Wyck Rissington is a charming small village in the heart of the Cotswolds with houses dating from the 17th Century set around a large (6 acre) village green which is a registered common. It is the smallest of the four Rissingtons with 50 or so houses and is surrounded by farmland and open countryside within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village green is lined with horse chestnut trees which were planted to celebrate the Coronation of King George VI in 1936 and then Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953 and Silver Jubilee in 1978.
St Laurence’s Church dates from the 12th Century and has one of the earliest examples of primitive plate tracery. Gustav Holst, the celebrated composer, fresh from school in Cheltenham, was organist in 1892/3 and the organ he used is still in use.
The village has a very relaxed charm and is frequently visited by hikers walking along the Oxfordshire Way which runs from nearby Bourton on the Water to Henley on Thames. It also marks the end of the 28 mile Holst Way which runs from Cranham, where Holst spent his early childhood, via the Holst museum in Cheltenham and finally to St Laurence’s, Wyck Rissington.
The village green, its trees and the pond are managed by the Parish Council. In order to encourage wild flower growth, the grass on the green is left to grow in early Summer and then a hay crop is taken with a further cut in the Autumn.
This site is managed by Wyck Rissington Parish Council and provides useful information on the workings of the Council.