England
Gloucestershire

Guiting Power

Summary
A lovely Cotswold village. The church boasts a quite superb Norman doorway.

The Village
Well, I make no bones about it, Guiting Power is one of my favourite Cotswold villages. You could argue that there is nothing terribly striking about the village, and you'd be right; yet the combination of the countryside setting, the small village green set round with warm-toned Cotswold stone cottages, and the wonderful little church is quite marvellous. Come here on a lazy summer's day and you'll see what I mean; it is hard to imagine a more typically welcoming Cotswold village than Guiting Power.

The village lies beside a small stream, a tributary of the River Windrush. There was a Saxon settlement here, belonging to the Sherrif of Gloucestershire, but after the Norman invasion the estate passed to the crown. Remains of a very early church have been found and excavated, but the current church dates from the early Norman period.

The Church
St Michael's and All Angels is a wonderful example of a Norman church. The south door of St Michael's is one of the best examples of Norman style I've seen in a parish church. Strangely, the door opens, not onto a covered porch, as you'd expect, but straight into the south transept of the church.

If you take the time to explore the church, you'll notice a very small child-sized coffin, on the steps leading to the font. This is of Saxon origin, and was found under the floor of the chancel. It is believed to be one of the smallest Saxon sarcophagi in Britain. See the photo in our Photos of Guiting Power >>

Location map

Location
On minor road off B4068

Photos of Guiting Power >>

Related:
Cotswolds