Dorstone, Herefordshire Family History Guide

Dorstone is an Ancient Parish in the county of Herefordshire.

Other places in the parish include: Lower Dorstone, Vowmine, and Upper Dorstone.

Status: Ancient Parish

Parish church: St. Peter

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1733
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1662

Nonconformists include: Primitive Methodist

Parishes adjacent to Dorstone

Historical Descriptions of Dorstone

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

DORSTONE, a village, two townships, and a parish in the district of Hay and county of Hereford. The village stands on the river Dore, near the Hereford and Brecon railway, 5½ miles E of Hay; and has fairs on 27 April, 18 May, 27 Sep., and 18 Nov. The townships are Upper and Lower Dorstone; and lie around the village. The parish includes also part of the township of Vowmine. Post town, Bredwardine, under Hereford. Acres, 5,385. Real property, £4,354. Pop., 547. Houses, 120. The property is divided among a few. A castle stood anciently at the village, and another at Snodhill. A stone column, thought by some to be Druidical, crowns a hill near the village, and is seen at a considerable distance. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £446. Patron, the Rev. T. Powell. The church is old and good; and was originally Norman. Charities, £81.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

DORSTONE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Hay, hundred of Webtree, county of Hereford, 8 miles (E. by S.) from Hay; containing 539 inhabitants, and comprising 3787 acres, of which 550 are common or waste. Fairs for horned-cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs, are held on April 27th, May 18th, Sept. 27th, and November 18th. The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with the greater portion of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king’s books at £7. 11. 10.; patron, the Rev. Thomas Prosser. The great tithes have been commuted for £120. 10., and the vicarial for £402. 10.; the glebe contains 26 acres, with a glebe-house. The Rev. Meredith Maddy, in 1643, bequeathed certain rent-charges, producing in the aggregate £63 per annum, for the support of a school, which is open to children of the parishes of Dorstone, Clifford, and Michael-Church. A castle formerly stood within the parish, at Snowdhill; some remains are still visible.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

Parish Records

FamilySearch – Birth Marriage & Death Census Migration & Naturalization Military Probate & Court

Church records

Bishop’s transcripts for Dorstone, 1662-1848

Parish registers for Dorstone, 1731-1989

Church records – Indexes

Computer printout of Dorstone, Herefs., Eng

Cemeteries

Brobury, Clehonger, Clodock, and Dorstone (Abbeydore Deanery), monumental inscriptions, 1661-1989

Census

Census returns for Dorstone, 1841-1891

Taxation

Land tax assessments for the parish of Dorstone, 1777-1836

Directories

The Post Office Directory Of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and The City Of Bristol 1863

Maps

Administration

County: Herefordshire
Civil Registration District: Hay
Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)
Diocese: Hereford
Rural Deanery: Weobley
Poor Law Union: Hay
Hundred: Webtree
Province: Canterbury