Gloucestershire Family History Society

24/07/2025

Here at Gloucestershire Heritage Hub we have over 70 active volunteers, each volunteer is doing amazing work to make our collections more accessible to the public, this includes transcribing Inventories from the 17th and 18th centuries.

One of our volunteers Jeff has written us a blog post about volunteering with us. Check it out here: https://orlo.uk/btSUT

23/07/2025

Woodchester - continued

An earlier industry was glass making. Refugee Huguenots built a circular glass house in Collier Woods (circled in blue) that was in operation between 1590 and 1615. It was, however, in danger of being closed almost as soon as it was built.

In 1591 Sir Jerome Bowes had paid Elizabeth I a good sum for a monopoly on the manufacture of glass vessels for 12 years. In 1598 he petitioned the Queen for powers to suppress illicit glassmakers, stating ‘certaine persons that lately have erected howses and furnaces…for making of Drinking Glasses, namelie in…Gloucester and one Hoe a Frenchman hath built a glass house and furnace and doth make a greate quantitie of glasses.’

Despite this, it seems that the Woodchester glasshouse survived into the 17th century, and only went out of use following a law passed in 1615 which forbade the use of wood for glass-making – this was the death knell for all the small wood furnaces in England, and production of glass moved to Bristol, Stourbridge and Newcastle where coal was abundant to fire the furnaces.

Some fragments of the glass found at Woodchester survive today in the Museum in the Park's collections in Stroud. In addition, the museum is lucky to have a small number of reproduction pieces commissioned by Basil Marmont to represent the vessels as they would have appeared when newly made.

With thanks to the website of the museum for this information.

Woodchester Glass and the Huguenots — Museum in the Park

21/07/2025

Woodchester - continued

The Round House (now a domestic residence) was built to dry teasels, used in the woollen industry to raise the nap of the fabric. It is sited next to Frogsmarsh Mill.

18/07/2025

18/07/2025

Woodchester - continued

The Pauls of Woodchester were a particular success story. Having arrived from Flanders in the 17th century, they were soon living a genteel life. Along with Lord Ducie of neighbouring Spring Park, Onesephorous Paul played host to the Royal party during the Prince of Wales’ 1750 visit to the area. The Prince toured Paul’s mill, Southfield Mill, and was received at Southfield House, which was elaborately re-modelled to honour the royal visit. Onesephorus Paul was later made a baronet, becoming Sir Onesephorous Paul.

16/07/2025

Woodchester - continued

The historic prosperity of the Stroud area, owes much to the production of cloth, an industry that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Fulling was probably the
first cloth process to be mechanized. A cloth fuller was recorded in Woodchester in 1272 and, of the mill sites whose origins can be traced back that early, most have dabbled in cloth manufacturing processes at some point in their history.

By the later 18th century Woodchester was famous for its broadcloth and the larger mills had become showplaces, the earliest napping-mill in the locality having been introduced to Southfields Mill.

By the end of the century the Stroud valleys’ cloth trade was in terminal decline, having finally been beaten by competition from Yorkshire. Many of the mills closed or were adapted to other industries. The manufacture of needles, pins, machine parts, bobbins, reels, umbrella handles and walking sticks came to the area, as did the manufacture of ready-made clothing. The Hill Paul building in Cheapside
was custom built for this new trade at the turn of the century.

15/07/2025

Summer Sing Song!

Book here: https://orlo.uk/fbB72

14/07/2025

Woodchester - continued

This church was built in 1825. Before this services had been held in private rooms by the minister from Kings Stanley Baptist Church. Peter King, one of the founders, was the brother of Mary Clutterbuck, who helped establish the Stroud Baptist Chapel. The
church remained under the control of King’s Stanley until 1833, although baptisms continued there for a number of years. In 1869 there were 65 members on the church roll. In 1920 the church shared a minister with the Nupend Chapel, Eastcombe. The church closed 1981 and is now a residential dwelling.

(with thanks tohttps://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/1rohpohq/stroud_valley_non-conformists-61143.pdf for this information).

12/07/2025

Woodchester - continued

The Dominican Priory was built in 1845.

A model in the adjoining church, and the photograph, shows its extent.

A Franciscan Convent, later adopted by the Poor Clares, was built nearby in the 1860s. It closed in 2011 and the five remaining nuns moved to a House in Lynton.

11/07/2025

We are honoured to have been nominated for Record-keeping service of the year 2025, as part of ARA Excellence Awards 2025!

Check out all of the services nominations (including ours) here: https://orlo.uk/e9hwm

Voting is now open here: https://orlo.uk/qdjBk