Place:Longford, Gloucestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

Longford was a civil parish created 1885 from the smaller neighbouring parishes of Longford St. Catherine and Longford St. Mary (both of which are redirected here), as well as parts of Gloucester St. Catherine, Barnwood, Gloucester Barton St. Mary, Wotton St. Mary, Sandhurst, and Twigworth.

Longford is now located north of the A40 on the north side of the City of Gloucester. The A38 goes through Longford on its way from Gloucester to Tewkesbury.

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

"LONGFORD-ST.CATHERINE, a hamlet in St. Catherine parish, Gloucestershire; contiguous to Gloucester city, 1 mile N of Gloucester [railway] station. Acres: 200. Real property, with Longford-St. Mary: £4,735. Population: 213. Houses: 37. The manor belongs to the Bishop of Gloucester; and most of the land, to the Dean and Chapter. A Roman settlement is supposed to have been here."

St. Catherine parish referred to by Wilson is Gloucester St. Catherine, one of the Gloucester ecclesiastical parishes and a civil parish until 1896. Longford St. Mary was part of the ecclesiastical and civil parish of Gloucester St. Mary-de-Lode.

Registration Districts

• Gloucester Registration District (1837 - 1885) as Longford St. Catherine (abolished 1885 to become parts of the parishes of Longford, Wotton St. Mary Without, Barnwood, and Gloucester St. Catherine)
• Gloucester Registration District (1837 - 1885) as Longford St. Mary (abolished 23.3.1885 to become parts of the parishes of Gloucester South Hamlet, Longford, and Barnwood)
• Gloucester Registration District (1885 - 1937) as Longford (created 23.3.1885 out of Longford St. Mary, Longford St. Catherine, Gloucester St. Catherine, Barnwood, Gloucester Barton St. Mary, Wotton St. Mary, Sandhurst, and Twigworth)
• Gloucester Rural Registration District (1937 - 1974) as Longford
• Gloucester (post-1974) Registration District (1974 - 2006) as Longford
• Gloucestershire Registration District (2006 - ) as Longford

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 County History of Gloucestershire has a map of Longford and the village of Twigworth to the northeast. The map is followed by detailed descriptions of both villages.
• 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
• England and Wales Jurisdictions 1851 provides a map illustrating the locations of the various Gloucester parishes. Enter "Gloucester" in the search box at the top left, then select the parish required from the list below the search box.