Beverstone, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Beverstone, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire. The village stands 1½ mile WNW of Tetbury on the G.W.R., and 4½ miles from Nailsworth station on the M.R. Post town, Tetbury. The parish comprises 2150 acres; population, 168. A castle erected here in the time of Edward III, by Thomas, Lord Berkeley, was repeatedly besieged and finally taken and burned in the Parliamentary wars, and is now in ruins. The castle was square with four towers, one at each corner, and was surrounded by a moat. The gateway and the west side of the castle remain, and the SW tower contains two chapels. The castle is now used as a farmhouse. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, net value, £365 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church is a small ancient edifice consisting of nave, chancel, south porch, and western tower, and has a stone pulpit.
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 | Beverstone St. Mary | |
Hundred | Berkeley | |
Poor Law union | Tetbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Beverston 1563-1836, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The register of baptisms and burials dates from the year 1565; marriages, 1539.
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 small building of stone in the Saxon, Norman and later styles, consisting of chancel and nave, north transept or Berkeley chapel, south porch and a western tower containing 2 bells: on the tower is a bas-relief of Our Lord holding a banner: there are 180 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 Beverstone from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Beverstone (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
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.