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A clearing in an ancient Royal hunting forest, at the crossroads of a well
trodden footpath and the Roman road from St Albans to Cirencester, was the
humble beginnings of an attractive and well-loved, mellow Cotswold-Stone village
called Ramsden. Early in the 20th century herds of cows were a common sight
wandering down the high street for milking. The road was made of broken stone
then and the village had its own stonebreaker who worked from a shed on the site
of the top pub, the Stag and Hounds.
In the centre of the village at the crossroads is a recently cleaned and
repaired war memorial which lists all the men killed in the two World Wars. Once
there were three places for Christian worship, a Methodist chapel, a Roman
Catholic chapel, and the parish church of St James. This was consecrated in 1872
and has a magnificent spire which can be seen for miles around. Now the only
centre for worship, the large festivals have an ecumenical flavour and are well
supported by villagers of many persuasions. The most popular service is the
candlelit carol service on Christmas Eve when there is standing room only at the
back of a packed church.
Most of the village community life takes place in the Memorial Hall which is a
converted barn, opened in 1949, after a concerted effort by a handful of
villagers to raise funds. This is now the meeting place of Ramsden Womens
Institute which was started in the village school in December 1922. One
momentous achievement by WI members during the Second World War is recorded in
the minutes when one ton of plums was canned by hand in 15 hours, the last lid
being sealed at midnight on the 1,010th tin!
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