Miserden

Miserden is a village and civil parish in Stroud District, Gloucestershire, England, 4 miles north east of Stroud. The parish includes Whiteway Colony and the hamlets of Sudgrove and The Camp. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 420, increasing to 449 at the 2011 census.

The village lies in the Cotswolds at an elevation of over 800 ft, above the valley of the River Frome.

Until the Middle Ages, Miserden was known as Greenhampstead, and was mentioned by that name in the Domesday Book. The name Miserden derives from Musardera, "Musard's manor" - Musard was the name of the family which held the manor at the time of the Domesday Book. Robert Musard built Miserden Castle in the 12th century.

Miserden War Memorial was designed by the renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and is a grade II listed building.

The battle and siege scenes in Brother Cadfael's Penance by Ellis Peters (a pen name of Edith Pargeter) are set in the castle built by the Musard family, given the name of "La Musarderie" in the novel. The story is set in the 12th century, in December 1145 as the Anarchy reaches stalemate. The book includes a map of Greenhamsted, the castle and nearby Winstone, and the road that leads either to Gloucester or the other way, to Cirencester, to an Augustinian monastery.

The original house was constructed in the 1620's with a large garden laid out at around the same time. A large area of glass houses were added in the early part of the 20th Century, now used to house a Nursery and Cafe for visitors. Further additions and reshaping of the garden was done by Edwin Lutyens. The gardens are today open to the public..

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