Place:Drybrook, Gloucestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Drybrook is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England. It lies about three miles from Cinderford, and about two miles from Mitcheldean. In the 2001 census, Drybrook had a population of 2,855. There are 1,146 households in the village.

Drybrook was an extraparochial area within East Dean Rural District until 1953 when the parish of East Dean was broken up amongst neighbouring communities. With the abolition of East Dean parish Drybrook became a civil parish of 1,753 acres and a population of almost 2,900. It was expanded in 1957 when Ruardean parish was reduced by approximately 120 acres and again in 1965 by gaining another 60 acres from Hope Mansell parish.

Registration Districts

• Westbury-on-Severn Registration District (1837 - 1937) as part of East Dean parish
• Forest of Dean Registration District (1937 - 1953) as part of East Dean parish
• Forest of Dean Registration District (1953 - 2006) as Drybrook
• Gloucestershire Registration District (2006 - ) as Drybrook

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:

• Volume 5, Chapter 3 of the Victoria County History of Gloucestershire found in the website British History Online expands on the subjects of free-mining and foresters throughout the Hundred of St Briavels. The first section of this chapter, entitled "Settlement" deals with the communities of Cinderford and Ruspidge. A map of the immediate area can be found a considerable way into the article (no page numbers within a chapter 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