| |
 |
| |
About
Priory Vale |
| |
| |
|
Priory
Vale is a new community in North
Swindon made up of the villages
Redhouse, Oakhurst
and Haydon End. Although
not strictly part of Priory
Vale, the nearby village of
Taw Hill completes
this latest instalment in Swindon's
'Northern Expansion' which began
with Abbey Meads and
continued at St Andrew's
Ridge.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Priory
Vale is served by 'Thamesdown
Drive', or the 'Northern Orbital
Road' which runs through the
centre of Priory Vale, leading
to the new Blunsdon Bypass towards
Cirencester.
On
completion, Priory Vale is expected
to comprise just over 6 000
new homes spread over 640 acres
of land. The homes themselves
take up 390 acres, interspersed
with 82 acres of open space. |
|
|
|
| |
| Priory
Vale is self sufficient in terms of
educational requirements. There are
currently five schools in Priory Vale
spread over 45 acres: Red
Oaks Primary School, Brimble
Hill Primary School, Uplands
Secondary School and Isambard
Community School all within the
Priory Vale Learning Campus in Redhouse,
and Orchid
Vale Primary School in Haydon End.
Swindon Council has recently announced
plans to build an additional primary
school in the Oakhurst area of Priory
Vale. |
| |
| 
|
|
Priory
Vale is also home to what is
reputed to be the largest Asda
Wal-Mart store in the United
Kingdom with 97,000 square feet
of retail space. As well as
the superstore, the Orbital
Shopping Park also plays
host to a number of big name
brands such as Homebase, Next
and Borders, a Mcdonalds Drive-thru,
a petrol station and the superbly
equipped and stocked North
Swindon Library.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Priory
Vale belongs to the parish of Blunsdon
St Andrew. Within this parish resides
Blunsdon: a village dating back to
the Iron Age, where our earliest ancestors
fortified and built a settlement.
Blunsdon is mentioned in the Domesday
Book of 1086 as 'Bluntesdone', at
which time the settlement had a population
of only two or three adult males.
In 1281, there was also a reference
to 'Bluntesdon Seynt Andreu'. |
| |
| In
recent years, archaeologists
discovered a Roman travellers'
resting place on the site of
the present-day Cold Harbour
pub. The A419 main road through
Blunsdon also follows the course
of a Roman road known as Ermine
Street that linked the historic
towns of Cirencester and Silchester.
What's more, the recent Roman
find at Abbey Meads is believed
to be a religious and ceremonial
site. |
|
|
|
| |
| 
|
|
Blunsdon
Abbey was a prominent landmark
in the area and inspired the
title of the Abbey Meads development.
The name 'Priory Vale' also
follows this monastic theme.
Local tradition claims Blunsdon
Abbey was originally an outpost
of Godstow Nunnery near Oxford.
Apparently, the land was granted
to the Brydges family during
the reign of Henry VIII. |
|
| |
| In
1860, a wealthy sportsman, Clayton de
Windt, purchased the estate and built
a new house in the "latest Neo-Gothic
style" to designs by E.Mantell
of London. The builder was Thomas Barrett
of Swindon, who created an imposing
residence with forty bedrooms, grand
interiors, entrance hall, billiards
room and lavish furnishings. Clayton
de Windt was killed in a riding accident
in 1863, and sadly, in April 1904, fire
destroyed the house and its contents. |
| |
| Today,
the Priory Vale development
in Blunsdon St Andrew occupies
farmland and fields dating back
to the 1700s. The villages within
Priory Vale – Redhouse
and Haydon End – are named
after these historical fields,
while the village title of 'Oakhurst'
was taken from the name of the
home at Haydon End Farm. Indeed,
for many years, the Haydon area
of Priory Vale was home to farm
owners and ancient meadowlands.
One such owner was Tom (Leslie)
Saunders. This local figure
and master craftsman owned a
farm that spread across much
of Priory Vale's land. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Search
the web for more local history |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
While
Priory Vale's construction commenced in
2001, its foundations were first laid almost
two decades before...
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Read
on for a full timeline
of Priory Vale's development. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
