Barnwood, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Barnwood, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire, on the old Roman road, Ermine Street, 2 miles ESE of Gloucester, which is the post town. Acreage, 1411; population of the civil parish, 1462; of the ecclesiastical, 1243. Barnwood Court and the manor house are chief residences. Barnwood House is an hospital for the insane, intended for patients of the upper and middle classes. The new County Lunatic Asylum, situated here, was opened in 1885. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £215 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The church dates partly from the 12th century, and has a good Norman chancel arch and a Perpendicular font. In this parish were born Sir Edmund Sanders, Chief-Justice of the King's Bench in 1683, and Sir Charles Wheatstone, of telegraph fame, inventor of the stereoscope, harmonium, &c.
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 | Barnwood St. Lawrence | |
| Hundred | Dudstone and Kings Barton | |
| Poor Law union | Gloucester |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1651.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
Mission Church, Longleavens
The Mission Church in Longleavens, an outlying portion of Barnwood parish, has sittings for 200 persons.
St. Lawrence (parish church)
The church of St. Lawrence is a building of stone, partly of the 12th century, the tower being of a much more recent date, and consists of chancel with north aisle, nave of three bays, north aisle, north porch and an embattled western tower with pinnacles containing 6 bells: there are nine stained windows: the chancel arch is a fine example of Norman work: the font is Perpendicular: the church was restored in 1874 at a cost of £976, and affords 220 sittings.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Barnwood from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Barnwood (St. Lawrence))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Barnwood 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.