Place:Whitminster, Gloucestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Whitminster is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, on the A38 trunk road about six miles south of Gloucester. It was formerly known as Wheatenhurst, the name being changed officially in 1945. Wheatenhurst manor, with Whitminster House and the parish church of St Andrew, lies about a mile to the west of the modern village.

The village was originally known as Wheatenhurst, recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Witenhert. The name means "white wooded hill", or possibly "wooded hill of a man named Hwita". The name was corrupted to "Whitnester" and then "Whitmister", and by the 17th century evolved by popular etymology to Whitminster. There was never a minster here. Either or both names were used of the parish until the 20th century, but the village on the A38 came to be known as Whitminster, whereas the smaller group of houses west of the main road in the centre of the parish came to be known as Wheatenhurst.

The manor of Wheatenhurst was held by Beorhtric at the time of Edward the Confessor and post-Conquest it was held by Hearding in pledge from Beorhtric. The hamlet of Wheatenhurst is still signposted from the A38 at Whitminster.

A 19th century description

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

"WHEATENHURST, or Whitminster, a village, a parish, and a [registration] district, in Gloucester. The village stands near the Stroud canal, the Gloucester and Berkeley canal, and the river Severn, 3 miles NW of Stonehouse r. station; and has a post-office, of the name of Whitminster, under Stonehouse.

"The parish comprises 1,237 acres of land, and 10 of water. Real property: £2,949. Population: 411. Houses, 92. The manor belongs partly to J.Bengough, Esq. Whitminster House is the seat of H. H. Wilton, Esq. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £135. Patron: J.Bengough, Esq. The church is early English, and was enlarged in 1842. There are an endowed school with £31 a year, and charities £32."

Registration Districts

Wheatenhurst as Wheatenhurst (1837 - 1937)
Gloucester Rural as Wheatenhurst (1937 - 1945)
Gloucester Rural as Whitminster (1945 - 1974)
Gloucester (post-1974) as Whitminster (1974 - 2006)
Gloucestershire as Whitminster (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:

• The Victoria History of Gloucestershire chapter on Whitminster or Wheatenhurst, available online on the website British History 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