Rudford, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Rudford, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire, on the river Leadon, 4½ miles SE of Newent, and 4½ NW of Gloucester. There is a station, called Barber's Bridge, on the G.W.R. Post town, Gloucester. The parish includes also the hamlet of Highleadon, and comprises 1214 acres; population, 216. The manor belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. Fruit for making cider and perry is largely grown. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £220 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The church is mainly Early Norman, and has been restored.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Gloucestershire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Rudford St. Mary | |
Hundred | Botloe | |
Poor Law union | Newent |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1729.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary is a building of stone, in the Norman style, consisting of chancel, nave and an open turret on the western gable, containing one bell: there are several good circular-headed windows and the chancel arch and south doorway are much enriched: an old communion cloth dated 1616 is framed and hangs in the nave: there is also a fine damask cloth marked in needlework "Rudford, 1736": at the time of lowering the floor of the nave and restoring the chancel a number of human skeletons were found there, disposed promiscuously: the east window is stained: the organ was the gift of the late W. P. Price esq. M.P. of Tibberton Court (d. 1891): the nave was restored in 1869-70, at a cost of upwards of £200: there are 130 sittings.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Rudford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Rudford (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Rudford 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)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Gloucestershire online:
- Gloucester Citizen
- Gloucester Journal
- Gloucestershire Chronicle
- Gloucestershire Echo
- Cheltenham Chronicle
- Cheltenham Looker-On
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of the county of Gloucester, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.