Cotswold
§ This page gives an overview of the Cotswold local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ The Cotswold district is a landscape of limestone hills, villages, and historic market towns. Cirencester, often called the “Capital of the Cotswolds,” is the main town, with Roman history and Georgian architecture. Picturesque villages such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Chipping Campden are famed for honey-coloured stone cottages, medieval churches, and vibrant markets. The rolling hills, valleys, and woodlands form part of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, offering walking trails and scenic countryside. Rivers such as the Windrush and Coln wind through, enhancing the district’s rural charm.
The administrative boundary of Cotswold can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Cotswold.
Key Facts about Cotswold
What region is Cotswold in? Cotswold is in the South West of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Cotswold in? Cotswold is located in the county of Gloucestershire.
Is Cotswold a city? No, Cotswold is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Cotswold? The local authority for this district is: Cotswold District Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Gloucestershire is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Gloucestershire County Council.
▶ Official website of Cotswold District Council 🔗 cotswold.gov.uk
Which police force covers Cotswold? Policing in Cotswold is provided by Gloucestershire Constabulary 🔗 gloucestershire.police.uk, which serves 6 local authority districts: Cheltenham ⁞ Cotswold ⁞ Forest of Dean ⁞ Gloucester ⁞ Stroud ⁞ Tewkesbury.
Constituencies in Cotswold
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Cotswold
Cotswold is divided into 32 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Abbey
- Blockley
- Bourton Vale
- Bourton Village
- Campden & Vale
- Chedworth & Churn Valley
- Chesterton
- Coln Valley
- Ermin
- Fairford North
- Fosseridge
- Four Acres
- Grumbolds Ash with Avening
- Kemble
- Lechlade, Kempsford & Fairford South
- Moreton East
- Moreton West
- New Mills
- Northleach
- Sandywell
- Siddington & Cerney Rural
- South Cerney Village
- St Michael's
- Stow
- Stratton
- Tetbury East & Rural
- Tetbury Town
- Tetbury with Upton
- The Ampneys & Hampton
- The Beeches
- The Rissingtons
- Watermoor
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Parishes in Cotswold
Cotswold is fully parished: 116 civil parishes, listed A-Z below.
- Adlestrop
- Aldsworth
- Ampney Crucis
- Ampney St. Mary
- Ampney St. Peter
- Andoversford
- Ashley
- Aston Subedge
- Avening
- Bagendon
- Barnsley
- Barrington
- Batsford
- Baunton
- Beverston
- Bibury
- Birdlip
- Bledington
- Blockley
- Bourton-on-the-Hill
- Bourton-on-the-Water
- Boxwell with Leighterton
- Brimpsfield
- Broadwell
- Chedworth
- Cherington
- Chipping Campden
- Cirencester
- Clapton
- Coates
- Coberley
- Cold Aston
- Colesbourne
- Coln St. Aldwyns
- Coln St. Dennis
- Compton Abdale
- Condicote
- Cowley
- Cutsdean
- Daglingworth
- Didmarton
- Donnington
- Dowdeswell
- Down Ampney
- Driffield
- Duntisbourne Abbots
- Duntisbourne Rouse
- Eastleach
- Ebrington
- Edgeworth
- Elkstone
- Evenlode
- Fairford
- Farmington
- Great Rissington
- Guiting Power
- Hampnett
- Hatherop
- Hazleton
- Icomb
- Kemble and Ewen
- Kempsford
- Kingscote
- Lechlade
- Little Rissington
- Long Newnton
- Longborough
- Lower Slaughter
- Maiseyhampton
- Maugersbury
- Mickleton
- Moreton-in-Marsh
- Naunton
- North Cerney
- Northleach with Eastington
- Notgrove
- Oddington
- Ozleworth
- Poole Keynes
- Poulton
- Preston
- Quenington
- Rendcomb
- Rodmarton
- Saintbury
- Sapperton
- Sevenhampton
- Sezincote
- Sherborne
- Shipton
- Shipton Moyne
- Siddington
- Somerford Keynes
- South Cerney
- Southrop
- Stow-on-the-Wold
- Swell
- Syde
- Temple Guiting
- Tetbury
- Tetbury Upton
- Todenham
- Turkdean
- Upper Rissington
- Upper Slaughter
- Westcote
- Weston Subedge
- Westonbirt with Lasborough
- Whittington
- Wick Rissington
- Willersey
- Windrush
- Winson
- Winstone
- Withington
- Yanworth
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
Built-up Areas in Cotswold
Cotswold covers 53 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Ampney Crucis
- Andoversford
- Arlington
- Avening
- Bentham *
- Beverston
- Bledington *
- Blockley
- Bourton-on-the-Water
- Broadwell
- Chalford *
- Chedworth
- Chipping Campden
- Cirencester
- Coates
- Down Ampney *
- Dunfield *
- Eastleach Turville
- Ebrington
- Ewen
- Fairford
- Great Rissington
- Guiting Power
- Hatherop
- Kemble
- Kempsford *
- Lechlade-on-Thames
- Leckhampton Hill
- Longborough
- Meon Vale *
- Meysey Hampton
- Mickleton (Cotswold)
- Moreton-in-Marsh
- Naunton
- Northleach
- Paxford
- Poulton
- Quenington
- Rendcomb
- Rodmarton *
- Shipton (Cotswold)
- Siddington
- Somerford Keynes
- South Cerney *
- Southrop
- Stow-on-the-Wold
- Stratton (Cotswold)
- Tetbury
- Upper Oddington
- Upper Rissington *
- Weston-sub-Edge *
- Westonbirt *
- Willersey
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Cotswold.)
Cotswold compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Cotswold compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Cotswold has 32 electoral wards.
Cotswold has a population of 91,661 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Cotswold can be found on the ONS statistics for Cotswold.