Hempsted

"HEMPSTEAD, a parish in the middle division of the hundred of Dudstone, county Gloucester, 1½ mile S.W. of Gloucester. It is a small agricultural village situated on the E. side of the river Severn. The Gloucester and Berkeley ship-canal passes through the parish. It was given by the earls of Hereford to Lanthony Priory, and on the Dissolution came to the Atkyns, Bathursts, and Lysons, in whose family it now remains. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £449. The church, dedicated to St. Swithin, has a tower containing five bells. The interior of the church contains some stained windows, an old font, and several ancient tombs. The parochial charities produce about £10 per annum. There is a National school for children of both sexes. Hempstead Court, the principal residence, is the seat of the Rev. Samuel Lysons, who is lord of the manor and principal landowner."

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