Batsford, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Batsford, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire, near the Fosse Way, 2 miles NW of Moreton-in-the-Marsh, which is the post town. Acreage, 972; population, 112; of the ecclesiastical district, 1558. Batsford Park is the seat of the Mitford family, who are lords of the manor. The mansion is situated on an elevation, amid a well-wooded park of 130 acres. The living is a rectory, with the chapelry of Moreton-in-the-Marsh annexed, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £433 with residence. The church was rebuilt in 1862, and contains a monument in black and white marble to the Hon. Miss Mitford.
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 | Batsford St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Kiftsgate | |
| Poor Law union | Shipston-upon-Stour |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Batsford 1565-1812, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The register dates from the year 1562.
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, rebuilt in 1861-2 by the Hon. Miss F. E. Mitford, under the direction of Mr. Poulton, architect, of Reading, is an edifice of stone, in the Later Norman style, consisting of apsidal chancel, nave and a tower at the south-west angle, with spire and containing one bell: on the floor of the chancel is a beautiful monument in black and white marble to the Hon. Miss Frances Elizabeth Mitford (sister of the last baron and only Earl of Redesdale), who died 7th Nov. 1865, and in other parts of the interior are tablets to the 1st Baron Redesdale, who died 16th January, 1830, and Lady Frances (Percival), his wife, who died 22nd August, 1817; there is also a fine memorial tablet by the late Sir E. J. Boehm bart. R.A. to John Thomas, Earl of Redesdale D.C.L., F.S.A. d. 2 May, 1886; and others to Dr. Burton, prebendary of Durham, a former rector, and to members of the Freeman family, formerly proprietors of the parish; and four stained windows: the church affords sittings for 300 persons.
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 Batsford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Batsford (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Batsford 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.