Fretherne Gloucestershire Family History Guide
Fretherne is an Ancient Parish in the county of Gloucestershire.
Parish church: St Mary
Parish registers begin: 1631
Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
FRETHERNE, a parish in Wheatenhurst district, Gloucester; on the Berkeley ship canal, and on the river Severn, 3¼ miles ESE of Newnham r. station, and 7½ WNW of Stroud. Post town, Whitminster, under Stone-house. Acres, 930; of which 365 are water. Pop., 237. Houses, 53. The manor was known to the Saxons as Fethanieag. Fretherne Lodge belonged to the Cliffords, and passed to the Whiteleys. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £282. Patron, Sir W. L. Darell, Bart. The church is modern; and there are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and charities £95.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Fretherne, 10m. S.W. Gloucester. P. 242
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
FRETHERNE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Wheatenhurst, Upper division of the hundred of Whitstone, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 8 miles (N. N. W.) from Dursley; containing 242 inhabitants. This is supposed to be the place called in the Saxon Chronicle Fethanleage, where Ceawlin, King of Wessex, obtained a victory over the Britons in 584.
The parish is situated on the road to Newnham passage, and on the river Severn, and comprises about 500 acres: the scenery is beautifully varied, and in many points strikingly romantic; the banks of the Severn are here precipitously steep, and Fretherne cliff rises to a height of 60 feet above the level of the river. Fretherne Lodge was the birthplace of the celebrated Rosamond Clifford, usually named Fair Rosamond. An act was obtained in 1839 for inclosing lands. The Berkeley and Gloucester canal passes through the parish.
The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king’s books at £5. 6. 8.; patron, Sir E. Tierney, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £148. 14., and the glebe comprises 20 acres. The church has been just rebuilt. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1831
FRETHERNE, a parish in the upper division of the hundred of WHITSTONE, county of GLOUCESTER, 9½ miles (W. N. W.) from Stroud, containing 210 inhabitants.
The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Gloucester, rated in the king‘s books at £5. 6. 8. The Rev. J. H. Dunsford was patron in 1824. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. This is supposed to be the place called in the Saxon Chronicle Fethanteage, where Ceawlin, King of Wessex, obtained a victory over the Britons in 584. Fretherne cliff rises sixty feet above the surface of the Severn, on the bank of which it is situated. The Clifford family had anciently a castle in this parish.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1831
Bankrupts
Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.
Porter John; and Nicholas Neale Clark; Framilode mills, near Frampton, Gloucestershire, edge tool makers. Feb. 10, 1829.
Poll Books
Fretherne Poll Book 1834 – Google Books
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
Kellys Gloucestershire Directory 1863
FRETHERNE is a parish, 5 miles north west from Frocester station, 6 from Stonehouse, 9 from Gloucester market and polling place, 3 from Whitminster union and petty sessions, in Gloucester county court district, rural deanery and archdeaconry, Whitstone hundred, Wheatenhurst union, East Gloucestershire, and Gloucester and Bristol bishopric. It is situated on the river Severn, Gloucester and Berkeley canal, and Stroud canal.
Parish Clerk, Edward P Trotman
Clifford Rev. Edmund B.A. curate, Rectory
Darell The Rev. Sir William Lionel, bart. M.A., Fretherne court
Jones Samuel, esq. Fretherne lodge
Ayliffe James farmer
Ayliffe Ruth Miss dressmaker
Clutterbuck Thomas farmer Lodge farm
Critchley John boot & shoe maker
French Anne Mrs shopkeeper
Longney John boot & shoe maker
Pilkington James beer retailer
Rowles Samuel boot & shoe maker
Rowles Thomas boot & shoe maker
White Thomas farmer
Williams Mary Ann Mrs grocer & bakr
Post Office – Edward Pearce Trotman, sub postmaster. Letters arrive from Stonehouse at 10 am; dispatched 3.40 pm. The nearest money order office is at Frampton on Severn.
National School, Mrs Elizabeth Burrows mistress.
WATER CONVEYANCE – Pilkington, to Gloucester, monday, wednesday & saturday
Source: Post Office Directory of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and the City of Bristol, Printed and Published by Kelly and Co., Old Boswell Court, St. Clement’s, Strand, London. 1863.
Administration
- County: Gloucestershire
- Civil Registration District: Wheatenhurst
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Pre 1836 – Gloucester, Post 1835 – Gloucester and Bristol
- Rural Deanery: Gloucester
- Poor Law Union: Wheatenhurst
- Hundred: Whitstone (Gloucestershire)
- Province: Canterbury