Place:Kingswood (near Wotton under Edge), Gloucestershire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following is based on an article in Wikipedia

Kingswood (near Wotton under Edge) is a village and civil parish within the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. It is immediately southwest of Wotton-under-Edge and has a population of 1,290. The village is located on the edge of the Cotswolds.

Kingswood (near Wotton under Edge) was formerly a detached part of the county of Wiltshire that was incorporated into Gloucestershire by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act of 1844. Sources for Kingswood (near Wotton-under-Edge) prior to 1844 will be found in Wiltshire records.

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

"KINGSWOOD, a village and a parish in Dursley [registration]district, Gloucester. The village stands 1 mile NE of Wootton-under-Edge and carries on manufactures in woollen cloth; and has a post office under Wootton-under-Edge. The parish comprises 2,350 acres. Real property: £6,443. Population in 1851: 1,227; in 1861: 1,061. Houses: 268. The decrease of population was caused by depression in the cloth manufacture.

"The property is divided. The land anciently formed part of an extensive forest, superintended by the constable of Bristol castle. The manor belongs now to R. H. Blagden Hale, Esq. A Cistertian priory, a cell to Tintern abbey, was founded here, in 1139, by William de Berkeley; was removed, for a time, to Rodmorden and Tutbury; was re-founded here in 1170; was given, by Queen Elizabeth, to the Thynnes; and remains of it still exist near the parish church.

"Woollen cloth factories are at Kingswood Mills and Nind Mills; and there is a brewery. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £99. Patrons: the Parishioners. The church comprises nave, aisles, and chancel; and contains monuments of the Berkeleys and others. There are an Independent chapel, a free school with £50 a year, and charities £149."

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Kingswood, Gloucestershire.

Registration Districts

• Dursley Registration District (1837 - 1844) in Wiltshire
• Dursley Registration District (1844 - 1937) in Gloucestershire
• Stroud Registration District (1937 - 2006)
• Gloucestershire Registration District (2006 - )

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)

(There may be more under Wiltshire in due course.