Place:Beckford, Gloucestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Beckford is a small village on the main Cheltenham to Evesham Road, five miles northeast of Tewkesbury, on the Worcestershire—Gloucestershire border. Until 1931 it was located in the county of Gloucestershire, where it was part of Winchcombe Rural District (1894-1931). When it was transferred to Worcestershire, it remained part of the Winchcombe Rural District until 1935 when it was transferred to the Evesham Rural District.

The village straddles the A46 and is one of the villages at the foot of Bredon Hill. The Carrant Brook runs between Beckford and Little Beckford and there was a ford across the brook which gave rise to the original name. There is no link between the village of Beckford and the family with the name of Beckford who are considered to be among the original Jamaican slaveowners. The village is known for its silk printing factory which attracts tourists through its workshop tours and demonstrations.

Beckford had a population of 602 according to the 2001 UK census. The population at the time of the 2011 census has not been found.

A 19th century description

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

"BECKFORD, a village and a parish in Winchcomb [registration] district, Gloucester. The village stands near the Ash-church and Evesham railway, 7 miles SW of Evesham; and has a [railway] station, and a post office under Tewkesbury. The parish includes also the hamlets of Bangrove, Didcote, and Grafton. Acres: 2,650. Real property: £2,454. Population: 473. Houses: 103. The property is divided among a few. Beckford Hall is the seat of Hattil Foll, Esq. The manor was given, in the time of Henry I, to the Abbey of St. Martin in Normandy; and passed, after the suppression [of the monasteries], first to Eton college, next to Fotheringhay, next to Sir Richard Lee. The living is a vicarage, united to the [perpetual] curacy of Aston-under-Hill, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £317. Patron: the Rev. Dr. Timbrill. The church is Norman, was recently restored, and has a lofty tower, crowned with pinnacles. Charities, £47."

Registration Districts

• Winchcomb in Gloucestershire (1837 - 1931)
• Winchcomb in Worcestershire (1931 - 1934)
• Evesham (1934 - 1974) with some changes to the parish boundaries in 1965. (Source:History of Evesham Registration District from UKBMD.)

Research Tips

• The Victoria History of Gloucestershire available online on the website British History Online. It contains histories of the parishes of the lower divisions of the hundreds of Tewkesbury and Westminster, as well as those of Tibaldstone (named Tibblestone).
• Worcestershire County Council:Archives and Archaeology is where paper and microfilm copies of all records for this area which is now in Worcestershire 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 and The FamilySearch Wiki for Worcestershire 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 both counties
• 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.
• Comparing a map of Gloucestershire parishes in 1900 with a map of Gloucestershire parishes made in the 1943 helps to illustrate how the county borders changed through this period.
• 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)