BECKFORD, Gloucestershire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"BECKFORD, a parish in the hundred of Tibaldstone, in the county of Gloucester, 6 miles to the E. of Tewkesbury, its post town. It lies on the confines of Worcestershire, not far from Bredon Hill, and includes the hamlets of Bangrove, Didcote, and Grafton. A priory of Augustine monks was founded here in the 9th century, and refounded in the reign of Henry III., the value of which at the Dissolution was £53. The district is pleasant and hilly, and contains abundance of limestone.

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, of the value with the perpetual curacy of Ashton-under-Hill, which is annexed to it, of £317, in the patronage of the Rev. Dr. Timbrill. The church, a Norman edifice, is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The parochial charities amount to £47 per annum. The principal residence is Beckford Hall, surrounded with fine woods and beautiful landscape."

"DIDCOTE, a hamlet in the parish of Beckford, in the county of Gloucester, 6 miles N.E. of Tewkesbury."

"GRAFTON, a hamlet in the parish of Beckford, hundred of Tibbaldstone, county Gloucester, 6 miles N.E. of Tewkesbury. It is situated at the foot of Breedon Hill. A landslip of about 16 acres occurred here in 1764. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment under an Enclosure Act in 1773."

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