COWLEY, Gloucestershire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"COWLEY, a parish in the hundred of Rapsgate, in the county of Gloucester, 5 miles S. of Cheltenham, its post town, and 10 E. of Gloucester. The village is small, but the land is fertile and well cultivated. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £322, in the patronage of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is an ancient structure, with monuments. The charities amount to £3 per annum. James Hutchinson, Esq., is lord of the manor and chief landowner."

"BIRDLIP, a village in the parish of Cowley and hundred of Dudstone and Rings Barton, in the county of Gloucester, 5 miles to the S.E. of Gloucester. It is seated in a fine country, under Birdlip Hill, not far from Whitcomb Park, the seat of the Hicks family. The ancient way called Ermine Street passes over Birdlip Hill, from which there is a fine view over the surrounding country."

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