Didbrook, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Didbrook, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire. The village lies under the Cotswolds, near the river Isborne, 3 miles NE of Winchcomb, and 6¼ SE of Beckford station on the Evesham and Ashchurch branch of the M.R. The parish includes also the hamlets of Coscomb and Wormington Grange. Acreage, 536; population of the civil parish, 141; of the ecclesiastical, 298. Post town, Winchcomb (R.S.O.) Wormington Grange, the seat of the Gist family, is a fine mansion surrounded by extensive grounds. The living is a vicarage, united with the rectory of Pinnock-cum-Hyde and the chapelry of Hailes, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £203 with residence. The church was built in 1475, has a pinnacled square tower, and contains the tomb of the founder, the last Abbot of Hailes.
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 | Didbrook St. George | |
| Hundred | Kiftsgate | |
| Poor Law union | Winchcomb |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register, including Pinnock and Hailes, dates from the year 1556.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. George (parish church)
The church of St. George, built by William of Whitchurch, last abbot of Hailes, 1475, is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, west porch and an embattled western tower with pinnacles, originally containing 5 bells: in 1911 the old bells were re-cast and a new one added: the founder's tomb, a stone coffin, with very beautiful cross, chalice and missal carved thereon, is in the north wall of the church: the stone font was made and given by the late Mr. William Edwards, churchwarden, in 1858: the east window is filled with old glass collected by the Rev. H. B. Pruen M.A. curate in charge here, 1851-73: there are 150 sittings.
Methodist
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 Didbrook from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Didbrook (St. George))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Didbrook 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.