Place:Alvington, Gloucestershire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Alvington is a village and civil parish since 1974 in the Forest of Dean District in Gloucestershire, England, situated on the A48 road, six miles northeast of Chepstow in Wales. The parish has a total population of 484. (Date of census or estimate not given.)

Alvington was one of a number of hamlets dotted along the River Severn, following the former Roman road leading from Newnham-on-Severn to Chepstow. The manor of Alvington is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name ‘Alwintune’, then part of the Herefordshire hundred of Bromsash, held by Turstin FitzRolf. During the 12th century, Alvington joined Gloucestershire as part of the Bledisloe hundred, and became a separate parish. During the late Middle Ages Alvington parish and manor were under the ownership of Llanthony Priory (in Gloucester) which was dissolved in 1539. The lord of the manor’s seat was situated in Clanna Falls around one mile from the village. In its history Alvington, has variously boasted two smithies, a small brewery, a small engineering works and several shops.

Alvington’s population has varied between 300 and 500 since the mid-19th century. The village lies at the edge of the Forest of Dean, which was once an important coal producing area. There is a strong agricultural influence in the village today, although historically this would have been more evident.

Registration Districts

• Forest of Dean Registration District (1837 - 2006)
• Gloucestershire Registration District (2006 - )

Research Tips

• Gloucestershire Archives in Gloucester is where paper and microfilm copies of all records for this part of Gloucestershire are stored.

Online sources which may also be helpful:

• Alvington from A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5/Bledisloe hundred in the Victoria County History series provided by the website British History Online
• GENUKI gives pointers to other archive sources as well as providing some details on each parish in the county. The emphasis here is on ecclesiastical parishes (useful before 1837)
• A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 and tables of the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. Respect the copyright on this material.
• The FamilySearch Wiki for Gloucestershire provides a similar but not identical series of webpages to that provided by GENUKI
• A Vision of Britain through Time has a group of pages of statistical facts for almost every parish in the county