Place:Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Leonard Stanley is a small village on the outskirts of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire about 2.5 miles from Stroud.

The parish church of St Swithun dates from the 12th century and is a grade I listed building.

A 19th century description

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

"LEONARD-STANLEY, or STANLEY-ST. LEONARDS, a village and a parish in Stroud [registration] district, Gloucester. The village stands 1 mile E by S of Frocester [railway] station, 1½ S by E of Stonehouse [railway] station, and 3½ SW by W of Stroud; was once a market-town; was nearly all destroyed by fire in 1686; and has a post office under Stonehouse, and a fair on 20 July. The parish contains also the hamlet of Downton, and includes the detached tract of Lorridge. Acres: 1,070. Real property: £4,188; of which £655 are in railways. Population: 864. Houses: 193. The manor belonged at Domesday to Richard de Berkeley; and belongs now to Mrs. P. Jones. Townsend House is the residence of - Minchin, Esq.; and the Priory is occupied by John Townsend, Esq. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Gloucester abbey, was founded here, in 1146, by one of the Berkeleys; was given, at the dissolution [of the monasteries], to the Kingstons; and has left some fragmentary remains. Sandford's knoll commands an extensive and beautiful view. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £220. Patron: Mrs. P. Jones. The church is Norman and cruciform; is said to have belonged to the priory; has a low massive tower, of interesting character; and contains monuments of the Sandfords, and of the last prior Croose. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and charities £30.

Registration Districts

Stroud (1837 - 2006)
Gloucestershire (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:

• The Victoria History of Gloucestershire chapter on Leonard Stanley, available online on the website British History On:*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