Around and about in Gloucestershire Quiz

Answer: Wotton-under-Edge

Isaac Pitman was born in Trowbridge in Wiltshire and qualified as a teacher after which he spent much of his life pressing for spelling reform of the English language. He moved to Wotton-under-Edge in 1836 and during his time there he created a system of phonetic shorthand which was first published in 1837. On leaving Wotton he moved to Bath where he died in 1897.

Answer: Edward II

Edward II (1284-1327) was at the Battle of Bannockburn which was lost to Robert the Bruce. Edward's wife, Isabella, later began a relationship with Roger Mortimer in France and began to get a following. They subsequently led a small invasion force to land in England to go up against the regime of Edward. Edward's popularity was on the decline and he was driven west to Bristol and into Wales.

His authority collapsed and he was eventually deposed in 1327. Captured and imprisoned at Berkeley Castle he was supposedly killed with a red-hot poker after which he was entombed at Gloucester Cathedral.

Answer: Cheese rolling

The annual cheese rolling event at Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire attracts people from all over the world. In each race, competitors chase a nine pound Double Gloucester Cheese down the steep hill and the first person to cross the finish line wins the cheese.

Answer: Bibury

The village of Bibury is one of the Cotswolds' major tourist destinations. The attractive 14th Century stone cottages of Arlington Row once housed weavers who produced cloth for the local mills and it now features in countless photographs. The nearby crystal clear waters of the River Coln are home to many brown trout which can easily be spotted from the nearby path and the small bridges which cross it.

Answer: Mineral water

Cheltenham began as a small village over 1200 years ago but its fortunes changed when natural mineral waters were discovered in 1716. The subsequent development of spas and the later visit by King George III in 1788 assured its success and the resulting increase in visitor numbers from those who wanted to "take the waters" provided a huge boost to its popularity and local economy.

Answer: Edwin Budding

Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower after seeing machines being used in local cloth mills to cut the nap (raised fuzzy surface) off the cloth to give it a smooth finish. His mower, patented in 1830, used a cutting cylinder which rotated against a fixed blade to provide a shearing action. Budding's mower had a heavy rear roller and was pushed from behind.

The design of modern cylinder mowers is little changed in principle from those early designs.

Answer: Sudeley Castle

Sudeley Castle was originally created for John de Sudeley as a fortified manor house during the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154). It was extensively rebuilt in the mid 15th Century but later destroyed after the English Civil War. Its current appearance dates from a major renovation during Victorian times.

Its most famous resident was probably Catherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. She lived at Sudeley, along with Lady Jane Grey, for a short time up to her death in 1548. Visitors to the castle are now able to see her ornate tomb.

Answer: Bicycle

Mikael Pedersen, a Danish inventor and eccentric character, came to work for R.A. Lister & Co. in Dursley with some of his designs for cream separators. While in Dursley he also started a company making 'Dursley Pedersen' bicycles, now much sought after. The 'Pedersen' had an unusual appearance, with braced thin tubing and a distinctive hammock saddle.

Answer: Severn Bore

The River Severn has a total length of 220 miles (354km). It rises in Plynlimon in North Wales and flows through the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire before reaching the sea in the Bristol Channel. The estuary has the second largest tidal range in the world and the highest tides produce a wave phenomenon known as the Severn Bore, when incoming water is channelled up the river against the current.

This attracts visitors, especially surfers, who come to the river to enjoy the spectacle.

Answer: Iron making

The Darkhill Ironworks was built by 1811 by David Mushet for iron production but also played a major part in early experiments in making steel. It was the first to make use of the Bessemer process and pioneered investigations into the production of steel alloys. It is now a scheduled monument, a 'nationally important' archaeological site.