Merryfellow Inn

CHARLTON KINGS

Charlton Kings lies along the main London Road to the south east of Cheltenham. Although since April 1974 part of Cheltenham Borough Council, it has retained its separate identity and atmosphere. With the population of over 10,000, it is now one of the largest suburbs of Cheltenham.

At the heart of the village is a medieval church, dedicated to St. Mary in 1190 by William Bishop of Hereford. A number of attractive houses and pubs are situated in its vicinity. Charlton Kings second church, Holy Apostles, is situated on the junction of the roads to London and Cirencester.

Among undiscovered gems in Charlton Kings belongs the Bafford area - the lower part of Bafford Lane and the area bounding the Lilly Brook, which flows into the river Chelt about 300 yards above Sandford Mill. Referring to the ford across the brook, the name has been in use since the 14th century, but is probably much older. Sitting at the bottom of the valley created by the brook, narrow lanes and high walls characterise this forgotten, secret part of the village, providing an oasis of tranquility for local residents. It has been designated as a Conservation Area by Cheltenham Borough Council, in order to preserve this serene environment.

London Road

Six Ways is where Greenway Lane, Ryeworth Road, Copt Elm Road and Cudnall Street meet with London Road and where local shops can be found. If looking for gifts or antiques, London Road has plenty of independent shops to offer.

Charlton Kings has a pleasant cycling route to Cheltenham town centre. It passes through Cox’s Meadow, which is a public open space and has been recently redeveloped and landscaped for Cheltenham flood alleviation scheme, and leads into Sandford Park, one of Cheltenham’s fine parks with wonderful bedding displays. River Chelt, which rises from Dowsdell Reservoir, just beyond Charlton Kings, runs towards the town centre and provides a nice setting for the park.

Charlton Kings has many literary connections. Lewis Carroll found his inspiration there for his book Through the Looking Glass and Cecil Day Lewis, poet and writer, lived in Box Cottage in Charlton Kings. Dinah Mulock Craik wrote part of her best known novel John Halifax, Gentleman there and Sydney Dobell, a poet moved with his family to Charlton Kings in 1840. Adam Lindsay Gordon, Australian poet and jockey, was baptised at St Mary's Church in 1833. The real Tailor of Gloucester called John Pritchard, whose shop occupied 45 Westgate Street in Gloucester, is buried in the Charlton Kings cemetery, but his true story is not as colourful as told by Beatrix Potter in her novel published in 1903. Granddaughters of the Scottish poet Robert Burns are buried at St. Mary's Church.

HISTORY

Charlton Kings dates back to the Iron Age. It was an agricultural settlement, and crops grown can still be recognised in the names of the streets - Crab End suggests crab apples, Flaxley flax and Hempcroft hemp.