Marshfield, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Marshfield, a small market-town and a parish in Gloucestershire. The town stands on a spur of the Cotswolds, 1 mile E of the boundary with Wiltshire, 2 N of the boundary with Somerset, 5 N by W of Box station on the G.W.R., and 8 NNE of Bath; consists chiefly of one street, nearly a mile in length; is governed by a bailiff; and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Chippenham, a police station, an endowed school, and almshouses. The church is of the 15th century; comprises nave, two aisles, and chancel, with porch and tower; and contains several tablets and monuments. The chancel retains some stone seats, erected by the Abbot of Tewkesbury in the reign of Edward IV. There are Baptist, Congregational, and Primitive Methodist chapels. Fairs are held on 24 May and 24 Oct., and malting and brewing are carried on. The parish contains also what once were the villages of Beeks and Weston Town, and the hamlets of Oakford and Ayford. Acreage, 5907; population, 1350. The manor belongs to the Horlock family. Ashwick House was the ancient seat of the Webb family, passed to the Hoilocks, and was rebuilt in 1857. Rocks House, or the Rocks, is a fine mansion on an eminence with extensive view, 3 miles SE of the town. Some Druidical stones are near Beeks. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £534 with residence. Patron, New College, Oxford.
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 | Marshfield St. Mary | |
Hundred | Thornbury | |
Poor Law union | Chipping-Sodbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register date from the year 1559, and is in excellent condition.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary, erected about 1470, is a large edifice of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of eight bays, aisles, south porch, and a western tower with open parapet and crocketed pinnacles, containing a clock and 8 bells: in the north, aisle there remain some square-headed Decorated windows: the chancel retains sedilia, and monuments to Thomas Feckenham, vicar, 1704; Alworth Merewether M.D. 1791; John Merewether, of Chippenham, 1792, and to the Rev. Lancelot Michell LL.B. 1779: in the north aisle are memorials to the Powell family, 1797-1846, and to John Gostlett, 1692, and Mary, his wife, 1698: in the south aisle are other monuments to Jane, wife of John Hodges, 1696; Mark Harward and Mary, his wife, 1679; the Rev. Thomas Willis, of Bletchley, 1789, and Catherine, his wife, 1823; Rev. Isaac William Webb Horlock, vicar of Box, Wilts, 1829, and Ann, his wife, 1849; Samuel Briscoe, 1694, and Hester, his wife, 1696: the church was restored in 1887 at a cost of £565, and affords sittings for 550 persons. In 1894 the churchyard was enlarged by about a quarter of an acre of land, acquired by public subscription, at cost of £175.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
Methodist
Primitive Methodist 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 Marshfield from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Marshfield (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Marshfield 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
Villages, Hamlets, &c
AyfordVisitations Heraldic
The Visitation of the county of Gloucester, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.