Thanks to a passionate public campaign, the Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group now owns this cherished meadow and woodland.
To celebrate, local morris dancers Boss Morris will bring their Finger in the Spring folk ritual to the site on Saturday, 18 April.
This part of Rodborough Fields is now in managed community ownership after a public campaign to preserve the treasured local site, maintain and improve biodiversity and to provide educational opportunities, was successful.
The Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group have also launched a call for further donations to support ongoing care of the fields, and help pay off community loans taken on by the charity to deliver the purchase.
After the site came up for sale last year, the group launched a campaign on 20 March 2025, with just 13 days to bring together a bid ahead of the informal tender deadline on 2 April 2025. The campaign received pledges from people in Rodborough, Stroud and around the world, and together with loan offers these pledges showed that they would realise the funds required to bring the site into ownership.
The group worked with Stroud Common Wealth to submit an informal tender on 1 April 2025, with the aim of purchasing the section of Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks between Arundel Drive and the River Frome. Following acceptance of the offer, the Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group subsequently became a charity (number 1214461) on 8 August 2025, and the site transferred into its ownership on 4 March 2026.
John Bloxsom, Chair of the Rodborough Fields Preservation Group said: “We are grateful to everyone who has supported our campaign, including more than 400 donors and lenders, Stroud Common Wealth and the Laura Kinsella Foundation who have been so amazing in their support for our efforts.
“We are looking forward to a positive future of managed community ownership for the site, and are delighted that Boss Morris have agreed to help us mark this change by bringing their “Finger in the Spring” seasonal celebration to Rodborough Fields on Saturday 18 April.
“However, taking ownership of the site is just the first step and we are today launching a renewed call for donations to help us fund the long term care of the site and pay off the loans which were generously pledged to help us get to this point.”
Donations can be made via the Rodborough Fields Preservation Group website, on https://rodboroughfields.org.uk or by taking a cheque to Stroud Valleys Project shop, 8 Threadneedle Street, Stroud, GL5 1AF.
Date for your diary – Sat 18 April 11am
Local residents are warmly invited to mark the community ownership of the site as local morris dancers Boss Morris bring their spring ritual ‘Finger in the Spring’ to Rodborough Fields on Saturday 18 April. Boss Morris is a group of female creatives supported by professional musicians who share an artistic and progressive vision of Morris dancing.
Boss’ springtime Finger in the Spring celebration – which traditionally takes place at the spring in Kingscourt – has relocated for 2026, to celebrate the spring which feeds Rodborough Fields. Participants should meet at Wallbridge Green at 11am on Saturday 18 April for a procession through the fields to the spring, and onward to the Prince Albert on Rodborough Hill.
About Rodborough Fields
Rodborough Fields are a fine example of the species-rich middle-jurrasic oolitic limestone grassland which makes this part of the Cotswolds so special.
Over the last 50 years or so the fields have been grazed there without the use of artificial fertilisers or pesticides, and the fields have become a key wildlife site attracting butterflies, insects and birds.
Running alongside the fields is the River Frome, and the site includes the tree-lined banks, home for birds including Kingfisher, Dipper and Grey Wagtail.
The fields are also an important local historical site, once owned by Wallbridge Mill and used for the drying of cloth on tenterhooks.
Rodborough Fields was marketed in 2025 as two lots. Lot 1 – the 9.42-acre meadow and woodland between Arundel Drive and the River Frome – is now in the ownership of the Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group. Lot 2 – 11.71 acres of pasture land including some woodland and extending to the center of the River Frome – currently remains unsold.
