Meon Hill
Location
The village lies at the western edge of the Cotswold escarpment in the Vale of Evesham.
Attractions
Mickleton is noted for its market gardening and vegetable growing. Young plants, seed plugs, apples, cauliflowers and asparagus, or gras, are grown locally. Meon Hill, which lies to the north of the village, is the scene of the so-called 'witchcraft' murder of Charles Walton in 1945 and is said to have inspired Tolkien's 'Weathertop' in The Lord of the Rings. According to legend, Meon Hill was formed by the Devil. He intended to throw a clod of earth at Evesham Abbey but missed, and the earth formed the hill.
Mickleton has two old pubs, King's Arms and Butcher's Arms, the Three Ways House Hotel and several B&Bs. Sited on a green in front of the hotel is a memorial fountain by the Victorian architect William Burges.
The Church of St Lawrence is an Anglican parish church. It contains a memorial to Utrecia Smith, the daughter of a curate of Mickleton whose father was also a schoolmaster. Utrecia had been the fiancée of the writer Richard Graves (who broke off their engagement); she died in 1744 aged 30. King George's Hall, located at the centre of the village, is home to several village clubs and societies.
The Heart of England Way runs through the village. Local market towns and villages include Broadway, Chipping Campden, Stratford-upon-Avon, Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham.
Both Hidcote Manor Garden and Kiftsgate Court Gardens are located nearby.
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St Lawrence's Church
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A typical house
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Three Ways House Hotel
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Memorial foundation by William Burges
Notable residents
- Sir Anthony Keck (1630–1695), Commissioner of the Great Seal, was born in Mickleton.
References
- ^ "Location of North Cotswolds". parliament.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
- ^ "Our Village". The Mickleton Society. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ^ "Guide to Mickleton, Gloucestershire". Country Life. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "10 beautiful north Cotswold villages you need to visit". Cotswold Life. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ Ash, Russell (1973). Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 325. ISBN 9780340165973.
- ^ Verey, David; Brooks, Alan (2000). Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds. The Buildings of England. Penguin. p. 477. ISBN 0140710981.
- ^ Evans, Herbert A. (1927) Highways and Byways in Oxford and the Cotswolds. London: Macmillan; p. 217