Horton, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Horton, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire. The village stands among the Cotswolds, 3½ miles NE of Chipping Sodbury, and 5 ENE of Yate station, at the junction of the Yate and Thornbury branch with the Bristol and Birmingham section of the M.R. It has a post office under Chipping Sodbury; money order and telegraph office, Chipping Sodbury. The parish comprises 3582 acres; population, 342. There are remains of a Roman outwork, now called the "Castle" (probably a corruption of castrum). The manor belonged once to the Pastons, and part of the old manor house still stands. Parts of the Cotswolds here command fine views. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £440 with residence. The church is Early English, was restored in 1865, and contains tombs of the Pastons and several old monuments.
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 | Horton St. James | |
| Hundred | Grumbalds-Ash | |
| Poor Law union | Chipping-Sodbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Horton 1567-1812, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The register dates from the year 1567.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. James (parish church)
The church of St. James is an ancient building of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, north aisle, south porch ornamented with emblematic figures and an embattled western tower with pinnacles, containing 4 bells: there are monuments to John Paston 1737, and Frances (Tichborne), and Anne (Calvert), his wives; William Paston 1769, and Mary (Courtenay), 1747, and Mary (Chichester), his wives: William Paston 1673, Mary (Lawson), his wife, and others of the family; and the Hon. Anne Paston 1731: the church was restored in 1865 at the cost of Mrs. E. Fayle, the rector and parishioners: a new organ was installed in 1912: there are 300 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 Horton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Horton (St. James))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Horton 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.