Place:Henbury, Gloucestershire, England

Watchers
NameHenbury
Alt namesHenberiesource: Domesday Book (1985) p 113
Blaise Hamletsource: hamlet in parish
Brentrysource: hamlet in parish
Charltonsource: hamlet in parish
Compton Greenfieldsource: hamlet in parish
Cribbs Causewaysource: hamlet in parish
Easter Comptonsource: hamlet in parish
Hallensource: hamlet in parish
Kings Westonsource: hamlet in parish
Lawrence Westonsource: hamlet in parish
Lawrence-Westonsource: Family History Library Catalog
Sea Millssource: area in parish
TypeParish, Suburb
Coordinates51.5°N 2.633°W
Located inGloucestershire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inAvon, England     (1974 - 1996)
Bristol, England     (1996 - )
See alsoBerkeley Hundred, Gloucestershire, Englandhundred in which it was part located
Henbury Hundred, Gloucestershire, Englandhundred in which it was part located
Aust, Gloucestershire, Englandparish which absorbed part of Henbury in 1866
Redwick and Northwick, Gloucestershire, Englandparish which absorbed part of Henbury in 1866
Barton Regis Rural, Gloucestershire, Englandrural district of which it was part 1894-1904
Bristol, Gloucestershire, Englandcity which absorbed part of Henbury in 1901 and 1935
Redwick and Northwick, Gloucestershire, Englandparish which absorbed a further part of Henbury in 1935
Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, Englandparish which absorbed part of Henbury in 1935
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Henbury is now a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately 5 miles north west of the city centre. In 2001 it had a population of 9,498. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle estate, Blaise Hamlet and Lawrence Weston to the west. To the north lies the South Gloucestershire village of Hallen (part of the original parish of Henbury).

Henbury was historically a very large parish. It extended to the River Severn and included the villages and hamlets of King's Weston, Lawrence Weston, Charlton, Easter Compton (in Almondsbury parish), Pilning (in Pilning and Severn Beach parish, Northwick (in Redwick and Northwick parish) and Aust. When the civil parish was created in 1866, parts of the ancient parish were separated to form the civil parishes of Redwick and Northwick (later Pilning and Severn Beach) and Aust.

In 1901, part of the civil parish was absorbed into Bristol, and further parts were absorbed into Bristol between then and 1933. In 1935, the civil parish was abolished and the remaining parts were absorbed into Bristol and the civil parishes of Pilning and Severn Beach, and Almondsbury.

Contents

A 19th century description

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

"HENBURY, a village, a tything, a parish, and a hundred, in Gloucester. The village stands on the S W. verge of the county, near the Fosse way and the estuary of the Severn. 4½ miles NW of Bristol [railway] station: and has a post office under Bristol. The tything comprises 1,490 acres. Real property: £5,314. Population: 423. Houses: 96.
"The parish contains also the tythings of Kings-Weston, Lawrence-Weston, Stowick, Compton, Charlton, Aust, and Redwick and Northwick; and is chiefly in the [registration] district of Clifton, but partly in that of Thornbury. Acres: 15,409; of which 5,820 are water. Real property: £25,757. Population: 2,482. Houses: 492. The manor belongs to Sir Greville Smyth, Bart., and E. Colston, Esq. Blaise Castle is the seat of J. S. Harford, Esq. Henbury Hill, on which Blaise Castle stands, had a double ditched Roman camp; has yielded many Roman coins and other relics; and commands an exceedingly varied and beautiful view. The living is a vicarage, united with the chapelries of Hallen, Aust, and Northwick, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £840. Patrons: Sir G. Smyth, Bart., Mrs. Colston, and the Rev. G. Gore. The church is early English; was repaired and enlarged in 1833; and comprises nave, aisles, and two porches, with low square tower. There are chapels for Baptists, Quakers, and Wesleyans, national schools, an endowed grammar school with £349, another endowed school with £235, and other charities with £267."

(Henbury Hundred has its own page.)

Blaise

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

"BLAISE-CASTLE, the seat of J. S. Harford, Esq., in Henbury parish, Gloucester; in a picturesque limestone ravine, 4 miles NNW of Bristol. The house is modern, and contains a fine collection of pictures. The grounds are beautiful, both naturally and artificially; and have a lofty tower which commands a brilliant view across the Severn into Wales."

Charlton

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

"CHARLTON, a tything in Henbury parish, Gloucester; 5 miles N of Bristol. Acres: 1,320. Real property: £2,548. Population: 425. Houses: 88."

Kings Weston

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

"KINGS-WESTON, a tything in Henbury parish, Gloucester; on the river Avon, at the boundary with Somerset, 3 miles NW of Bristol. Real property: £3,345. Population: 216. Houses, 29. Kings-Weston House was the seat of Lord De Clifford; belongs now to the Miles family; is a three story edifice, by Vanbrugh; and has a remarkably beautiful park, almost including Penpole hill, which commands a very fine view."

Lawrence Weston

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

"LAWRENCE-WESTON, a tything in Henbury parish, Gloucester; on the river Avon, 4¼ miles NW of Bristol. Acres: 1,100. Real property: £4,320. Population: 334. Houses: 61."

The map in A Vision of Britain through Time illustrates the outlying parts of Henbury very well.

Research Tips

  • Bristol Archives is where paper and microfilm copies of all records for Bristol and its environs are stored.

Online sources which may also be helpful:

  • Three maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrate the changes in political boundaries over the period 1830-1945. All have expanding scales and on the second and third this facility is sufficient that individual parishes can be inspected (except in the immediate Bristol area--for Bristol, see English Jurisdictions).
  • Gloucestershire Hundreds as drawn in 1832. This map was prepared before The Great Reform Act of that year. Note the polling places and representation of the various parts of the county.
  • Gloucestershire in 1900, an Ordnance Survey map showing rural districts, the boundaries of the larger towns, the smaller civil parishes of the time, and some hamlets and villages in each parish
  • Gloucestershire in 1943, an Ordnance Survey map showing the rural districts after the changes to their structure in the 1930s
  • A Vision of Britain through Time has a group of pages of statistical facts for almost every parish in the county
  • GENUKI gives pointers to other archive sources as well as providing some details on each parish. 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. The compiler has gone to a lot of work to provide this material. Respect his copyright.
  • The FamilySearch Wiki for Gloucestershire provides a similar but not identical series of webpages to that provided by GENUKI
  • English Jurisdictions, a supplementary website to FamilySearch outlining local parish boundaries in the middle on the 19th century. The information provided is especially useful for establishing the locations of ecclesiastical parishes in large towns and cathedral cities, as well as changes in their dedications (names). Very useful for Bristol.
  • The Church Crawler has a website of photos and histories of English Churches with emphasis on Bristol.
  • Unfortunately, the Victoria County History series provided by the website British History Online only provides information on Gloucestershire Churches in this part of the county. More general information on the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area is sadly omitted.
  • Ancestry 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)
  • Ancestry has also now updated Bristol, England, Select Church of England Parish Registers, 1720-1933 (entry dated 14 Mar 2016)
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Henbury. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.