Beachley, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Beachley, a hamlet and an ecclesiastical parish in Tydenham parish, Gloucestershire, at the influx of the river Wye to the Severn, 4 miles SE of Chepstow, under which there is a post office. Population of the parish, 112. Beachley Lodge is a fine seat. Here is the Aust ferry across the Severn, which was considered an important military pass in all times of war, and here was the termination of Offa's Dyke, which can still be traced. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £75. Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The church was erected in 1833. The remains of an ancient chapel, said to have been built in 47, are visible below high-water mark in the sea near the mouth of the Wye.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Gloucestershire | |
Civil parish | Tidenham | |
Hundred | Westbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The separate register dates only from the year 1836; all earlier entries are included in the registers of Tidenham.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. John (parish church)
The church of St. John, erected in 1833, is a plain cruciform edifice of Beachley stone, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts, and a western bell cot containing 1 bell: there are 120 sittings.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Beachley from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Beachley are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)