Tortworth, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Tortworth, a parish in Gloucestershire, 2 miles NNW of Charfield station on the M.R., and 3½ W of Wotton-under-Edge. It has a post office under Falfield (R.S.O.); money order and telegraph office, Falfield. Acreage, 1577; population, 216. The manor belonged to The Throckmorton family, and passed to the Ducie family. The Earl of Ducie is lord of the manor and sole landowner. Tortworth Court was erected in 1848-53, and is in the Tudor style. It stands in an extensive park, and a beautiful sheet of water extends in front of the house. A Roman camp is in the park, and Roman relics have been found. The Tortworth Chestnut is supposed to be the oldest tree in the kingdom, and was remarkable for its size in the reign of Stephen. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £314 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Ducie. The church, originally Perpendicular, was rebuilt in 1872, with the exception of the tower, by the Earl of Ducie. It contains an ancient font and monuments of the Throckmorton and Ducie families.
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 | Tortworth St. Leonard | |
| Hundred | Grumbalds-Ash | |
| Poor Law union | Thornbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Tortworth 1620-1812, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The register dates from the year 1619.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
St. Leonard (parish church)
The church of St. Leonard is a building of stone, in the Late Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, north porch and a fine embattled western tower with lofty pinnacles, containing 6 bells: at the east end of the south aisle are several modern monuments, in the Cinque-Cento style, belonging to the Throckmorton family, former lords of the manor; there is a fine font of early date: an organ was presented to the church by the Earl of Ducie in 1898: the church was entirely rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in the year 1875, by the Earl of Ducie, with stone obtained from a quarry on his estate, a small vestry being added: there are 230 sittings: the burial ground was enlarged by a piece of land given by the Earl of Ducie, and the church and grounds enclosed by a stone wall, at a total cost of about £5,000: in the churchyard is an arched stone recess with seat, surmounted by the Ducie arms, erected as a memorial to Julia, late Countess of Ducie, who died in 1895; there is also an ancient stone cross, restored by a former rector.
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 Tortworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Tortworth (St. Leonard))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Tortworth 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.