Gloucestershire


Gloucestershire 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 largest settlement is the city of Gloucester.
The county is predominantly rural, with an area of, and a population of in. Gloucester is located in the north-centre of the county, and the spa town of Cheltenham is immediately to the east. Other towns include Tewkesbury in the north, Cirencester in the east, Stroud in the centre, and Yate in the south. The far south of the county, including Filton and Kingswood, is densely populated and forms part of the Bristol built-up area. For local government purposes Gloucestershire comprises 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 east of the county contains the majority of the Cotswolds, and the uplands in the west are part of the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. All three areas have been designated national landscapes.
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; 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.

History

Gloucestershire 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, and Bristol's population grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution. Bristol became 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 is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. In March 2008, the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire adopted a flag through a contest judged by the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, Jonathan Carr.
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.

Geography and environment

Gloucestershire has three main landscape areas: 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 the west, the Wye Valley borders Wales.

Demography

Ethnicity

For the overwhelming majority of Gloucestershire’s history, the population of the ceremonial county was ethnically homogeneous, with the population being of White British ethnicity. In the 2021 census, the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire had a usual resident population of 935,500. The ceremonial county of Gloucestershire is divided between one non-metropolitan county: Gloucestershire County Council, which, in the 2021 census, had a usual resident population of 645,100, and one unitary authority: South Gloucestershire Council, which, in the 2021 census, had a usual resident population of 290,400. In the 2021 census, the ethnic composition of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire comprised: 92.5% White; 3.2% Asian; 1.3% Black; 2.3% Mixed; and 0.8% Other.
  • White : English; Welsh; Scottish; Northern Irish or British ; Irish ; Gypsy or Irish Traveller ; Roma ; and Other White.
  • Asian : Indian ; Pakistani ; Bangladeshi ; Chinese ; and Other Asian.
  • Black : African ; Caribbean ; and Other Black.
  • Mixed : White and Asian ; White and Black African ; White and Black Caribbean ; and Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups.
  • Other : Arab and Any other ethnic group.
Note: Sub-group totals may not sum exactly to the group total due to rounding. Data for the ceremonial county are aggregated from its constituent unitary authorities.
Ethnic Group2001 Census2011 Census2021 Census----
Ethnic Group2001 Census2011 Census2021 CensusWhite97.3%95.3%92.5%
Asian1.2%2.2%3.2%----
Black0.5%0.9%1.3%----
Mixed0.8%1.4%2.3%----
Other0.2%0.2%0.8%----

Note: The 2001 census figures for 'Asian' and 'Other' have been adjusted to reflect the 2011 reclassification of the Chinese ethnic group from 'Other' to 'Asian' to allow comparison across census years.

Religion

In the 2021 census, the religious composition of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire comprised: 47.6% Christianity; 42.8% No religion; 1.5% Islam; 0.7% Hinduism; 0.4% Buddhism; 0.2% Sikhism; 0.1% Judaism; 0.5% Other religion; and 6.1% Not stated.
Religion2001 Census2011 Census2021 Census----
Religion2001 Census2011 Census2021 CensusChristianity75.3%62.3%47.6%
No religion15.7%27.9%42.8%----
Islam0.5%0.9%1.5%----
Hinduism0.3%0.5%0.7%----
Buddhism0.2%0.3%0.4%----
Sikhism0.1%0.1%0.2%----
Judaism0.1%0.1%0.1%----
Other religion0.3%0.4%0.5%----
Not stated7.5%7.5%6.1%----

Governance

The 2025 Gloucestershire County Council election was held on 1 May 2025. The council had been under no overall control prior to the election, being run by a Conservative minority administration. Following the election, the council remained under no overall control, with the Liberal Democrats becoming the largest party and Reform UK becoming the second largest party. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 21 May 2025, Liberal Democrat councillor Lisa Spivey was appointed leader of a Liberal Democrat minority administration. The County Council shares responsibility with six district councils: Tewkesbury, Forest of Dean, City of Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, and Cotswold.
The southernmost part of 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 the Avon Fire and Rescue Service. Since 2017, South Gloucestershire has been part of the West of England Combined Authority, which led by the mayor of the West of England.
The 2023 South Gloucestershire Council election was held on 4 May 2023. The council had been under Conservative majority control prior to the election. Following the election, the council is under no overall control, with the Conservatives remaining the largest party and the Liberal Democrats remaining the second largest party. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 24 May 2023, the Liberal Democrat councillor Claire Young was appointed leader of a Liberal Democrat–Labour coalition administration. In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Claire Young was elected Member of Parliament for Thornbury and Yate, resulting in Liberal Democrat councillor Maggie Tyrrell being appointed the new leader of the coalition administration.
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.