Frocester, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Frocester, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire. The village lies 2 miles SW of Stonehonse, and 5 miles W by S of Stroud, and has a station on the M.R., and a post office under Stonehonse; money order office, Leonard Stanley; telegraph offices, Frocester station and Eastington. The parish comprises 1870 acres; population, 247. The manor belonged formerly to the Huntleys. The original manor house, Frocester Court, was built in the reign of Philip and Mary, figures of whom are carved in the ancient panelling in the hall. Queen Elizabeth visited George Huntley, Esq., there on St Lawrence's day, 1574. A house on the same site had formerly been the residence of the abbots of Gloucester, one of whom, John de Gamages, built the ancient tithe barn between 1284 and 1306, which is 210 feet long and still entire. The village is flanked on the S by Frocester Hill, Coaley Pike, and Cam Down-the latter of volcanic origin. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; tithe rent charge, £261 with residence. The church of St Peter was rebuilt in 1852 on an ancient site; ifc is used on Sunday mornings, the other services being held in St Andrew's chapel, situated near the people.
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 | Frocester St. Peter | |
Hundred | Whitstone | |
Poor Law union | Wheatenhurst |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Frocester 1559-1837, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The register of baptisms and marriages dates from the year 1559; burials, 1570; it also contains a record of the visit of Queen Elizabeth in 1574, when she stayed at Frocester Court on her way to Berkeley Castle.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Andrew's Chapel of Ease
St. Andrew's chapel of ease, which anciently formed part of the buildings of Frocester Court, was removed to its present site between 1676 and 1691 by the gift of Anne, Dowager Baroness Brooke. The oak ceiling has the initials "E. W." on the cornice and the date "1637," when the chapel was restored by Sir Robert Ducie, Lord Mayor of London; it was partly restored in 1891, and the chancel in 1896, and the whole was again restored in 1897, including the re-building of the nave walls: it now consists of chancel, nave and a small bell gable over the chancel arch containing one bell, bearing the inscription "Come away, make no delay, 1719"; there are sittings for 126 persons.
St. Peter (parish church)
The church of St. Peter, situated one mile from the village, is a building of stone in the Gothic style of the 15th century, consisting of chancel, nave of five bays, north aisle, north chapel, south porch and a tower on the north side with spire and containing 6 bells, two of which were re-cast and the peal re-hung in 1892: by the side of the porch lies an ancient stone coffin, the lid of which, inlaid with a cross, is built into the tower at the head of the staircase: the stained east window, erected in 1891, represents the "Crucifixion": the church was restored between 1849 and 1852, and has 400 sittings: a lych-gate of carved oak was erected in 1899 as a memorial to John Altham Graham-Clarke esq, who died in 1897.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Frocester from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Frocester (St. Peter))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Frocester 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.