Chalford, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Chalford, a tithing, a village, and an ecclesiastical parish in Bisley parish, Gloucestershire, on the river Chale and the Thames and Severn Canal, 1½ mile E by N of Brimscombe station on the G.W.R., and 3½ ESE of Stroud. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office under Stroud. The ecclesiastical parish was constituted in 1842; population, 2377. Much of the surface is a picturesque reach of valley, called Chalford Bottom. There was formerly a manufacture of broad cloth by the hand-loom, and the first clothing-mill is said to have been erected here. There is now a large manufactory of walking sticks and umbrella sticks, and also cloth, flock, and shoddy mills. There are traces of Roman encampments, and coins, &c., have been found. Friar Bacon is said to have been born at Chalford. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £120 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Gloucester. The church was built in 1724, and enlarged in 1841. There are Congregational, Baptist, Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodist chapels.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Gloucestershire | |
| Civil parish | Minchinhampton | |
| Hundred | Bisley | |
| Poor Law union | Stroud |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1841.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
Christ Church (parish church)
Christ Church, erected by the inhabitants in the year 1724, and repaired, enlarged and consecrated in 1841, is a plain building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a western tower, containing a clock and 6 bells, repaired and re-hung in 1908 at a cost of upwards of £65: in the chancel is a memorial to the Thomas family, with carved work by Mr. John Thomas, who executed the sculptures at the Houses of Parliament: in 1890 the interior was thoroughly restored and reseated, the chancel being refitted in oak, and a new roof constructed at a cost of £1,300: a memorial window has also been erected to Mr. Charles Ballinger: there are 350 sittings.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
The Baptist chapel, founded in 1740, had 500 sittings.
Brethren
Brethren meeting house
Methodist
Primitive Methodist Chapel
Wesleyan Chapel
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Chalford from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Chalford 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.