Читать книгу The Cotswold Way. NATIONAL TRAIL Two-way trail guide - Chipping Campden to Bath онлайн

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Norman rule

Tormarton church and its table tombs (Stage 11, Southbound; Stage 3, Northbound)

Under Norman rule, following the invasion of 1066, the Cotswolds remained a place of some importance in the country, with England’s capital being very briefly centred at Gloucester. A new phase of building began, evidence of which can still be seen today, particularly in the churches. Horton Court, a few yards off the route of the Cotswold Way, also dates from Norman times and is still in use.

The Domesday Survey of 1086 showed that the region was already largely cultivated, but with woodland covering much of the western escarpment. More clearings were made during the following centuries and the open fields then turned to extensive sheep pasture. ‘In Europe the best wool is English; in England the best wool is Cotswold.’ This saying held true throughout the Norman era, when sheep outnumbered people by four to one and exports of Cotswold wool increased accordingly.

The traditional animal of these vast sheep-walks was known as the Cotswold Lion, a breed of sheep ‘with the whitest wool, having long necks and square bodies’. These long necks were adorned with a shaggy woollen ‘mane’, which led to their nickname.