Moreton-in-Marsh
| Moreton-in-Marsh, England | |
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From top to bottom: Batsford House; Redesdale Market Hall; High Street (during market); The Curfew Tower; St. David's Church |
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 Moreton-in-Marsh, England
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| Moreton-in-Marsh, England shown within Gloucestershire | |
| Population | 3,493 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SP2032 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Moreton-in-Marsh |
| Postcode district | GL56 |
| Dialling code | 01608 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Moreton-in-Marsh is a town civil parish in northeastern Gloucestershire, England. The town is located at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the A44 and served by Moreton-in-Marsh station on the Cotswold Line. The parish and environs are relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode rises near Batsford, runs around the edge of Moreton and meanders towards Oxford, where it flows into the Thames just east of Eynsham. Just over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Moreton, the Four shire stone marked the boundary of the historic counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, until the re-organisation of the county boundaries in 1931. Since then it marks the meeting place of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire.
An electoral ward in the same name exists. The area and population of this ward are identical to that of the parish.
The toponym is derived from Old English. Moreton means "Farmstead on the Moor" and "in Marsh" is from henne and mersh meaning a marsh used by birds such as moorhens. An alternative suggestion is that 'Marsh' is a corruption of 'March', early English for boundary.
The Curfew Tower on the corner of Oxford Street is probably 16th century. Its bell was cast in 1633 and its clock was built in 1648.
The Church of England parish church of Saint David began as a chapel of ease for Blockley, to which the residents of Moreton had to transport their dead for burial. The early history of the church in Moreton is not clear, but there is evidence that a primitive Celtic place of worship preceded the church on the present site, which had seven springs. The church at Moreton came under the jurisdiction of the Batsford Estate, when that estate was given to the Bishops of Worcester in the 12th century. Latterly, the church in Moreton was a chapel-at-ease for Batsford, which was technically the parish church. The appointment of the vicar for Batsford with Moreton alternates between the Bishop of Gloucester and the Lord of the Manor at Batsford, currently Lord Dulverton, who, until the Second World War, exercised his right to collect a shilling (5 pence) a year for every shop window facing Moreton High Street. There is a tradition that the church was rebuilt and reconsecrated in the middle of the 16th century. The nave was enlarged in 1790, most of the church was rebuilt in 1858 and the tower was replaced in 1860. The chancel and south aisle were enlarged in 1892 and the east end of the south aisle has been used as a chapel since 1927.
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