Gilgal Conservation Area
The Gilgal Conservation area is 2.6 hectares in extent and
comprises a group of buildings and associated environments that
date from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, and form the
oldest part of the Town.
In the east the Gilgal Conservation Area covers Lower Mitton which,
prior to the 1760s, was a small hamlet and the only settlement in
the vicinity; being located at a historic crossing point of the
River Stour. In the late 1760s the Staffordshire and Worcestershire
Canal was constructed around the west of the hamlet in order to
link the Rivers Trent (far to the north) and Severn (nearby to the
south). Lower Mitton continued to be the favoured crossing point of
the Stour, but the canal and its terminus with the River Severn
provided an environment for trade and commerce that instigated the
foundation, laying out and construction of the adjoining town of
Stourport-on-Severn.
In some respects it is difficult to appreciate the historic and
architectural interest of Gilgal Conservation Area. This is not
because such interest does not exist, but because of the detracting
effects of vehicular traffic and the erosion of traditional
architectural features. In particular, there has been widespread
replacement of historic windows with modern uPVC double-glazing,
replacement of doors, rendering or painting of walls, and
unsympathetic front extensions.
Away from the roads, the bank-side to the west of Gilgal and its
footpaths retain historic integrity. The footpaths wind between
private gardens, which help to abate the noise and fumes of
traffic. Elsewhere there are basic elements such as scale, massing,
original layout, historic fabric, rooflines, and physical
relationship to the adjoining Georgian town and Canal, which are of
interest, and which give clues to the evolution of the Area. The
Area has the potential to be a meaningful representation of the
past, provided thought, will and positive measures are
exercised.
View
the Gilgal Character Appraisal 
(1.59MB)