Castle Eaton

Parish church

The parish church dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed building. It has two Norman doorways. The chancel was built late in the 13th century in the Early English Gothic style, and at its east end has a trio of stepped lancet windows.

In the churchyard near the entrance is a medieval standing cross that is a scheduled Ancient Monument.

The church can be reached only on foot, via a path linking the lychgate with the east end of The Street.

Amenities

The village has a public house, the Red Lion, which claims to be first public house on the River Thames after leaving its source at Thames Head in the Cotswolds.

Thames Path

Castle Eaton is on the Thames Path National Trail between the towns of Cricklade, upstream to the west, and Lechlade, downstream to the east. The Cricklade to Lechlade section of the Thames Path is 11.6 miles long of which 5.3 miles is alongside the river, with detours where riverside access has not been possible. In Castle Eaton, the path is unable to follow the banks of the river and instead makes its way through the centre of the village. On leaving the village to the east, the path continues through farmland before rejoining the river close to the village of Kempsford, which can be seen along with its distinctive church on the opposite bank.

Sections

Opened in 1996, the Thames Path is managed by National Trails who have separated it into individually numbered sections for management purposes. The 184-mile path starts numerically in London with Section 1 and finishes at the river's source in Gloucestershire with Section 64. Castle Eaton marks the boundary of two sections:

File:Long_row_finger_post.jpg|Section 61 – One of a number of signposts in the village showing the direction of the path File:Blackford Lane.jpg|Section 61 – Away from the river, the path leaves Castle Eaton along Blackford Lane File:Thames Path Section 61.jpg|Section 61 – The path eventually rejoins the river on its way to Hannington Bridge File:Thames Path Section 62 Flooded.jpg|Section 62 – Looking west, heavy rainfall has flooded the route of the path

Flooding

Large areas of land through which sections 61 and 62 of the Thames Path pass are prone to flooding. This is more likely in winter but can occur in other seasons after heavy rain. Flooding can make parts of these sections impassable. One of the pictures above shows Section 62 of the path totally submerged, just west of Castle Eaton.

References

Sources

References

1. (June 2022). "Castle Eaton - 2011 Census". Office for National Statistics.
2. "Castle Eaton". The Institute for Name-Studies.
3. {{National Heritage List for England
4. Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 160
5. The building was [[Victorian restoration. restored]] by [[William Butterfield]] in 1861–1863, who added a distinctive [[corbel]]led [[Bell-cot. ring]] of six bells.[http://www.swindongandb.moonfruit.co.uk/#/other-towers/4537142164 Gloucester & Bristol Diocesan Association, Swindon Branch]
6. {{National Heritage List for England
7. [http://www.red-lion.co.uk/ The Red Lion at Castle Eaton]
8. [http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Thamespath/ Thames Path National Trail]
9. "Thames Path National Trail Section 2: Cricklade to Lechlade".