
• Doughton
• Down Ampney
• Drybrook
• Dumbleton
• Duntisbourne Abbots
• Dursley
• Dymock
• Eastington
• Eastleach Martin
• Eastleach Turville
• Ebrington
• Edge
• Elkstone
• Epney
• Ewen
• Fairford
• Far Oakridge
• Fiddington
• Forthay
• Frampton Mansell
• Frampton on Severn
• Fyfield
• Gloucester
• Gorsley
• Gotherington
• Great Rissington
• Great Witcombe
• Guiting Power
• Hampnett
• Haresfield
• Hartpury
• Hayden
• Hewelsfield
• Hilcot End
• Hillesley
• Horcott
• Hunt’s Grave
• Huntley
• Jack’s Green
• Kemble
• Ketford
• Kingswood
• King’s Stanley
• Laverton
• Lechlade
• Leonard Stanley
• Little Haresfield
• Little Rissington
• Longborough
• Longford
• Longhope
• Lower Cockleford
• Lower Oddington
• Lydbrook
• Lydney
• Lynch
• Maisemore
• May Hill
• Meysey Hampton
• Mickleton
• Minchinhampton
• Minsterworth
• Mitcheldean
• Moor End
• Moreton in Marsh
• Nailsworth
• Natton
• Naunton
• Newent
• Newland
• North Nibley
• Northleach
• Northway
• Nympsfield
• Oakle Street
• Over
• Painswick
• Pamington
• Perrott’s Brook
• Poolhill
• Poulton
• Preston
• Quenington
• Ready Token
• Redmarley D’Abitot
• Rodmarton
• Ruardean
• Ryton
• Saul
• Shakesfield
• Sharpness
• Shipton Oliffe
• Shurdington
• Slad
• Slimbridge
• Somerford Keynes
• South Cerney
• Southend
• Southrop
• Stanley
• Staunton
• Stone
• Stonehouse
• Stow on the Wold
• Stowe
• Stratton
• Stroud
• Sunhill
• Tarlton
• Teddington
• Tetbury
• Tewkesbury
• The Heath
• Theescombe
• Tickshill
• Toddington
• Triangle
• Twigworth
• Uckington
• Uley
• Upper Rissington
• Upthorpe
• Walton Cardiff
• Westfield
• Whiteshill
• Wickridge Street
• Winchcombe
• Winstone
• Woodcroft
• Woolaston
• Wortley
• Wotton-under-Edge

South Gloucestershire (70 of 132 listed)

• Abbotside
• Acton Turville
• Almondsbury
• Alveston
• Aust
• Avening Green
• Badminton
• Beach
• Bibstone
• Bitton
• Buckover
• Charfield
• Chipping Sodbury
• Churchend
• Codrington
• Conham
• Cribbs Causeway
• Crossways
• Dunkirk
• Earthcott Green
• Easter Compton
• Falfield
• Frenchay
• Grovesend
• Hanham
• Hawkesbury Upton
• Hill
• Hinton
• Horton
• Ingst
• Iron Acton
• Kingswood
• Kington
• Little Bristol
• Littlebrook
• Littleton-upon-Severn
• Lower Hazel
• Mangotsfield
• Marshfield
• Mayshill
• Moorslade
• Newton
• Nimlet
• Old Down
• Oldbury Naite
• Oldbury-on-Severn
• Olveston
• Over
• Pilning
• Pucklechurch
• Rangeworthy
• Redwick
• Rudgeway
• Severn Beach
• Siston
• Stidcot
• Stoke Gifford
• The Folly
• Thornbury
• Tockington
• Totteroak
• Tytherington
• Upton Cheyney
• Warmley
• West Littleton
• Westerleigh
• Wick
• Wickwar
• Winterbourne
• Yate

Geography

Gloucestershire borders Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, and Bristol and Somerset to the south-west. Monmouthshire in Wales lies across the Wye to the west.

Three belts run north to south. The Cotswolds fill the east: limestone uplands of dry stone walls and honey-coloured villages. They rise to Cleeve Hill above Cheltenham at 330 m, the highest point in the whole Cotswolds.

The Severn Vale runs down the middle, flat and fertile, carrying the River Severn to its estuary. West of the river the Forest of Dean fills the wedge between the Severn and the Wye. It is one of the few surviving ancient forests in England.

The Thames rises in the county, at Thames Head near Kemble outside Cirencester. The Severn Bore, a tidal wave that runs upriver on the largest spring tides, is best seen at Minsterworth, Stonebench and Newnham.

Demographics

At the 2021 census the six county districts held 646,485 residents: Gloucester 132,564, Cheltenham 118,838, Stroud 121,493, Tewkesbury 95,400, Cotswold 91,076 and Forest of Dean 87,114. South Gloucestershire added 290,886.

Population is concentrated in two places. The Gloucester and Cheltenham conurbation holds about a quarter of a million people. Bristol’s northern fringe, in South Gloucestershire, holds a similar number across Kingswood, Filton, Stoke Gifford, Bradley Stoke and Yate.

Cotswold district is the largest by area and the emptiest, at roughly 78 people per square kilometre. Its market towns include Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Tetbury, Northleach and Fairford.

Economy and Local Life

Aerospace and engineering are the largest private employers. Safran Landing Systems and its predecessor Dowty have built landing gear at Gloucester for decades, and the Bristol fringe carries aerospace work at Filton.

Cheltenham hosts GCHQ, the government’s signals intelligence agency and the county’s single biggest employer, along with a cyber security cluster around it. Renishaw makes precision metrology equipment at Wotton-under-Edge and New Mills.

Tourism runs on the Cotswolds. Bourton-on-the-Water, Bibury, Castle Combe’s neighbours and the Slaughters draw visitors year round, and Cheltenham’s festivals of literature, jazz, science and music fill the calendar. The Cheltenham Festival in March is National Hunt racing’s biggest meeting.

Farming means dairy and sheep on the Cotswolds and arable in the Vale. Double Gloucester and Single Gloucester cheeses come from here, the latter with protected designation of origin. Market days include Cirencester on Mondays and Fridays, Stroud’s farmers’ market on Saturdays, and Gloucester on Fridays.

History

Gloucester began as the Roman colonia of Glevum, founded around AD 97 for retired legionaries. Cirencester, as Corinium Dobunnorum, grew into the second largest town in Roman Britain, at the meeting of Ermin Street and the Fosse Way.

The shire took shape in the tenth century. William the Conqueror ordered the Domesday survey at Gloucester in 1085, and Henry III was crowned in the abbey there in 1216. Edward II was murdered at Berkeley Castle in 1327 and buried in what is now Gloucester Cathedral.

Cotswold wool made the county wealthy in the later Middle Ages. It paid for the wool churches at Northleach, Chipping Campden, Cirencester and Fairford. The Stroud valleys later spun and dyed broadcloth, including the scarlet for British Army uniforms and the baize for billiard tables.

Bristol was made a county in its own right in 1373. The county’s southern edge was placed in Avon between 1974 and 1996; when Avon was abolished, South Gloucestershire became a unitary authority. The floods of July 2007 inundated Tewkesbury and cut water supplies to 350,000 people.

Getting There

The M5 runs north to south past Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud, linking Birmingham to Bristol and Exeter. The M4 crosses the south of the county to the Prince of Wales Bridge into Wales; the older M48 uses the 1966 Severn Bridge at Aust. The M32 runs into Bristol.

The A40 runs from Gloucester to Oxford through the Cotswolds and the A417 from Gloucester to Cirencester and Swindon. The A419 serves Stroud, the A38 runs down the Vale, and the A48 crosses the Forest of Dean to Chepstow.

Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa sit on the Birmingham to Bristol main line, with CrossCountry services north and south and Great Western trains to London Paddington. The Golden Valley line runs Swindon to Kemble, Stroud and Gloucester. Bristol Parkway, on the Great Western Main Line, is in South Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire Airport at Staverton handles general aviation and flight training. For scheduled flights, Bristol Airport is about 45 miles from Gloucester and Birmingham about 60 miles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the population of Gloucestershire?

937,371 at the 2021 census: 646,485 in the county council area and 290,886 in South Gloucestershire.

What is the largest town in Gloucestershire?

Gloucester, with about 132,000 people, closely followed by Cheltenham at about 119,000. Stroud, Cirencester, Tewkesbury and Yate are the next largest.

How many villages are there in Gloucestershire?

Gazetteers record about 755 named towns, villages and hamlets across the ceremonial county, including the Cotswolds and the Forest of Dean.

Which councils cover Gloucestershire?

Gloucestershire County Council with six district councils, plus South Gloucestershire Council, which is a unitary authority and runs all its own services.

Is Bristol in Gloucestershire?

No. Bristol has been a county in its own right since 1373 and is a separate ceremonial county today. South Gloucestershire, on Bristol’s northern fringe, is part of Gloucestershire.

What are the postcodes for Gloucestershire?

GL covers Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester, Tewkesbury and the Forest of Dean. BS covers most of South Gloucestershire, and a small area in the east falls into SN.

Where are the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire?

Across the eastern half of the county. Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Tetbury and Chipping Campden are all Cotswold towns in Gloucestershire.