Compton Abdale, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Compton-Abdale, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire, on the river Colne, 4 miles WNW of Northleach, and 3 E of Andoversford station on the Banbury and Cheltenham branch of the G.W.R., with a post office (R.S.O.); money order and telegraph office, Andoversford. Acreage, 2188; population of the civil parish, 199; of the ecclesiastical, 213. Part of the surface is heath. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value; £154. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The church is ancient, and was restored in 1883.
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 | Compton-Abdale St. Oswald | |
| Hundred | Bradley | |
| Poor Law union | Northleach |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1722.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Oswald (parish church)
The church of St. Oswald is an ancient building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave of six bays, north aisle, north porch and an embattled western tower with lofty pinnacles, containing 6 bells, re-cast in 1880: during 1881-3 the chancel was restored by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners at a cost of £200, and in 1904-5 the whole fabric was thoroughly renovated and improved by the Earl of Eldon and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the chancel and choir were enlarged and reseated, a new pulpit in carved oak, an altar table, altar rails, six clergy seats and a vestry were added; the restoration was carried out under the superintendence of Mr. F. W. Waller, architect, of Gloucester: there are 120 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 Compton Abdale from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Compton-Abdale (St. Oswald))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Compton Abdale 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.