Poulton, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Poulton, a village and a parish in Gloucestershire. The village stands 3½ miles W of Fairford, and 5½ ESE of Cirencester, and has a post and telegraph office under Fairford (S.O.); money order office, Fairford. The parish comprises 1600 acres; population, 406. There is a parish council of five members and a chairman. A Gilbertine priory, a cell to Sempringham Abbey, was founded here about 1347 by Thomas Seymour. Stone and slate quarries are in the neighbourhood. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £68 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The old church was pulled down in 1875, and a new church in the Early English style was erected.
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 | Poulton St. Michael | |
| Hundred | Crowthorne and Minety | |
| Poor Law union | Cirencester |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register of marriages dates from the year 1703; baptisms, 1695; burials, 1695.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The new church of St. Michael, erected in the village partly with materials from the old church, at a cost of £2,239, is a building of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch, vestry, and a western turret containing 3 bells: there are sittings for 290 persons.
St. Michael (old) (parish church)
The old church of St. Michael stood about half a mile from the village, but in consequence of its dilapidated condition it was pulled down in 1873, and a new church erected in the village (partly with the old materials), at a cost of £2,239.
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 Poulton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Poulton (St. Michael))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Poulton 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
Parochial History
The parish was formerly in Wiltshire, but was annexed to the county of Gloucester by the Acts 2 and 3 William IV. cap. 64, and 7 and 8 Vict. cap. 61.
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of the county of Gloucester, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.