St Paul’s stands proud as focal point of parish
TO see a steeple that’s close to perfectly proportioned, visit St Paul’s Church in Shurdington. Slender and handsome, it rises to 109ft and has been struck by lightning on a number of occasions, most seriously in 1894 when much of the structure had to be rebuilt at a cost of £400.
According to a local folk tale, St Paul’s steeple caused a man’s death.
The story goes that when the builder of the steeple at nearby St Peter’s in Leckhampton was unable to match the perfection of Shurdington’s spire, he took his own life in shame.
From the church to that other essential of village life – the pub.
Today Shurdington has The Bell, which in years gone by was also the village bakery, and The Cheese Rollers, known in times past as the New Inn.
There was a third pub called The King’s Head at one time, which stood on the main road at its junction with Church Lane.
Adjacent to this pub was a short terrace known as Kingshead Cottages, all of which fell to the demolition man’s hammer in 1966 to make way for the semi detached houses that occupy the spot today.
Another local, The Oddfellows Arms, will be remembered by tipplers with a good memory.
It stood on the main road opposite Bentham Lane and remained in business until about 50 years ago. It is now a private house.
The Oddfellows had the distinction of playing a part in aviation history during the 1920s when the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company built its planes at the Sunningend Works in Cheltenham, but towed them to its airfield in Brockworth for flight trials.
Planes were towed to the airstrip and drivers were instructed to make an official stop at the Oddfellows Arms on the Shurdington Road to let the landing wheel bearings cool down.
Shurdington has a fine and splendid social centre which opened in 1994 but some locals will recall the first village hall, which stood in Church Lane.
Originally a malt house, this was bought by Miss Byng Morris in 1925 and given to the village. Sounds quite a character does Miss Morris.
Apparently she kept goats and when having to attend a funeral in Gloucester, she took the animals with her on the train so that she could milk them.
During the Second World War, gas masks and ration books were distributed from the village hall, which also served as a reception centre for the evacuee children who arrived in the village from the Midlands.
Dances were held there, the hall served as a temporary classroom and children from the church school ate their meals in the hall.
In about 1960 the old village hall became redundant when a building on the corner of Church Lane and Bishop Road was acquired to become Shurdington Social Centre.
This building had been erected during the 1939-45 war as a hostel for members of the Women’s Land Army.
Later it housed Italian and German prisoners of war and in 1951 the Regional Hospital Board used the premises as a rehabilitation home.
The present social centre is the result of many years dedicated fundraising by people in the village.
Soon after the Second World War a car that had belonged to Hermann Goering, Hitler’s deputy, reichsmarschall and commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, stopped off in Shurdington on its way from Gloucester where it was used in a photoshoot to raise publicity for a new film.
The Parish Centre, next to St Paul’s, opened as the village school in 1839.