Beckford Gloucestershire Family History Guide

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Beckford an Ancient Parish situated in the county of Gloucestershire. Beckford was transferred to Worcestershire in 1931 and is part of Wychavon district. Ashton under Hill is a chapelry of Beckford. Beckford with Ashton under Hill is the usual ecclesiastical name.

Other places in the parish include: Bangrove, Didcote or Didcot, and Grafton.

Parish church: St John the Baptist

Parish registers begin: 1538

Nonconformists include: Roman Catholic

Adjacent Parishes

Beckford Parish Registers

Baptism, Marriage and Burial Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of baptism, marriage, and burial records.

Beckford, Gloucestershire Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1600-1812

Beckford, Worcestershire Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1812-1922

Beckford, Gloucestershire Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1913

Marriage and Banns Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of marriages and banns records.

Beckford, Gloucestershire Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1814-1868

Death and Burial Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of deaths and burial records.

Beckford, Worcestershire Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1997

Beckford, Gloucestershire Church of England Burials, 1813-1868

Parish Records

An index of parish records of people from Beckford. The index includes information from Gloucestershire Marriage Allegations 1681-1700.

Beckford School Records

The National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870–1914 collection offers a rare glimpse into the educational journeys of children across England and Wales during a transformative era. These records often capture names, dates of birth, parental occupations, and school attendance patterns – making them invaluable for family historians, local researchers, and anyone tracing Victorian or Edwardian ancestry. You can view them free with a Findmypast Trial.

Beckford Church Of England School 1876-1914 Admissions

Marriage Licences and Allegations

The following have been extracted from Gloucestershire Marriage Allegations 1681-1700.

1692 Sept. 17 William White, Beckford, 30, and Abigail Singleton, Beckford, 20. “Qr. de Incontinen’.”

1691/2 Jan. 2 Isaacu’ Baisant, Beckford, and Eliz’am Wade, Beckford.

1693 Apr. 17 Benjamin Baylis, Beckford, 24, and Alice Haynes, Aishchurch, 21.

1694 June 29 William Taylor, Beckford, 23, and Mary Rose, Elmington, Warwicks., 21.

1694 Sept. 22 Thomas Cole, Tewxbury, 30, and Alice Badger, Beckford, 26: Bdm. Phillipp x Hayward, Tewxbury.

1697 Apr. 9 John Doxley, Beckford, 25, and Mary Pynder, Beckford, 24.

1699 July 27 Robert x Sanders, Beckford, 35, and Jane Powell, Borton on ye Hill, 26.

1699 Oct. 20 John x Smith, Beckford, 28, and Ann Sanders, Beckford, 21.

1699 Dec. 8 John Hale, Beckford, 24, and Joane Dark, Overbury, Worcs., 25.

1700 Apr. 2 John x Pendry, Beckford, 31, and Ann Owen, Oxenton, 30.

1700 Apr. 20 John Pearce, Beckford, 34, W., and Hester Shingleton, Beckford, 30.

Beckford Strays

Richard New, of Beckford, & Elizabeth Coles, 27 Nov. 1793 – married at Alstone

John Wells, of Beckford, & Mary New, 4 Oct. 1796 – married at Alstone

William Cook, of Beckford, & Sarah Pain, 22 Dec. 1803 – married at Alstone

Beckford Historical Directory Transcriptions

Beckford Kellys Gloucestershire Directory 1863

Beckford Kellys Gloucestershire Directory 1856

Parish History

Beckford

Beckford The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

Beckford, a village and a parish in Winchcomb district, Gloucester. The village stands near the Ashchurch and Evesham railway, 7 miles SW of Evesham; and has a r. station, and a post office under Tewkesbury.

The parish includes also the hamlets of Bangrove, Didcote, and Grafton. Acres, 2,650. Real property, £2,454. Pop., 473. Houses, 103. The property is divided among a few. Beckford Hall is the seat of Hattil Foll, Esq. The manor was given, in the time of Henry I., to the Abbey of St. Martin in Normandy; and passed, after the suppression, first to Eton college, next to Fotheringhay, next to Sir Richard Lee.

The living is a vicarage, united to the p. curacy of Ashton-under-Hill, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £317. Patron, the Rev. Dr. Timbrill. The church is Norman, was recently restored, and has a lofty tower, crowned with pinnacles. Charities, £47.

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

Beckford The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1851

Beckford, a parish in the hund. of Tibaldstone, union of Winchcomb, county of Gloucester; 5½ miles east-north-east of Tewkesbury, in the neighbourhood of the Cheltenham and Great Western union railway.

Living, a vicarage in the archd. and dio. of Gloucester, valued at £16 16s. 10d.; united with the curacy of Ashton-under-Hill; gross income £319. Patron, in 1835, the Rev. Dr Timbrill. The church is a very ancient structure. The great and small tithes of the townships of Beckford, Grafton, Ashton-under-Hill, and Bengrave, the property of the lay-impropriators and the vicar, were commuted in 1773.

The Roman Catholics had a chapel here; but now meet in a private chapel at Overton. “Here probably was one of the Saxon monasteries, about which the contest was in the synod of Clovesho, in the year 803, between the bishops of Worcester and Hereford. It is more certain that this manor was given, in the time of Henry I., to the abbey of St Martin and St Barbara in Normandy, commonly called St Barbe-en-Auge, by Rabellus Camerarius; and that a prior and canons were sent over, and it became a cell to that foreign house, which was of the order of St Austin.

Upon the suppression of alien priories, this was bestowed by King Henry VI. upon Eaton college, when it was reckoned to them at the yearly value of £56 6s. 8d.; but afterwards by King Edward IV. on Fodringhey. And, as parcel of the possessions of this last-mentioned college, it was granted, 1° Edward VI., to Sir Richard Lee.” — Tanner’s Not. Mon. Charities connected with the parish produce £46 yearly. Pop., in 1801, 375; in 1831, 433. Houses 86. Acres 2,650. A. P. £2,106. Poor rates, in 1837. £84.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1851.

Bangrove

Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850

Bengrave, included in Beckford par.

Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850

Grafton

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

Grafton, a hamlet in Beckford parish, Gloucester; 6 miles SSW of Evesham. Real property, £1,328. A landslip of about 16 acres, from the side of Breedon hill, occurred here in 1764, and entirely covered the pasture-grounds below.

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

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1851

Grafton, a hamlet in the parish of Beckford, county of Gloucester; 6 miles south-south-west of Evesham. Tithes of this hamlet commuted in 1773. A singular circumstance took place near this hamlet in 1764. About 16 acres of land slipped from the side of Breedon-hill and entirely covered the pasture grounds below. The accident was attributed to incessant heavy rains. It is said that on the day previous to the land slip a horse discovered the insecurity of the ground and refused to pass.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1851.

Maps

Vision of Britain Historical Maps – includes topographic maps, boundary maps and land use maps

Administration

  • County: Gloucestershire
  • Civil Registration District: Winchcomb
  • Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)
  • Diocese: Pre 1836 – Gloucester, Post 1835 – Gloucester and Bristol
  • Rural Deanery: Campden
  • Poor Law Union: Winchcombe
  • Rural District: Winchcombe 1931-33, Evesham 1933-74
  • Hundred: Tibaldstone
  • Province: Canterbury