Geographically speaking Mickleton is bounded by Meon Hill and the Iron Age Camp to the North, the Cotswold edge rising to HidcoteBartrim to the East and open agricultural land leading out into the Vale of Evesham to the West. In terms of agriculture two distinct areas have been recognised: the Cotswold Arable Plateau and The North Gloucestershire Market Gardening Vale. Mickleton is in the latter albeit adjacent to the former.
Mickleton could, therefore, be said to be at the interface, where the Cotswold hills meets the open flat countryside of Shakespeare country and Vale of Evesham, that is at the point of transition from Hill to Vale. Metaphorically speaking it could be described as having one foot in the Cotswolds and the other in the Vale. It has even been described as a "border" village. This is reflected in the type of agriculture that was traditionally practiced on either side of this divide. As a generalisation, to the east and Cotswold side it was livestock farming that was a key feature, whereas to the west on the Vale side it was crops and particularly horticulture that predominated. This reflects both the respective soil types and topography.
On the Cotswold side of the village the agriculture on the slopes of the Cotswolds escarpment to the east of the village is predominately grassland and animal husbandry, particularly sheep. The Cotswolds and sheep are synonymous. Much of the history of the Cotswolds is tied up with sheep and particularly their wool. The latter being the most valuable; the meat was almost a byproduct, although tallow derived from the fat - a hard fatty substance formerly used in making candles and soap - was at one time a valuable material. Nowadays it's the meat that is the valuable part and wool the low value byproduct. Mickleton, however, is not known as a Cotswold wool or market town like for example, nearby Chipping Campden.
The agriculture on the west and south west side of the village is nowadays predominantly broad acre combinable crops mainly cereals and break crops such oilseed rape and field beans, albeit with some grassland. Previously there had been many horticultural market garden enterprises. This in part reflects that it is fertile flat land. The North Gloucestershire Market Gardening Vale area at the foot of the Cotswolds escarpment is predominantly Lias Clay. However, at Mickleton there are loams, gravels and sands, which made it particularly suitable for intensive fruit and vegetable growing.
In some fields of permanent grassland around Mickleton there is evidence of surviving ridge and furrow farming; a form of medieval ploughing. Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges and troughs created by a system of strip farming, typical of the open field system. In the Middle Ages each strip was managed by one family, within large open fields held in common, and the locations of the strips were the same each year. Ridge and furrow topography was a result of ploughing with non-reversible ploughs on the same strip of land year after year, decade after decade. The ploughing would also have been by ox or other draft animal. The strip would have been ploughed down one side then up the other which over many ploughing cycles moved the soil up into a ridge and created the depression or furrow between strips. It is visible on land that was ploughed in the Middle Ages, but which has not been ploughed since then. This suggests that the land has not been ploughed for many years, perhaps for as much as four centuries, and certainly not with a tractor and modern reversible plough.
In summary, an interface is a point where two systems, subjects, areas, etc. meet and interact. So it is with Mickleton in that it is where two distinct areas meet and interact; the Cotswolds and the Vale. For example, this can be seen topographically where wolds meet vale, agriculturally where sheep and crops once met market gardening, and sociologically where timber framed meets stone built houses. Although it has to be said, these differences are less in evidence today.
Mickleton is towards the northern end of the steep escarpment which marks the western edge of the Cotswold Hills, and which run from this point down to Bath. The village is at the foot of the escarpment where the hills meet the Vale of Evesham. To the north is Meon Hill, which is approaching the northern end of the Cotswold range of hills.
The origin the name ‘Cotswolds’ is debatable but it has been suggested, perhaps romantically, that it derives from the old words for sheep shelters (cots) and rolling hills (wolds) - thus, sheep enclosures in rolling hillsides. However, the English Place-Name Society suggests that the name Cotswolds derives from Codesuualt the etymology of which is given as “Cod's-wold”, which is “Cod's high open land”. Cod has been interpreted as being an old English personal name. Whether the name Cod’s-wold is associated with a local potentate, deity or other persons is unclear. It has, however, subsequently been noted that “Cod” could derive from “Cuda”, a hypothetical mother goddess in Celtic mythology postulated to have been worshipped in the Cotswold region.
There is no doubt that sheep have a huge historical significance for the Cotswolds landscape. It is said that in the medieval heydays of wool that some half a million Cotswold sheep grazed the Cotswolds hills. The Cotswold sheep - also known as Cotswold Lions - have long, thick curly wool and produce what is known as a lustre fleece, which has a sheen, shine and a crimp (in waves). The wool brought great wealth to the wool merchants and land owners from trade and exports of the so called ‘Golden Fleece’. The most successful period for the wool trade was 1250 to 1350; much of the wool at the this time was sold to merchants on the continent. To this day the legacy of this wealth lives on in the handsome houses and ‘wool churches’ in the towns and villages of the Cotswolds. Although the name Cotswolds refers originally to the hills, it has come to be associated with a broad geographical area with certain architectural, historical and geological characteristics. Conversely, a Vale means a valley and is typically used in place names; hence the ‘Vale of Evesham’
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Mickleton is the northernmost village in Gloucestershire, and lies close to the county borders with Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The village is 8 miles (12.9km) south of Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire at the western edge of the Cotswold escarpment in the Vale of Evesham. Chipping Campden lies 3 miles (4.8km) to the south east. The village is also alongside the north western boundary of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The majority of the Village is, however, just outside the boundary although parts that border the Cotswold escarpment to the east of the village, including the Church of St. Lawrence, are within the AONB.
An AONB is designated for conservation due to it's significant landscape value. There are 31 AONB's in England and Wales of which the Cotswolds AONB is one of the largest - only the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales are larger. It is, however, said to receive more visitors than any other AONB. The Cotswolds AONB was designated in 1966 and extended in 1990. It covers 790 sq miles (2,038 sq km) stretching from Edge Hill near Banbury in the north, down to Hinton Charterhouse south of Bath, and from the Cotswolds escarpment in the west, across to Long Hanborough near Woodstock in the east. The Cotswolds are world famous and often viewed as the embodiment of quintessential English countryside.
The Glover Landscapes Review 2019, an independent report which considered the next steps for National Parks and AONBs in England, proposed that the Cotswolds AONB is a strong candidate to be considered for National Park status. It recognises the area is world‐famous for its natural beauty, hugely popular with visitors from around the world and its landscape and villages are one of the emblems of England. It is also recognised as a big contributor to the national economy. It states these things would be better supported by National Park status. If so, this will give the area additional prominence and protection for the environment. A National Park is a protected area because of its beautiful countryside, wildlife and cultural heritage; something which could be said is particular relevant to the Cotswolds. People live and work in the national parks and the farms, villages and towns are protected along with the landscape and wildlife.
The Cotswolds AONB has recently been given a new name, and is know known as the Cotswolds National Landscape. In part this is in response to the Glover Report, which suggested that the title ‘AONB’ should be replaced with easier-to-understand ‘National Landscape’. It also has a new bold green logo. This new look is said to be inspired by the special qualities of the Cotswold landscape itself. The logo retains and centres the Cotswold Lion sheep which is synonymous with the heritage of the region while at the same time highlighting the Cotswolds National Landscape name. However, the designation as an AONB is still there.
Mickleton has been described as having a relaxed mix of Cotswold stone, timber-framed thatched cottages, and brick properties. Much of the housing development was in the mid to late twentieth century and now continues with modern developments in the twenty first century. As a result Mickleton cannot be said to be a quintessential Cotswold village in its appearance and architecture. There is no cluster of archetypal Cotswold stone buildings as is seen in many villages and towns in the Cotswolds. The architecture is much more heterogeneous; there is of a mixture of building materials and styles, none of which predominates. Compare this to Chipping Campden which has a much more homogeneous style of architecture. In part, this may be due to Mickleton’s position on the northern edge of the Cotswolds, the available local building materials and the influence of the surrounding areas outside the Cotswolds that it borders. Mickleton is, however, a Cotswold village and due to its position can perhaps claim to be the northern gateway to the Cotswolds.
Edith Brill in her 1995 book on Cotswold Ways, perhaps rather disingenuously, describes Mickleton as a large village unhappily situated on a main road to Stratford and Birmingham. More pertinently she also describes Mickleton as originally having had a kinship with the Vale, as seen in the few picturesque timber-framed houses remaining, and an affinity with the Cotswolds as seen in its good stone houses. However, she also states that most of the village has subsequently been taken over by new housing developments of indeterminate design so the older houses seem almost an intrusion. This rather succinctly illustrates the mixed nature of the architectural heritage of the village and particularly the early influence of both the Vale and the Cotswolds. However, the indeterminate nature of subsequent housing developments could also be said to continue to be relevant to this day.