How golden was my valley

These four magnificent Cotswold properties enjoy splendid views of hill and dale

- Penny Churchill

WHEN the invading Roman army arrived in the Cotswolds some 2,000 years ago, they found a region of gentle hills, valleys and streams and a climate of chilly winters and springs. They brought hardy sheep to raise for wool to keep themselves warm and, when they left, the flocks passed into the hands of local landowners: first the Church and then local families. In the Middle Ages, sheep grazed the hills and valleys of the Cotswolds, fleeces from a million Cotswold longwool sheep were traded and fortunes were made. Rich merchants created a landscape dotted with the lofty spires of wool churches and marketplaces surrounded by grand townhouses.

The coming of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700s saw the emergence of Stroud and its surrounding valleys in the southwestern Cotswolds as a focal point of the industry, thanks to its many fast-flowing rivers that, at one point, powered some 170 mills in the area. The ancient market town of Minchinhampton, which stands on a hilltop four miles south-east of Stroud, derives its name from the Old English heatun meaning 'high town' and mynecen, meaning 'nun', having been granted by William the Conqueror to the Convent of the Holy Trinity at Caen, Normandy, in 1066. The Norman nuns held Minchinhampton for more than 300 years until, in 1415 (the year of Agincourt), the Crown confiscated all foreign-held ecclesiastical assets. The manor of Minchinhampton was later transferred to the Brigittine Abbey of Syon in Middlesex, which remained in possession until the Dissolution in 1534.