Place:Highnam Over and Linton, Gloucestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Highnam from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HIGHNAM, a hamlet and a chapelry in Churcham parish, Gloucestershire. The hamlet lies near the river Severn, 2 miles WNW of Gloucester [railway] station. Population: 218. Houses: 45. Highnam Court was built after a design by Inigo Jones; belonged formerly to the Cookes and to the baronet family of Guise; and belongs now to T. G. Parry, Esq. The chapelry was constituted in 1851; and its post town is Gloucester. Population: 357. Houses: 70. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £130. Patron: T. G. Parry, Esq. The church is modern and elegant; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with tower and lofty spire."

Highnam Over and Linton was a civil parish created in Gloucestershire, England in 1866 from part of Churcham parish and enlarged in 1883 by gaining part of Rudford parish. In 1935 it was abolished to create Highnam Civil Parish. The hamlets of Over and Linton were in the parish and have been re-directed here. The parish was located in Gloucester Rural District from 1894 until its abolition in 1935.

For more about T. G. Parry see Highnam. The Wikipedia article on Higham has a photograph of the church interior.

Over hamlet

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Over is a village in Gloucestershire 2 miles west of Gloucester. It lies on the A40 road in the parish of Highnam, on the west bank of the River Severn. Over was historically a hamlet of the parish of Churcham. In 1935 it was transferred to the newly formed parish of Highnam.

The village is linked to Alney Island and Gloucester by Over Bridge, now a pedestrian bridge but until 1966 the lowest road crossing of the Severn. There was a bridge at Over, where a Roman road crossed the river, from ancient times. It was rebuilt several times, and the present bridge was built by Thomas Telford between 1826 and 1829.

The River Leadon joins the River Severn just to the north of the village. The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal, opened in 1795 and closed in 1881, joined the Severn between the village and the confluence of the Leadon. The canal basin at Over was restored in 2000.

In 1903 a new infectious diseases hospital was opened at Over. It closed in 1991.

During living memory the traditional pronunciation of Over is /ʊ̈vɝ/ oo vurr

Wikipedia missed Over's sojourn in Highnam Over and Linton.

Registration Districts

Westbury-on-Severn (1837 - 1866) (as Churcham)
Newent (1866 - 1883) (as Rudford)
Gloucester (1883 - 1935)
Abolished 1.4.1935 to become part of the parish of Highnam. See Highnam for later entries.

NOTE: Until 1883, for people assumed to be "of this parish", cautious verification of registration districts may be necessary .

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:

• 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. Do 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
• Unfortunately, A History of the County of Gloucester in the Victoria County History series provided by the website British History Online does not cover this part of the county
• Ancestry.co.uk has recently added Gloucestershire Burials, 1813-1988; Confirmations, 1834-1913; Baptisms, 1813-1913; Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813; and Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938. (entry dated 1 Aug 2015)