DIRHAM, Gloucestershire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"DIRHAM, (or Dirham cum Hinton) a parish in the lower division of the hundred of Grumbalds-Ash, in the county of Gloucester, 4 miles N.W. of Marshfield, and 7 N. of Bath station. It is situated on the river Boyd. This was the scene of a battle between Ceawlin, the Saxon, and the Britons, in which the latter were defeated, and two of their kings slain. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £520, in the patronage of Colonel Blathwayt. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is an old structure with square tower, in the early English style of architecture. There is an endowed school for boys and girls. There are remains of what is supposed to have been a Saxon camp in the neighbourhood, called Barhill Camp."

"DYNHAM, a parish united with Hinton, in the hundred of Lower Grumbald's Ash, in the county of Gloucester, 4 miles S.E. of Chipping Sodbury. It is situated on a tributary of the river Avon. This place is mentioned as the scene of a contest between the Britons and Saxons at the close of the 6th century. There are some remains of a camp at Hinton Hill. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £501, in the patronage of W. Blathwayte, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Peter, and contains two monumental brasses. The parochial charities produce about £100 per annum, the principal of which is for Langton's schools. This is a meet for the Beaufort hounds. [No, 'DYNHAM' is not an OCR-o - it is genuinely recorded as such in the Gazetteer, but it seems likely it was intended as 'DYRHAM' -RL 2003]"

"HINTON, a hamlet in the parish of Dirham, lower division of the hundred of Grumbolds Ash, county Gloucester, 1 mile N. of Dyrham, and 3 miles S. of Chipping Sodbury. Until recently it formed a distinct parish."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]