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South Cerney
South Cerney is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, 3 miles south of Cirencester and close to the border with Wiltshire.
It had a population of 3,074 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 3,464 at the 2011 census. In 2001 South Cerney was winner of the Bledisloe Cup for the best-kept village in Gloucestershire (large village class), having previously won the award in 1955.
The name Cerney is first attested in Old English in 852 CE, when it was recorded that King of the Mercians granted lands in Cerney to a man called Alfeah. It is again attested in charters of the 990s associated with King Aethelred II, in the form æt Cyrne, meaning 'on the River Churn' (the origin of whose own name is ancient, but whose etymology is obscure). To this was added the Old English word ēa ('river'), first attested in the form Cernei (and variant spellings like it) in the Domesday Book of 1086. Thus Cerney meant 'the river Churn'. The addition of the word South, distinguishing the settlement from North Cerney, is first attested in 1274.
The parish also contains Cerney Wick, which includes the Old English word wic, meaning 'outlying farmstead'. Thus this name once meant 'satellite farmstead of Cerney'. This name is first attested as Cernewike in 1220.
Two fragments of a carved wooden crucified Christ, a head and a foot, were found in 1915 concealed in a wall of the village church. The crucifix was probably hidden at the time of the Reformation but mostly disintegrated due to the damp. Part of a crucifix that dates from the 12th century, it is one of very few early-medieval wooden sculptures of Christ extant in England, and would have been part of the 'rood' that stood above the rood screen that separated the nave of the church from the chancel. The original carvings were purchased by the British Museum in 1994. The South Cerney church now contains a replica.
At the end of Silver Street in South Cerney is the Ann Edwards School, founded by Ann Edwards in 1834. And in nearby Station Road, an attractive row of gabled cottages dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The remains of some of the old railway line can also be found in this area of the village.
The Village is home to an active theatre group called the South Cerney Players, as well as two active singing groups, Bluenotes and Singing for Fun.
The village lies within the Cotswold Water Park, an area made up of over 140 lakes, mostly formed by gravel extraction. Many of the lakes are now used for leisure activities including fishing and sailing. South Cerney Sailing Club is in the Cotswold Water Park.
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South Cerney AI simulator
(@South Cerney_simulator)
South Cerney
South Cerney is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, 3 miles south of Cirencester and close to the border with Wiltshire.
It had a population of 3,074 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 3,464 at the 2011 census. In 2001 South Cerney was winner of the Bledisloe Cup for the best-kept village in Gloucestershire (large village class), having previously won the award in 1955.
The name Cerney is first attested in Old English in 852 CE, when it was recorded that King of the Mercians granted lands in Cerney to a man called Alfeah. It is again attested in charters of the 990s associated with King Aethelred II, in the form æt Cyrne, meaning 'on the River Churn' (the origin of whose own name is ancient, but whose etymology is obscure). To this was added the Old English word ēa ('river'), first attested in the form Cernei (and variant spellings like it) in the Domesday Book of 1086. Thus Cerney meant 'the river Churn'. The addition of the word South, distinguishing the settlement from North Cerney, is first attested in 1274.
The parish also contains Cerney Wick, which includes the Old English word wic, meaning 'outlying farmstead'. Thus this name once meant 'satellite farmstead of Cerney'. This name is first attested as Cernewike in 1220.
Two fragments of a carved wooden crucified Christ, a head and a foot, were found in 1915 concealed in a wall of the village church. The crucifix was probably hidden at the time of the Reformation but mostly disintegrated due to the damp. Part of a crucifix that dates from the 12th century, it is one of very few early-medieval wooden sculptures of Christ extant in England, and would have been part of the 'rood' that stood above the rood screen that separated the nave of the church from the chancel. The original carvings were purchased by the British Museum in 1994. The South Cerney church now contains a replica.
At the end of Silver Street in South Cerney is the Ann Edwards School, founded by Ann Edwards in 1834. And in nearby Station Road, an attractive row of gabled cottages dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The remains of some of the old railway line can also be found in this area of the village.
The Village is home to an active theatre group called the South Cerney Players, as well as two active singing groups, Bluenotes and Singing for Fun.
The village lies within the Cotswold Water Park, an area made up of over 140 lakes, mostly formed by gravel extraction. Many of the lakes are now used for leisure activities including fishing and sailing. South Cerney Sailing Club is in the Cotswold Water Park.