Barnsley, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Barnsley, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire, near the river Colne and the old Roman road, the Ickneild Way, 4 miles NE of Cirencester, with a post office under Cirencester, which is the telegraph office; money order office, Bibury. Acreage, 2163; population, 227. The manor was given by Edward III. to the Earl of Kent, from whom it descended to Joan, the wife of the Black Prince. It was granted again to the Bourchiers, and passed by marriage to the Perrot family, and thence to the Musgrave family, in whose possession it remains. Barnsley Park, the present seat, was built about 1730. It is in the Italian style, and contains some frescoes and antiques. The park is extensive. Freestone is quarried. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £205. The church is Transition Norman, and was restored in 1841. All the windows are filled with stained glass.
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 | Barnsley St. Mary | |
Hundred | Brightwells-Barrow | |
Poor Law union | Cirencester |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1574.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary the Virgin (parish church)
The church, said to have been dedicated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an ancient building of stone, the earliest parts of which are in the Transition Norman style; it was restored in 1841, and consists of chancel with vestry, nave, north aisle, north porch and a western tower containing 3 bells: all the windows are stained, the east window being a memorial to Mrs. Howman, wife of a former rector: in 1877 an organ chamber (the gift of the late rector) was added to the chancel, and an organ erected at a cost of £180, raised by subscriptions: there are 182 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Barnsley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Barnsley (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Barnsley 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.