Great Badminton, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Badminton or Great Badminton, a village, a parish, and a ducal seat in Gloucestershire. The village stands under the Cotswolds, on the SE verge of the county, 5 miles E by N of Chipping-Sodbury, and 7 E of Yate station on the M.R. It has a post office (S.O. Gloucestershire), a reading-room, and six almshouses. The parish comprises 1794 acres; population of the civil parish, 520; of the ecclesiastical, 625. The property all belongs to the Duke of Beaufort, and most of it is included in his park. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; value, £150. Patron, the Duke of Beaufort. The ancient church belonged to the abbey of Pershore, and the present one was built in 1785. It adjoins the mansion, and is in the Classic style. The chancel contains monuments by Rystrach of former dukes, and one of the first Duke, transferred from the Beaufort Chapel at Windsor Castle; it has been enlarged and choir stalls added. The font is marble. There is a painting by Ghezzi, and a cartoon by Raphael in the Beaufort Tribune, or gallery overlooking the aisle. Field-Marshal Lord Raglan, who died during the siege of Sebastopol, was buried here. The park is about 3 miles long, nearly 2 miles wide, and upwards of 9 miles in circuit, and contains some very fine woods and beautiful drives. Two celebrated oaks, the Fitzherbert and the Duchess, are among the largest trees in England, and there are large herds of red and fallow deer. The mansion was erected in 1682, by the first Duke of Beaufort, and succeeded Raglan Castle, in Monmouthshire, as the principal seat of his family. The edifice is very extensive; consists of centre and wings; is in the Palladian style, with rusticated basement and two surmounting cupolas; and contains many family portraits, downward from John of Gaunt, some rare and curious pictures by the Italian masters, and the remarkable satirical picture by Salvator Rosa which occasioned that artist's expulsion from Rome.
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 | Badminton St. Michael | |
Hundred | Grumbalds-Ash | |
Poor Law union | Chipping |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Great Badminton 1538-1812, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The register dates from the year 1538.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The church of St. Michael, a modern building of stone in the Classic style, consecrated in 1785, consists of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles and a western tower with pinnacles, containing 3 bells: it has a highly enriched ceiling and handsome monuments to former dukes and other members of the Beaufort family: in July, 1855, Field-Marshal Lord Raglan, who died in the Crimea, June 28, 1855, during the siege of Sebastopol, was buried here: the chancel was added in 1875, at a cost of £1,750, and a fine marble monument to Henry, 1st Duke of Beaufort, who died January 21, 1699, has been transferred here from the Beaufort chapel at Windsor Castle, where it was originally placed: the font is of beautifully veined marble. The church was restored in 1908 at a cost of over £3,000, and affords 360 sittings.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Great Badminton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Badminton, Great (St. Michael))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
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.