﻿QLOUCESTERSHIRK. 



OLOUCESTERSHraE. 



naighbiniriiood are mdm good oooiftry reaidenosi. OUbmy-^n^Avem, 

 IS milw S.W. from Ok>oo«star, population of the obspeliy 724, te 

 idtiuitcd on the left bank of the Serem. Remains of two Roman 

 eooampmenta hare been tnuied in the pariah. Puckltchurch, near the 

 .■ODtbern border of the county, 35 milea 8.S.W. from Olouoeeter, 

 popolatioa Ml, is ofaiefly remarkable aa baring been the reaidenee of 

 •ome of the Sftxon kings. Coal is found in the vicinity. There ia an 

 Endowed Free acbool for boys and girla, founded in 1718. Skerbotutu, 

 24 miles E. by S. from Olouoeeter, population 674, on the right bank 

 of a feeder of the WindruHh, is pleasantly situated, and has several 

 good mansions in ita vicinity, including the seat of Lord Sherborne, 

 which stands in a finely-wooded park. SitPtbridge, 11 miles S.S.W. 

 from. Qloucester, population 859, is situated in the vicinity of fertile 

 land, much of which has been reclaimed from the Severn. The 

 Oloucestrr and Berkeley Ship Canal passes the village on the south- 

 west. Besides the pariah church there ia here a Baptist chapeL 

 StaHlt)/ St. Leonardt, 11 miles S. from Qloucester: population, 861. 

 The cloth manufacture formerly flourished here, and is still carried 

 on to a small extent Some remains of a Benedictine monastery are 

 in the neighbourhood : there is a paroohial Free schooL Stonehouie, 

 9 milea S. by W. from Gloucester: population, 3589. Seveml woollen- 

 mills are in the vicinity. Cloth-making employs some hand- 

 loom weavers. Besides Uie parish church there are a chnpel for 

 Independents and two National scboola The Strondwater Canal 

 passes Stonehouse on the south. Three fairs are held annually. 

 Sudtlty, 18 miles E.N.E. from Gloucester: population, 77. In the 

 church of Sudeley Manor, now in ruins, Queen Katberine Parr was 

 buried. Some remains still exist of a strong castle erected here in 

 the reign of Henry VL About 3 miles N. from the village is Tod- 

 dingtou, a spacious manaion, the seat of Lord Sudeley. VUg, 15 miles 

 S. from Gloucester: population, 1827. The woollen manufacture 

 which waa formerly carried on here has been discontinued. Besides 

 the parish church there are chapels for Baptists and Wesleyan 

 Methodista. Wdford-onrAvmt, on tbo north-eastern border of the 

 county (which is here separated by the Avon from Warwickshire), 

 35 milea N. E. from Gloucester : population, 659. The parish church 

 is chie6y in the Norman style, and has at the west end a lofty tower 

 with pinnacles. The Wesleyan Methodista have a chapel, and there 

 is a National schooL Watbury-on-Trym, 34 miles S.W. by S. from 

 Gloucester, population of the township 1883, is situated near the foot 

 of King's Weston Hill, about 4 milea N.N.W. from Bristol. A 

 monastery formerly existed here. Besides the parisU church, a com- 

 moiiuus and handsome edifice, with a pinnacled tower at the west 

 cud, there are chapels for Baptists and Wesleyan Methodists. Roman 

 remains have been found in the vicinity. A remarkable cavern of 

 laree extent, called Pen Park Hole, is in Pen Park estate, about a 

 mile and a half from Westbury. 



Ecdfiatticttl and LegalJurUdiction. — The county is included within 

 the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Gloucestershire is included in 

 the Oxford oircoit. Before the Reform Act Gloucestershire was repre- 

 sented by two members in Parliament. It is now formed into two 

 divisions, eastern and western, each of which sends two representatives. 

 The boroughs of Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester, and Tewkesbury 

 each return two members to Parliament, and the borough of Chelten- 

 ham one member. By the Poor-Law Commissioners the county is 

 divided into 17 Poor-Law Unions, namely : — Bristol city, Cbelteubam, 

 Chipping Sodbury, Cirencester, Clifton, Dumley, Gloucester, Neweiit, 

 Nortblen^ Stow-on-the-Wold, Stroud, Tetbury, Tewkesbury, Thorn- 

 Ininr, Weatbury-on-Sevem, Wheatenhurst, and Winchcombe. These 

 Unions comprise 860 parishes and townahips, with an area of 688,711 

 ■erea, and a population in 1861 of 418,900. The boundaries of the 

 Unions are less extensive than those of the county. The assises are 

 bald at Qlonoeater. County courts ate held at Cheltenham, Bristol, 

 cupping Sodbnry, Cirencester, Dtusley, Gloucester, Malmesbury, 

 Newsnt, Newnham, Northleacb, Stow, Stroud, Tewkesbury, Thom- 

 buiy, and Winchcombe. Local Boards of Health have been ertabliahed 

 ■t Bristol, Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Tewkesborr. 



Matmfaelurt*. — The manufactures carried on m Gloucestershire 

 are numerous and important. The cloth manufacture is extensively 

 OBiriad on in a large district, of which Stroud may be regarded as the 

 osntra. At Fnuopton-Cotterell, Wiuterboum, Uitton, and Westerleigb 

 ■re oonaidarsble bat and felt mauufactories, and some persona are also 

 ■Bgaged in stocking-msking. The stocking manufacture ia extensively 

 poioed at Tewkesbury, where frame-making gives amploymaot to 

 •OHM of the inhabitanta : some of them are likewise engaged in lace- 

 in-M*y In some |>arts of the county there are pin manufactories. 

 ▲t Mewhod and Engliih Bicknor tin-pUtca are made. Edge-toola are 

 mad* at Cool^. At Moreton and a few other places cheesecloths 

 and other articles of linen are made. The large commercial citj ot 

 Bristol baa several manufactories and works tii bnas, iron, giasa, 

 flooroloths, lace, hata, soap, vinegar, Ac 



0M( Uitlcty iOMt AnliquUitt.~Tb» inhabituU of the roost part of 

 (Mo u i wt s i shire and of Oxfordshire were at the time of the Roman 

 invasion distinguiabed by the name of Dobuni. [Britaknia.] It 

 appeara that Um Doboni wen subjact to tbeir neighbours the 

 (^tteuchlani before they ware conquered by the Romans, a.d. 45, 

 wbssi they submittod to Aulus Plautiua, the proprator. On the 

 diviaioB of the iaUnd into Dtitannut Prima and Secunda, that part of 



OlonoesterKhire which lies south-east of the Severn was included in 

 Britannia Prima; the other part in Britannia Secunda. After the 

 subsequent division made under Constantino, the county, or the 

 greater part of it, was included in the province named Klavia Crnnri- 

 ensia. Cirencester was under the Romans the metropolis of the 

 district, while Gloucester and the hills about the Severn wen the 

 great military poaitions. Gloucestershire formed part of the Mercian 

 kingdom under the Saxon dynasty, and Winchcombe and King'*- 

 Stanley are mentioned aa residences of the Anglo-Saxon monaroha. 

 Under the Saxon kings it was much haraased by the Danea, and 

 during the civil wars between Queen Mand and Stephen it also greatly 

 suffered. The Welsh disturbed the peace of the county with many 

 incursions during the reign of Henry IL, and in the Barons' War tba 

 inhabitants took the side of the barons. In the contest between tha 

 houses of York and Lancaster it likewise became the scene of warfiure ; 

 the result of the battle of Tewkesbury, fought at that time, is well 

 known. In the civil wars between the parliament and the crown 

 many struggles between the rival forces took place in diffei^ent parts 

 of this county. 



The principal Roman roads in the county are the Fosse-way, 

 Ermine-stree^ Ikenield-street, and the Via Julia. The Fosse-way 

 entera Gloucestershire at Leamington, proceeds through Moreton-in-the- 

 Marsh to Stow-on-the-Wold ; passes on to Northleach, leaving Bourton- 

 on-the-Water about half a mile to the east ; then crossing the Calne 

 at Fosse-bridge, it joins Ikenield-street about a mile north-east of 

 Cirencester, at which place it crosses Ermine-street, and after a few 

 miles passes iuto Wiltshire. Ermine-street enters the county at 

 Latton, near Crickla<le ; passee through Cirencester, over Birdlip Hill, 

 to Gloucester ; and thence proceeds through the western part of the 

 county into Monmouthshire. Ikenield-street crosses Oxfordshire, and 

 entering Gloucestershire at Eastleach proceeds to Cirencester, and then 

 to Aust — the Trajectus Augusta of the Romans. The Via Julia led 

 from Bath across the Severn into Monmouthshire, whence its course 

 was continued through Glamorganshire to Cacrniartheushira and St. 

 David's. There are several traces of Roman camps in this county. 

 One of these occurs a short distance from the Fosse-way, near the 

 village of Bourton-on-the- Water ; it is quadrangular, inclosing about 

 sixty acres, and on one side a paved aqueduct haa been found. 

 Numerous coins and other vestiges of the Romans have been dis- 

 covered on this spot. Among these was a curious gold signet weighing 

 nearly an ounce, having the representation of a Roman soldier, sitting 

 on a tripod, with a spear in bis left band and the Roman eagle at his 

 feet. In the parish of South Cemey, about three milea south from 

 Cirencester, at Sydney Park, at Sapperton, at Frampton, at Uley, at 

 Stanley, at Chedworth, at Combe-End, at Tetbury, and at various 

 places in the Forest of Dean, numerous traces of the Komau occupation 

 have been found in the shape of silver and brass coins, remains of 

 baths, foundations and walls of buildings, fortifications, encampments, 

 &c. Woodchester, a small village about two miles and a half south- 

 west of Stroud, is much celebrated for the number and beauty of the 

 Roman antiquities found there. A great tesselatod pavement was 

 discovered by the digging of graves in the churchyard of this village. 

 It appears to have been a square of 48 feet 10 inches, and in its general 

 design of much beauty. In 1795 and 1796 the ground-plot of a very 

 large Roman building was almost completely ascertained, extending 

 from the churcbyanl to an adjoining orchard and a fielil The 

 remains of two bypocausts were also discovered within a little dis- 

 tance of each other ; several frmgments of statuea, of red glazed pottery 

 and of glass, various pieces of stag's horns, and numerous coins have 

 been foimd amongst the ruins of the buildings. Very extensive and 

 -beautiful remains have also been found at Cihenobstkb. 



There are likewise many traces of British, Saxon, and Danish woriu 

 in this county. At Beaohley, a point of land formeid by the confluence 

 of the rivers Wye and Severn, extensive earth-works are still remain- 

 ing, probably of Britiah origin. OSa's dyke terminates here, and may 

 be clearly traced oroaaing the road at Buttington Tump, and also near 

 Brockweir. At WiUenley, near Chipping Campden, ia an ancient 

 camp, about sixty acres in area, inclosed by banks in good preservation. 

 Another ancient encampment ocoun at Graveaend, about three miles 

 nearly south of Thombury, and near it an immense tumulus ; at a 

 little distAnce is a small sqiuire camp, with a single ditch and vallum. 

 Ou the ridge of hills called Cleevedouds, about three milea nearly 

 north of Cheltenham, then an also many vestiges of military occupa- 

 tion; tha extremity of tha ridge is fortified by a deep vallum extending 

 800 yards in the form of a crescent, and inaccessible on every side but 

 the ftont. Near Little Sodbury is an ancient camp of a rectangular 

 form, 320 yards long and 200 yards broad. In a field adjoining Oat- 

 oomb Park, near Minchinbninptoii, is an extensive oval tuniuhis wliiuh 

 formerly had large erect stones at each end. On the summit stuu<ls 

 a large flragment of rock known for ages by the name of Tingle Stone, 

 In the common field near it are two large stones set upright in the 

 ground. In Pen Park, in the parish of Westbury, there is a remarkable 

 excavation called Pen Park Hole. It is supposed to be an exhausted 

 lead -mine. 



There are several fine old &mily seats in this county, some of which 

 an of very ancient date ; and there are also ruins of castles and abbeys. 

 The ruins of Sudeley Castle, situated about a mile aouth-south-cast of 

 Winchcombe, an grand rather than picturesque. It was built in the 



