Slimbridge has a history that stretches back thousands of years, and the landscape around the village continues to reveal clues about the people who lived here long before it became the village we know today.
To the east of the village centre, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of round houses and enclosures believed to form part of an Iron Age settlement. At the time, the course of the River Severn would have been much closer to the current village, making it an attractive location for trading and travelling along the river, as well as inland.
The story continued into the Roman period. Since 2018, the Slimbridge Archaeological Landscape Project has been investigating evidence of Iron Age and Roman occupation across the parish. Excavations have uncovered the remains of a remarkably substantial Roman bath house, later an aisled barn, and what may be a large villa. The discoveries are changing our understanding of Slimbridge’s ancient past, and excavations are continuing. More information and photographs can be found under the Archaeology Project tab.
One of Slimbridge’s most familiar landmarks has its own long history. The church of St John the Evangelist stands at the heart of the village, with a church recorded in the parish as early as 1146. The present building dates mainly from the latter half of the 13th century, while its impressive 40-metre spire was added in the 14th century.
The church also has a fascinating royal connection. In the 16th century, one of its rectors, Owen Oglethorpe, went on to become Bishop of Carlisle. In 1559, he presided over the coronation of Elizabeth I. Memorial carvings commemorating both the queen and the bishop can still be seen on the church’s east wall.
For centuries, the River Severn was both an opportunity and a danger. Its powerful tidal waters were notoriously treacherous, and in the 19th century the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal was constructed as a safer and more reliable route for shipping. Opened in 1827, the canal remains an important part of the local landscape. Today it is largely enjoyed by walkers, boaters and other visitors, although once a year it takes on a distinctly historic character when magnificent tall ships make their way along the canal to Gloucester and back as part of the Tall Ships Festival.
Slimbridge’s name is now known around the world for another reason: wildlife conservation. The village is home to the headquarters of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), whose reserve was founded in 1946 by Sir Peter Scott. Scott became one of the most influential figures in the early conservation movement and was described by Sir David Attenborough as the “patron saint of conservation”. Over the decades, Slimbridge has played an important role in conservation projects involving endangered birds, including the Hawaiian nene and the Eurasian crane.
Scott’s connection with the village is also remembered at St John’s Church, where a memorial stained-glass window designed by renowned artist Thomas Denny was installed in 1994. More recently, the churchyard was the setting for a remarkable tribute to an earlier generation. In 2018, an exhibition of life-sized wire soldiers was installed in memory of the men from Slimbridge who lost their lives in the First World War. Created by local artist Jackie Lantelli, the figures attracted thousands of visitors from across the country. Two of the sculptures now have a permanent home inside the church.
Slimbridge has also been connected with some remarkable figures in English history. William Tyndale, whose translation of the Bible helped make the scriptures accessible to English-speaking readers, may have been born in the parish. And in the late 18th century, the village had a connection with another name familiar to almost everyone: Edward Jenner. The Berkeley-based doctor and surgeon, who pioneered vaccination against smallpox in 1796, was contracted to provide medical care to people in Slimbridge parish before his groundbreaking discovery.
From Iron Age traders and Roman settlers to bishops, conservation pioneers and medical revolutionaries, Slimbridge’s history is woven into the landscape around it. And, as ongoing archaeological discoveries are showing, there may still be much more of its story waiting to be uncovered.