Teddington, Alstone and Bengrove lie on the eastern edge of the Severn Plane, beneath the slopes of Oxenton Hill, a prominent outlier of the Cotswolds, and just within Gloucestershire=s northern boundary with Worcestershire. The communities are essentially agricultural in character, although the small population earning a liv8ing from the land has been augment4ed by an influx of retired people and younger business professionals attracted by the pleasing location and easy access to good motorway links. The recent installation of satellite broadband access together with the coming prospect of broadband over the existing local telephone circuits have has made it possible for many to work efficiently from home.
Teddington is the largest and, historically, the most significant of the three settlements. Over the years Teddington has passed under a number of names. In the 8th century it was >Teottingtun=, in the 10th century >Tidinctune= and >Tidantun= in the 11th century >Teodintun=, >Theotinctum= and >Teotintune=, and in the 13th century >Tedinton=.
The earliest recorded reference to Teddington was in AD 780 when Offa, King of Mercia, gave to the monastery at Bredon five >manses= (a quantity of land considered sufficient to support a family) at Teddington. Over the next 300 years ownership of the manor of Teddington, which included Alstone, changed hands a number of times in wrangles between monarch, Church and nobles.
In 831, by which time the possessions of the monastery had passed to the See of Worcester, the manor of Teddington was taken from the Church by Beorhtwulf, King of Mercia. Bishop Eadberht went to
Over the next hundred years land at Teddington and Alstone (then known as >Aelfsigestun= a name that is now displayed on signs marking the village which were erected to commemorate the Millennium) was held, it is recorded, by Oswulf, Eadleofou and Eadric, and also by Toki and his son, Aki, whose Scandinavian names are evidence of a strong Danish element among the Worcestershire landowners in the 11th century. In 1086, at the time of the Domesday survey, it is recorded that three disputed >hides= (in old English a unit of land enough for one household, normally about 120 acres) were still held at Teddington by the monks of Bredon.
In 1240 William de Godeshalve held land at Teddington freely for the service of giving bail for the prior=s men of Teddington and Alstone, wherever they should be attached, and from ancient times the lord of Oxenton received a cartload of hay yearly from the meadow of Teddington in exchange for an undertaking to protect the manor in time of war.
On the dissolution of the monasteries, Teddington passed to the Crown and it was granted to the dean and chapter of
THREE COMMUNITIES JOINED TOGETHER IN
HAPPY PARTNERSHIP
The villages of Teddington and Alstone, separated by the tiny hamlet of Bengrove lie in gently rolling countryside near the foot of the Cotswolds escarpment, almost equidistantly from the Towns of Cheltenham,
Teddington and Alstone now lie in the diocese of Worcestershire, although they have been part of Gloucestershire since 1932, falling within the borough and Parliamentary constituency of
Teddington and Alstone now lie in the diocese of Worcestershire, although they have been part of Gloucestershire since 1932, falling within the borough and Parliamentary constituency of