Place:Highnam, Gloucestershire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Highnam is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. It is three miles northwest of the city on the A40, on its way to Ross, west of Alney Island and Over Bridge. The parish includes the villages of Lassington and the hamlets of Over and Linton. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,014.

The parish was established in 1935 from the parishes of Highnam Over and Linton and Lassington. The area was within the Gloucester Rural District until 1974.

The Arnold family were Lords of the Manor in the sixteenth century. The best known member of the family is Sir Nicholas Arnold (died 1580), Lord Deputy of Ireland.

The wealthy artist and collector Thomas Gambier Parry purchased the Highnam Court estate in 1837. He remodelled Highnam Court and laid out the Highnam Court gardens; he was one of the first to make a pinetum. His son, the composer Hubert Parry, learnt to play the organ in the church.

Registration Districts

Gloucester (1935 - 1937)
Gloucester Rural (1937 - 1974)
Gloucester (post-1974) (1974 - 2006)
Gloucestershire (2006 - ) For dates earlier than 1935 check the parishes that were merged to form Highnam, i.e., Highnam Over and Linton and Lassington and possibly Churcham and Rudford in the 19th century.

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:

• 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. Do 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
• Unfortunately, A History of the County of Gloucester in the Victoria County History series provided by the website British History Online does not cover this part of the county
• Ancestry.co.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)