Painswick Area Genealogy

Notes on Painswick and surrounding villages which will hopefully assist family historians in adding depth to the basic births, baptism, marriage and death records of their ancestors. The notes are taken from odd fragments of information gleaned over the years, and have no specific format.   Much of the information is second or even third hand, and should therefore be checked against the original record. Information is added regularly.

Notes on errors and omissions, or additional information always welcomed.

Select area from the index below or scroll down the page

Edge;  Painswick; Sheepscombe; Slad

Edge

Situated at the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, on the Gloucester to Stroud road, about 6 miles from Gloucester. Commonly referred to as "The Edge".

St. John the Baptist Church, The Edge. Dated 1873.
Memorial Inscriptions from three windows inside the church, taken in 1879.(Source- GNQ).
1866. April 18. WILTON, Charlotte Maria. [Situated above Altar]
1877. April 19. WILTON, Robert [Esqr.]. Aged 79. [Situated at rear]
1866. July 7.     WILTON, Robert Pleydell [Esqr.]
Further window, added later:-
1878. August 30. WILTON, Frederici. Aged 41.
For further information on the WILTON family please contact Marg. Email :-
muntzmj@gmail.com

From GNQ, relating to 1881. A well-situated cemetery, less than a mile distant from the church [Painswick], and especially intended for the tithings of Edge and Spoonbed, in the parish of Painswick, has been opened within the last few years. Amongst those interred:
7 September 1873.  BETTS, Rev. John
9 December 1864.  COLEBROOKE, Lieut.-Col. Thomas Elliot
23 August 1878.     DICKINSON, Sebastion Stewart, Esq., J.P., D.L.
22 August 1874.     DOBELL, Sydney, Esq
7 June 1872.           FARDELL, Charles, Esq. J.P., D.L.
28 October 1872.   HENNESEY, Major. Gen. John
10 March 1877.      HYETT, William Henry, Esq., J.P., D.L.
30 October 1868.   RAMSAY, Major-Gen. John Stardon

Congregational Chapel. Built 1856, disused 1986.

Painswick

Originally called Wycke or Wykeham.The name changed to Wyke Pagani around 1150.
Domesday book records 66 male inhabitants.
The Painswick wool trade was first mentioned in the mid 15th Century.

During the civil war, King Charles stayed at Painswick on the night of 9 August 1643, en route to Gloucester to commence a siege of the city. On 5 September 1643, the King, and his army stayed overnight at Painswick, having left Gloucester when news reached him that an army led by Lord Essex was near Cheltenham. The King's men passed a miserable night at British Camp, Painswick Hill, the weather being stormy with heavy rain.

Population 1495  118 families 1700 186 families
1801 = 3,150 1811 = 3,201 1821 = 4,044 1831 = 4,009 1841 = 3,734
1851 = 3,460 1861 = 3,229 1871 = 4,019 1881 = 4,040 1891 = 4,134
Note: Parish boundary changed 1901 = 2,587 1911 = 2,638 1921 = 2,488
1931 = 2,542 1941 No census 1951 = 2,757 1961 = 2,844 1971 = 2,785

St. Mary's Church. Renowned for its churchyard, with its 99 yew trees, most of which are approximately 200 years old. The oldest part of the church, St. Peter's chapel, dates from 1377. The North aisle was added later, and the Nave and Tower built towards the end of the 15th century. The spire was added in 1632. In 1644, during the civil war, the church was occupied by the Parliamentarians, and severe fighting broke out when the Royalists advanced against Painswick. The church was damaged by fire, and the outer walls are still marked with bullet and cannon holes.
The church has twice been struck by lightning. The first, on 25 March 1765 when the belfry door was struck, knocked a few stones out of place and made the bells sound. The second occasion was more serious. On Sunday 10 June 1883, at 5.08 pm. the church spire was struck by lightning, and 30 to 40 feet of the upper part of the spire was brought down. On Separate Page:-
St. Mary's Church, Painswick. Memorial Inscriptions 1879.

Baptist Chapel, New St. Built 1806 by Wesleyan Methodists. Sold to Baptist 1831.See Sheepscombe.

Chapel of Our Lady and St. Teresa. Situated in Friday street, this chapel opened for Roman Catholic worship on 4 August 1934. On 15 June 1941 it was almost completely destroyed by a German bomb.

Friends Meeting House, Vicarage St. Built 1705/6, refurbished 1793/4, closed 1894. Re-opened in 1952. The burial ground, to the north of Dell Farm, has been in use since 1658 and contains LOVEDAY inscriptions.

Ebenezer Chapel, former Primitive Methodist, Bisley St. Built 1854.

United Reform Church, Gloucester St. Built as a Congregational chapel in 1803, extensively altered in 1892 and renamed "The Cornelius Winter Memorial Chapel". Monuments:-
William COX, clothier, 1866, and his wife Henrietta (WANE), 1849.
William FOWLES, 1832, his widow Elizabeth, 1848, and their daughter Eliza, 1830.
John HAYNES, surgeon, 1856, and his widow Harriet (WANE).
Elizabeth SHEPHERD, 1805.
Sarah THOMAS, 1839, and her son Joseph BEAVINS, 1861.
Martha TYLER, 1818.
William WEST, 1792
Rev. Cornelius WINTER, 1808, and his widow Miriam, 1817.

Sheepscombe

St. John Church. Completed as a chapel of ease to Painswick in 1820. Additional work in 1872. Memorial Inscriptions from inside the church, on three tablets and window, taken in 1879.(Source- GNQ).
1870. [No date]. GIBBONS, Revd. George, M.A., Incumbent.
1870. [No date]. NEVILLE, Revd S. C. E., Incumbent.
1870. [No date]. OSTREHAM, Revd. J.D., M.A., Incumbent
1856. Jan 21.      STRONG, Revd. Robert, M.A., Vicar of Painswick.

Primitive Methodist's Chapel, Jack's Green. Built by Baptists 1820, sold to Primitive Methodists 1831. See Baptists Chapel, Painswick.

Slad

Holy Trinity Church. Building commenced 1831, opened 14 October 1834 as a chapel of ease to Painswick. Restored by Benjamin Bucknall about 1869.
Memorial Inscriptions from the church window, taken in 1879.(Source- GNQ).
HASTINGS, Charles Anthony, 11 June 1847
HASTINGS, Kathleen Agnes, 27 Sept. 1867
HASTINGS, Mary Isabella, 21 Aug. 1857

Further Information.

Gloucestershire Notes and Queries. Volume 1. Edited by the Rev. Beaver H. Blacker, M.A., and published in 1881.
Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-Houses, Gloucestershire. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England. 1986.ISBN 0 11 300008 1
Glimpses of the History of Painswick. By F.A. Hyett. 1928. Reprinted by British Publishing Co. Ltd. 1957.
Painswick: Time Chart of A Cotswold Village.By Carl Moreland F.R.G.S, Published by Carl Moreland in association with the Painswick Local History Society. 1996. ISBN 0 9528214 0 0 (paperback). 0 9528214 1 9 (Hardback).

Parish Records. Gloucestershire Records Office.