Ashton Keynes, United Kingdom

The Swindon to Stroud railway, opened in 1841 and today known as the Golden Valley line, passes close to the southwest of Ashton Keynes parish. The station at Minety was renamed Minety and Ashton Keynes in 1905; it closed in 1964 on the withdrawal of stopping services.

Another railway, the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway opened their extension from Swindon to Cirencester in 1883, passing through South Cerney parish to the northeast of Ashton Keynes; there was a station at South Cerney called Cerney and Ashton Keynes. By 1892 the line, now the Midland and South Western Junction Railway, was completed as far as Cheltenham and thus connected the Midlands with the docks at Southampton. The line closed to passengers in 1961 and the track was taken up.

Since c. 1944, much of the parish's land became large gravel pits. After removal of the gravel layer the void leads to lakes, and by 2010 these resulting shallow lakes covered about half of the parish land. Since 1967 the lakes here and of nearby parishes in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire – over 40 square miles (100 km2) – have been designated as the Cotswold Water Park, with areas for nature conservation, recreation and holiday accommodation.

To take gravel lorries away from the villages, and to provide access to the water park, from 1971 the Spine Road was built across the parish, its east end connecting with the A419 Cirencester-M4 road.

A southwest locality, mostly of the 20th century, remains known as Derry Fields.

In 1936, a German pacifist group known as the Bruderhof bought 200 acres (80 ha) at Ashton Fields, near Ashton Keynes, to serve as a mission post. In 1937 this became the group's main home, when it was forced to leave Germany. The membership grew to over 350, with many young English conscientious objectors joining. However, even before the Second World War, the group was boycotted locally.

In 1940, the Bruderhof was given the choice of leaving England as a group or having its Germans interned and its Englishmen conscripted, and decided to leave. Most members left for Paraguay, but a few stayed in England, bought a 182-acre (74 ha) farm near Ludlow, and moved there in March 1942.