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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Horsley is a village and civil parish about one and a half miles south-west of the small Cotswold market town of Nailsworth. The origins of the name Horsley are much debated, although it is thought to be derived from the pre-7th-century Old English phrase, "horse-lega", meaning "place of horses".
The Parish is situated on part of the Ridgeway, Britain's oldest road.[1] A habitation was record in 1327 at Barton End, named after a barton on the manor estate. The village sprung from cross-roads east of St Martin Church. The Parish is bisected from south to north by the Bath-Gloucester, built in 1780.
A 19th century description
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Horsley from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "HORSLEY, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in Stroud district, Gloucester. The village stands under the Cotswolds, 3 miles SW of Minchinhampton, and 5 [miles] S of Stroud [railway] station; was once a market town, and a place of more importance than now; consists chiefly of old houses, irregularly built; and has a post office under Stroud, and a police station.
- "The parish includes also the hamlet of Chaseridge, the village of Nailsworth, and the hamlets of Barton-End, Down-End [or Downend], Newmarket, Rockness, Shortwood, Nupp-End, and Walkley-Wood. Acres: 4,082. Real property, exclusive of Nailsworth: £8,545; of which £10 are in quarries. Population in 1851: 2,931; in 1861: 2,558. Houses: 630. The decrease of population was caused by the closing of cloth mills. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Townsend Stephens, Esq. A Tudor manor house, with chapel attached, is at Chavenage. An ancient priory, a cell to St. Martin du Tours, stood near the church; passed to Bruton abbey, to the Dennys, and to the Stephenses; and is now represented by only a gateway. The woollen manufacture, though much declined, is still carried on. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £199. Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The church is perpendicular English; and consists of nave, transept, and chancel, with a tower. There is a chapel of ease at Shortwood. The [perpetual] curacy of Chaseridge is a separate benefice. There are chapels for Baptists and Wesleyans, an endowed national school, and charities £100.
- "The sub-district contains also the parish of Avening. Acres: 8,510. Population: 4,628. Houses: 1,109."
NOTE: The places written in italics have all been redirected here. Down-end or Downend is sometimes known as Downend (near Minchinhampton) or Downend (near Nailsworth).
Registration Districts
Stroud (1837 - 2006)
Gloucestershire (2006 - )
Research Tips
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Online sources which may also be helpful:
- The Victoria History of Gloucestershire chapter on Horsley, available online on 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
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