Marshfield Gloucestershire Family History Guide
Marshfield is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Gloucestershire.
Other places in the parish include: Ayford, Becks, Weston Town, Rocks, and Oakford.
Parish church:
Parish registers begin: 1559
Nonconformists include: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Independent/Congregational, Presbyterian Unitarian, Primitive Methodist, and Society of Friends/Quaker.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- St Catherine, Somerset
- West Kington, Wiltshire
- West Littleton
- Batheaston, Somerset
- Dyrham
- North Wraxall, Wiltshire
- Cold Ashton
- Colerne, Wiltshire
Parish History
Marshfield
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
MARSHFIELD, a small town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in Chipping-Sodbury district, Gloucester. The town stands under the Cotswolds, 1¼ mile E of the boundary with Wilts, 2 N of the boundary with Somerset, 4¾ N by W of Box r. station, and 7 NNE of Bath; consists chiefly of one street, nearly a mile in length; is governed by a bailiff, with liberties 16 miles in circuit; and has a post office under Chippenham, a police station, a church, three dissenting chapels, an endowed school with £61 a year, alms houses with £97, and other charities £280.
The church is of the 15th century; comprises nave, three aisles, and chancel, with porch and tower; and contains several tablets and monuments. A weekly market is held on Tuesday; fairs are held on 24 May and 24 Oct.; and malting and brewing are carried on.
The parish contains also the villages of Becks, Rocks, and Weston-Town, and the hamlets of Oakford and Ayford. Acres, 5,845. Real property, £11,249. Pop. in 1851, 1,648; in 1861, 1,742. Houses, 375.
The manor belongs to the Rev. Dr. Horlock. Ashwick House belonged to the Webbs, passed to the Horlocks, and is now the seat of John Orred, Esq. Rocks House, or the Rocks, a fine mansion, on an eminence with extensive view 3 miles SE of the town, was the seat of the late D. Wrangham, Esq. Some Druidical stones are near Becks.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £409. Patron, New College, Oxford.
The sub-district contains also five other parishes. Acres, 16,177. Pop., 4,103. Houses, 867.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
England and Wales Delineated Thomas Dugdale 1835
Name of Place: Marshfield; County: Gloucester; Number of Miles from: Sodbury – 8; Bristol – 12; Bath – 7; Dist. Lond. -103; Population: 1651.
Marshfield, a market-town and parish, situated at the edge of the county, bordering upon Somersetshire and Wiltshire. It consists principally of one street, the buildings of which are very old. The chief trade of the place is in malt. Among the charities of Marshfield are a well-endowed alms-house, with a chapel and a school, in which the children of the poor receive the rudiments of education.
Market, Tuesday. – Fairs, May 24, for horned cattle; October 24, for sheep, horses, and cheese.
Source: England and Wales Delineated by Thomas Dugdale assisted by William Burnett; published by Tallis & Co., Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey, 1835.
Oakford
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Circa 1870
Oakford, a hamlet in Marshfield parish, Gloucester; 8 miles N of Bath.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
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.
Isaac Nicholas, sen., Marshfield, Gloucestershire, maltster, July 31, 1827.
Jenkins John, Marshfield, Gloucestershire, dealer and chapman, Nov. 26, 1830.
Parish Registers
The Parish Registers of Marshfield Gloucestershire
Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences 1689 to 1837
The following have been extracted from Allegations for Marriage Licences in the county of Hampshire. Parishes without a named county are parishes within the county of Hampshire.
Adams, Henry, of Marshfield, co. Gloucester, yeoman, b., & Mary Longman, of St. Marybourne, sp., at Andover, Tangley, or Hurstbourne Tarrant, 20 June, 1709.
Source: Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester. 1689 to 1837 Published 1893 Editor: William John Charles Moens
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Gloucestershire Historical Directories
Directory Transcriptions
Marshfield Universal British Directory 1791
A small town on the borders of Somersetshire and Wiltshire, has a market on Tuesday, and fairs on the 24th of May and 24th October. It is a clothing-town; and considerable trade in malt is carried on in this town, of which great quantities are sent to Bath and Bristol. It is distant from Bath seven miles, Bristol twelve, Sodbury eight, Chippenham ten, Gloucester thirty-six, and London one hundred and four.
The town consists chiefly of one street of old buildings, near a mile long, and is governed by a bailiff; it has a large good church, with a well-endowed almshouse, and a chapel to it, for eight poor people, and a charity-school. The parish is sixteen miles in circumference. There are three stones, near a place called the Rocks, to mark the limits of the counties of Gloucester, Wilts, and Somerset, where they meet in a point. One of those stones stands in this parish, which borders upon the two last-mentioned counties.
The principal inns are the Catharine-wheel and Crown.
The post comes in and goes out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. – No coach or regular carrier to or from Marshfield. – The following is a list of the principal inhabitants:
Gentry, &c.
Baldwin John, Gent.
Bedford James, Gent
Bence Isaac, Gent. (F.)
Coddrington Sir Wm. Bart. M.P. (F.)
Francombe Mrs. Betty
Harford Mrs. Mary
Horlock Isaac Webb, Esq. (F.)
Hollister Charles, Gent. (F.)
Hollister Nicholas, Gent. (F.)
Oland Mrs. Martha
Osborne William, Gent
Snell William, Gent. (F.)
Toghill Stephen, Gent.
Clergy.
Watkins Rev. John Burton, (F.). Vicar
Physic.
Merewether Alworth, M.D.
Smith Henry, (F.) Surgeon, &c.
Law.
Freeme Isaac, Attorney
Osborne George Bennett, Attorney
Traders, &c.
Bane Nath. and Thomas, Maltsters
Bence Joseph, Maltster
Bryan Sarah, shopkeeper
Burcombe Thomas, Mason
Bush William, (F.) Innholder
Cox John, (F.) Shoemaker
Cox Samuel, Baker
Dyer Joseph, (F.) Shopkeeper
Gardiner Amos, Starchmaker
Huff Michael, (F.) Maltster
Huff Thomas, (F.) Butcher
Isaac Edward, (F.) Brewer
Lewis William, Baker and Maltster
Osborne Thomas, (F.) Maltster
Osborne William, Butcher
Powell Peter, (F.) Carpenter
Ranger James, (F.) Maltster
Ranger James, Carpenter
Remnant Charles, Schoolmaster
Roach Eleanor, Soapboiler
Roach Wm. Innholder and Post-master
Shapland Martha, Maltster
Smith Thomas, (F.) Maltster
Sumsion John, (F.) Sadler
Taylor Daniel, (F.) Glazier
Tiley John, (F.) Maltster
Waite William, (F.) Maltster
Woodward Joseph, (F.) Maltster
Woodward James, Starchmaker
Yeeles John, (F.) Catharine-wheel Inn
Source: Universal British Directory 1791
Administration
- County: Gloucestershire
- Civil Registration District: Chipping Sodbury
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Pre 1836 – Gloucester, Post 1835 – Gloucester and Bristol
- Rural Deanery: Hawkesbury
- Poor Law Union: Chipping Sodbury
- Hundred: Thornbury
- Province: Canterbury