Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Charlton-Kings, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire, in the south-eastern environs of Cheltenham, nominally 2 miles distant; a portion of it is practically a suburb of that town, and is included in the parliamentary borough. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office (T.S.O.) under Cheltenham. Acreage, 3499; population, 4187. Charlton Park and the Oaklands are the principal residences, and there are many other good residences. The river Chelt runs through the parish. There are remains of a Roman encampment. The living of St Mary is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £140 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The church is partly Early English and Perpendicular, and was enlarged in 1877. It has a central embattled tower with pinnacles, and contains a piscina and some monuments. In the churchyard is a very fine 14th century cross. The ecclesiastical parish of Holy Apostles, Charlton-Kings, was constituted in 1885. Population, 1819. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £65. Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The church was erected in 1871, and is large with a richly decorated interior. There is a Wesleyan chapel. The parish is governed by a local board.
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 | Kings Charlton St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Cheltenham | |
| Poor Law union | Cheltenham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register of St. Mary dates from the year 1538.
The register of Holy Apostles dates from the year 1885.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
Holy Apostles
The church of the Holy Apostles, erected in the year 1871, at the expense of the late Charles Cook Higgs esq. of Langton House, in this parish, and consecrated June 2, 1885, is an edifice in the Geometrical Decorated style, from designs by Mr. John H. Middleton F.R.I.B.A. of Cheltenham, and consists of apsidal chancel with aisles, clerestoried nave, aisles, north and south porches and a turret containing one bell: the pulpit and the whole of the seats are of oak, the chancel stalls being carved; the reredos, of Caen stone, alabaster and marble, is divided into three compartments, the centre one being occupied by a carving of "The Last Supper ": the stained west window was the gift of Thomas Potter esq. of Eastcourt, Charlton Kings, and his family: and there are two memorial windows, erected in 1893, to C. Rogers esq. and his wife, by their children, and seven other stained windows: in 1892 the font was removed to the west end and the organ transferred to the chancel at a cost of about £350: an oak screen enclosing the choir vestry was erected in 1893 at a cost of about £170: the church will seat about 650 persons.
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, transepts, south porch and an embattled central tower, with pinnacles, containing a clock and 8 bells; in the south transept is a piscina, and in the chancel a brass to Samuel Cooper, d. 1743: there are memorials to the Prinn and Russell families from 1771 to 1888, and to John Pates, ob. 1646; in 1894 a memorial window was erected by his family to the Rev. James Frederick Secretan Gabb M.A. vicar here 1834-76: in 1901 a reredos of marble and alabaster was erected; it represents the Ascension of our Lord, with the Annunciation and Burial on either side, flanked by figures of the four Evangelists; the work was executed by Mr. W. H. Fry, sculptor, who resided in the parish: an organ has also been provided at a cost of £800: the church was enlarged and repaired in 1877 at a cost of £3,500, and in 1878 the chancel was rebuilt at the expense of the late Sir F. D. Dixon-Hartland bart. Mrs. Bold, Mrs. Banks and Mrs. Coulson: there are 500 sittings: in the churchyard are the remains of a 14th century cross, which was restored to its original form in 1912.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel, Church Street
Methodist
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Ryeworth
Reformed Wesleyan Chapel
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 Charlton Kings from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Charlton, Kings (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Charlton Kings 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.