Stoke Orchard
| Stoke Orchard | |
 Stoke Orchard Church |
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  Stoke Orchard |
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| Population | 435 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SO920282 |
| Civil parish | Stoke Orchard |
| District | Tewkesbury |
| Shire county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Cheltenham |
| Postcode district | GL52 7 |
| Dialling code | 01242 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Tewkesbury |
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Coordinates: 51°57′11″N 2°07′01″W / 51.953051°N 2.116812°W
Stoke Orchard is a village or hamlet north-west of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England.
Stoke Orchard was formerly home to the Coal Research Establishment of the National Coal Board, which moved onto the site of a Ministry for Aircraft Production shadow factory run by the Gloster Aircraft Company adjacent to RAF Stoke Orchard. The village is still home to Stoke Orchard Garage, owned by the Stojanov family who also own the former school at Elmstone-Hardwicke.
The CRE site has now been demolished, the site cleared and it is now being developed by Bloor Homes for ~120 houses, a village hall, a Village Shop and other amenities. This development will effectively double the size of the village.
Stoke Orchard is in the borough of Tewkesbury, the Cheltenham post town, and on the Coombe Hill, Cheltenham, telephone exchange. Stoke Orchard neighbours Elmstone-Hardwicke, Tredington and Bishop's Cleeve. Politically the village is twinned with neighbouring Tredington, as Stoke Orchard parish. The two villages are part of a large church parish with two other villages nearer to the River Severn.
Stoke Orchard, in common with many villages in this part of Gloucestershire, has a sizeable church but no shops or pubs. The church has early wall paintings of the life of St James - revealed when the whitewash applied at the time of the English Reformation was removed.
Tredington Primary School was built halfway between Stoke and Tredington in order to serve both communities.
Stoke Orchard is aligned with nearby Tredington to form the Parish of Stoke Orchard. The Parish Council, composed of local community volunteers, meets once per quarter.
The parish of Stoke Orchard had a population of 435 according to the 2011 census.[1]
References
- ↑ "Stoke Orchard (Parish): Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2015.