Turkdean


Turkdean is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately to the east of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

Turkdean was recorded as Turcandene in the 8th century and was listed as Turchedene or Turghedene in the Domesday Book of 1086. It derives from the Old English for "valley of a river called Turce", with Turce or Twrch being a lost Celtic river name, possibly meaning boar.
The Anglican Church of All Saints was built in the 12th century. It is a grade I listed building.

Governance

Turkdean is part of the Sandywell ward of the district of Cotswold, represented by one councillor. It is within the North Cotswolds constituency, represented in parliament by Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. Prior to Brexit in 2020, it was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.

Geography

Turkdean is in the county of Gloucestershire and lies within the Cotswolds, a range of hills designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is approximately to the east of Gloucester. It is approximately east of its post town Cheltenham and about south-west of Bourton-on-the-Water. The southeastern boundary follows the route of the Roman road the Fosse Way. Nearby villages include Cold Aston, Hazleton, Clapton, Farmington and Hampnett.

In popular culture

In the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford's character, archaeologist Indiana Jones, mentions the Neolithic barrow at Turkdean, near Hazleton, during a university lecture. There are two Neolithic long barrows at Hazleton, one of which was excavated over three summer seasons between 1980 and 1982.

Turkdean Roman Villa

The Channel 4 archaeological television series Time Team made two visits, in 1997 and 1998, to excavate a Roman villa site about 1 mile to the north of the village.
In 2012, Turkdean Roman Villa was listed as a Scheduled Monument by Historic England.

Twrch Trwyth

As previously noted, the term twrch in Welsh denotes "wild boar, hog, mole". So Twrch Trwyth means "the boar Trwyth". Its Irish cognate may be Triath, King of the Swine or the Torc Triath mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn, also recorded as Old Irish Orc tréith "Triath's boar" in Sanas Cormaic. Rachel Bromwich regards the form Trwyth as a late corruption. In the early text Historia Brittonum, the boar is called Troynt or Troit, a Latinisation likely from the Welsh Trwyd. Further evidence that Trwyd was the correct form appears in a reference in a later poem.
The names of the hound and boar Twrch Trwyth are glimpsed in a piece of geographical onomasticon composed in Latin in the 9th century, the Historia Brittonum.
Twrch Trwyth ; Troit ; or Terit ) is an enchanted wild boar in the Matter of Britain that King Arthur or his men pursued with the aid of Arthur's dog Cavall.

Notable residents

The 300-year-old manor house in the village is the primary residence of musician Steve Winwood, where he also has a recording studio.

Selected bibliography

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