Dowdeswell is a civil parish in the ward of Chedworth, Cotswold, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is separated into Upper and Lower Dowdeswell, the former being south of the latter. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 134.
About 7.1 km (4.4 mi) to the northwest is Cheltenham, and 19 km (12 mi) to the west is Gloucester. In 2001, it had a population of 185.
Northwest of Lower Dowdeswell, there is Dowdeswell Woods. Immediately south of these woods is Dowdeswell Reservoir. Both Dowdeswell Reservoir and Dowdeswell Woods have been managed historically as nature reserves through the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (formerly named Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation). On the opposite hillside to Dowdeswell Woods lies Lineover Wood which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is on the steep face of the Cotswold scarp. The Cotswold Way runs at the edge of Dowdeswell Woods, crosses the A40 and runs through Lineover Wood. The nature reserve of Arle Grove lies in the parish of Dowdeswell.
Dowdeswell is a surname, and may refer to:
Among the edge of life I turn myself
The mirror shows past days times of light
More times of darkness unsettled I stand
Towards the gods of hate
The ones to whom I prayed
Transcience of life now a manifest
Fragmentary tales of yesterday - I back myself
Some things pretended more things I regret
Here I stand between the gods of emptiness
The ones that determined my life
Transcience of life now a manifest
Am I going to rest?
Not today, not tonight, not tomorrow
Not today - the day I die
Mirror falls to pieces - the day I die
Am I going to rest?