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Churchdown Hill

Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork

Folklore

In the village of Churchdown, about four miles from Gloucester, the church dedicated to St. Bartholomew is built on the summit of Churchdown Hill, - the ascent to it being steep and tortuous. The legend runs, that "the church was begun to be built on a more convenient and accessible spot of ground, but that the materials used in the day were constantly taken away in the night and carried to the top of the hill, which was considered a supernatural intimation that the church whould be built there."*

*Rudder's "History of Gloucestershire" (1779), 339.
From Church-lore Gleanings By Thomas Firminger Thiselton Dyer (what a name), 1891, p3. (partially online at Google Books).

Arthur Cleveland was there and he "descried a hamlet, and a Church, which my friend pointed out to me as Chozen, at the same time informing me that it was spelt Churchdown." (Impressions of England, 2nd ed, 1856, p160) He calls it one of those quaint English things where you speak and spell a word differently. But is it just referring to the legend about the church? Or is it all tied up together. The local school is called 'Chosen Hill School' so people must still refer to it as that.


So it must also be the site of this snippet from
http://archive.worcesternews.co.uk/2001/10/26/300903.html
from 'Folklore of Gloucestershire' by Roy Palmer (1994):
"For the ghoulish or fey minded, the key chapter is the aptly named, Out of this World. We hear of a Churchdown man who, early in the last century, saw headless fairies on Chosen Hill."

Aren't fairies on their own hard enough to believe? Why not tell your friends you saw headless fairies instead.
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
16th May 2007ce
Edited 16th May 2007ce

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