Cinderford, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Cinderford, a town and two ecclesiastical parishes in East Dean township, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. The town is 3½ miles WNW of Newnham, and has a station on the Severn and Wye, Severn Bridge, and Monmouth railway, and a goods station on the G.W.R., a post, money order, and telegraph office under Newnham, and a town-hall. There are extensive iron-works. The ecclesiastical parish of St John the Evangelist, Cinderford, was constituted in 1844, and comprises Bilson, Ruspidge, Sewdley, and part of Viney Hill. Population, 3002. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church was built in 1843. The ecclesiastical parish of St Stephen's, Woodside, was constituted in 1880, and comprises Bilson Woodside, Binder's Lane, and Dockham. Population, 4454. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £250. Patron, the Church Patronage Society. The church was erected in 1893. There are Congregational, Baptist, Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, and Bible Christian chapels, and a place of worship for the Plymouth Brethren.
Church Records
The registers of St. John the Evangelist date from the year 1843.
The register of St. Stephens for baptisms dates from 1880, and of marriages from 1890.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. John the Evangelist
The church of St. John the Evangelist, erected in 1843, from designs by Mr. Edward Blare, architect, of London, is a cruciform building of stone in the Gothic style, consisting of apsidal chancel, nave, transepts and a tower with spire containing one bell: there are sittings for 500 persons.
St. Michael and All Angels, Soudley
The church of St. Michael and All Angels, Soudley, erected in 1910 at the cost of £1,000, is a building of stone in the Gothic style: the east window is stained: there are 200 sittings. The church is served by the clergy of St. John's.
St. Stephen, Woodside
The church of St. Stephen, Woodside, erected in 1889-90, at a cost of about £6,000, from designs by Mr. Lingen Barker, architect, of Hereford, is a building of stone, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of four bays, and aisles: the chancel and stained east window were the gift of Lady Crawley-Boevey, of Flaxley Abbey: there are 600 sittings.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
The Baptist chapel, erected in 1843, has 1,000 sittings.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
Methodist
Primitive Methodist Chapel
United Methodist Chapel
Wesleyan Chapel
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Cinderford 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.