Wickwar, Gloucestershire
Historical Description
Wickwar, a small town and a parish in Gloucestershire. The town is 4 miles N of Chipping Sodbury, and has a station on the Bristol and Birmingham section of the M.R., and a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.) It was formerly a borough by prescription, but the corporation was abolished in 1883. There are two extensive breweries and four malthouses. Markets were held on Mondays, and fairs on 6 April and the first Monday in Nov., but both are almost extinct. The parish comprises 2328 acres: population, 933. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belongs to the Earl of Ducie. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £384 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Ducie. The church is Early English, and was restored in 1881. There are Baptist and Congregational chapels, a literary institute, a police station, and an endowed grammar school, founded in 1684, and reconstituted in 1869.
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 | Wickwar Holy Trinity | |
| 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 Wickwar 1689-1812, Gloucestershire is available to browse online.
The parish register dates from the year 1689.
The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.
Churches
Church of England
Holy Trinity (parish church)
Holy Trinity church is an ancient building of stone, principally in the Perpendicular style with some remains of an earlier date, and consists of chancel, nave of four bays, north aisle, south porch and a lofty embattled western tower containing 6 bells, recast in 1908: a new organ was erected in 1889 by public subscription at a cost of £380: the communion plate dates from 1730: the church was renovated and refitted in 1829, at a cost of about £700, and thoroughly restored in 1881, at a cost of £2,228, under the superintendence of Mr. W. L. Bernard, architect, of Bristol, and now affords 400 sittings.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
The Baptist chapel, built in 1863, had seating for 200 persons.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
The Congregational chapel, built in 1817, had 130 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 Wickwar from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Wickwar (Holy Trinity))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Wickwar 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.