Place:Littledean, Gloucestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Littledean is a village in what has been, since 1974, the Forest of Dean District in west Gloucestershire, England. The village has a long history and formerly had the status of a town. Littledean Hall was originally a Saxon hall, although it has been rebuilt and the current house dates back to 1612. The remains of a Roman temple are situated in the grounds. Neither the hall or Roman remains are open to the public.

Collectively, the villages and the surrounding wood (Forest of Dean) were mentioned in the Domesday Book as Dene, and appear as Dena in 1130.

Littledean (sometimes Little Dean) has continued to be a civil parish since it was first established as independent of other local communities in 1866, although now it is much smaller than its neighbour, Cinderford.

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

"DEAN (Little), a village and a parish in Westbury-on-Severn [registration] district, Gloucester. The village stands on the east verge of Dean Forest, near the South Wales railway, 2 miles NW of Newnham; has a post office under Newnham, a curious ancient cross, and fairs on Whit-Monday and 26 Nov.; and was once a market-town. The parish comprises 510 acres. Real property: £2,320. Population: 887. Houses: 165. The property is much subdivided. Coal and iron ore are worked. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £200. Patrons: the Corporation of Gloucester. The church is later English. There are an Independent chapel, a national school, and charities £25."

Registration Districts

• Westbury-on-Severn Registration District (1837 - 1937)

• Forest of Dean 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::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 chapter includes maps of the various communities and their relationships to one another.There is an article specifically on Littledean.

• 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