Norton & The Leigh Historical Society

Monday 25th November 2024

“The history of Christmas and wassailing”; Robin Burton.

Norton Village Hall, 19:15 for 19:30 start. £3pp.

Norton Court

Norton Court

Norton Court, it's owners and tenants from the earliest records to it's demise by fire in 1959.

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King's Head Inn

King's Head Inn

This article tells the story of the village pub from the time it first opened its doors for trade in 1827. The pub was closed for a number of years before it underwent renovations and re-opened in August 2017 as the New Dawn Inn. I believe that the old Kings Head pub sign is still on display on the premises.

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Red Lion Inn

Red Lion Inn

History of the riverside inn from the mid-1700s.

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Norton CofE School

Norton CofE School

This article tells the story of Norton CofE School from its opening its doors to pupils in 1876.

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Wainlode

Wainlode

For the purposes of this article, Wainlode will be considered as the stretch of riverside land between the hill above the Red Lion Inn to the point where the River Chelt joins the River Severn at Fletcher’s Leap.

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Beer and alehouses ...

This article documents the presence of several, long gone, drinking establishments at Norton other than the two main inns which have survived to present times.

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Village Hall

Village Hall

This is an account, taken largely from Canon Evans Prosser's 1970s booklet entitled “How It All Happened”.

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Reading Room

Reading Room

This article tells the story of the village Reading Room from its construction in 1877 till its demolition in approximately 1990.

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Gloucester Clay Shooting Club

Gloucester Clay Shooting Club

This article tells the story of the Gloucester Clay Shooting Club located opposite the Kings Head Inn on the Tewkesbury Road.

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Norton Garage

Norton Garage

The history of Norton Garage on the A38 Tewkesbury Road.

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Benges Cottage (Donacons)

Benges Cottage (Donacons)

Details of this property at Priors Norton starting from 1806.

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Bradley Cottage (Bradley Farm, Bradley Orchard, Norton Court Estate Cottage - No 21)

Bradley Cottage (Bradley Farm, Bradley Orchard, Norton Court Estate Cottage - No 21)

Brief history of Norton Court Estate cottage No 21, near The Green.

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St Mary's Parish Church

St Mary's Parish Church

A history of the village parish church from its earliest known times. Photo dates from the restoration of 1876.

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St Mary's Churchyard

St Mary's Churchyard

This article records details from all of the memorials in the churchyard at St Mary's Parish Church, Norton.

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Old memorials of St Mary's Church

In the eighteenth century Ralph Bigland visited all the churchyards in the county of Gloucestershire and made a record of the memorials that were there. The following is his entry for St Mary’s, Norton.

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Memorials inside St Mary's Church

Memorials inside St Mary's Church

This article records details from all of the memorials that can be found inside St Mary's Parish Church, Norton.

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The church bells of St Mary's

The church bells of St Mary's

This article records a short history of the bells of St Mary's Parish Church, Norton.

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Vicars of St Mary's, Norton

Vicars of St Mary's, Norton

On the wall inside St Mary’s is a notice board listing all of the incumbents of the church. Using this as a starting point, this article will seek to record all of the clergymen who have taken services at Norton over the years as well as those who were the resident curate. [Canon Evans-Prosser was vicar of Norton 1934-1979 and The Leigh 1947-1979 and it seemed appropriate to use his image as the lead photo for this article].

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Early chapels at Norton ?

Early chapels at Norton ?

A discussion concerning the presence of early chapels at Norton. [The photo has NO connection to these chapels].

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Methodist Chapel

Methodist Chapel

This is a brief history of non-conformist religion at Norton specifically the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel that for many years stood near The Green.

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Mormonism

There seem to have been a number of villagers from The Leigh who adopted Mormonism but I have not identified much in relation to Norton.

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War Memorial

War Memorial

“True love, by life no less than death, is tried. Live thou for England—we for England died”. This article is an approximate copy of a booklet produced to remember those villagers who are remembered on the memorial at St Mary's churchyard. The booklet is for sale inside the church or contact me for information..

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Additional WW1 Fatalities

Additional WW1 Fatalities

Whilst researching the men named on the village War Memorial I identified a few more men with Norton connections who were killed during the First World War but who are not remembered on the Memorial.

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First World War Service

First World War Service

This is a record of those men with Norton associations who served in, and survived, the First World War. Photo is of Pip, Squeak and Wilfred - the three general service medals awarded to most First World War soldiers.

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Boer War

Boer War

This is a record of Norton men who served in the army during the Boer War. Photo is Boer War Memorial at Gloucester Cathedral.

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They also served ...

They also served ...

This is a record of everyone I have been able to identify with Norton associations who had service in the military prior to the Boer War.

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WW2 - The Home Front

Just 20 years after the First World War ended the country was plunged into war again. This time the impact was to be different with ‘total war’ reaching this country and impacting upon the daily lives of people in a way that did not happen in 1914-18. This is a series of articles touching upon the effects of the war in Norton. Once again I am grateful to the late Canon Evans-Prosser who set down many of his memories in writing and I will be quoting from his work at length.

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WW2 - HMS Jaguar

WW2 - HMS Jaguar

Norton's adoption of 'HMS Jaguar' during Warship Week of November 1941

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Research image
NORTON
If you have any questions relating to people, places, properties, etc in Norton I am happy to help out. If I can answer your question from the records that I have I should be able to respond within the week. Should the question require additional research the timeframe will be longer and there may be a charge involved. Get in touch, using my e-mail norton_history@hotmail.com and ask …

GENEALOGY
Should you be interested in your family history, at Norton, in Gloucestershire, or beyond, I can offer a full research opportunity. There would be a charge associated with this service although it would be a fraction of what a professional researcher would want. I have an Honours Degree in History and Social Science, and have been researching my own family histories, as well as for others, for more than 20 years. I have carried out research for a number of people at Norton and The Leigh in recent years and should be able to provide references if required. If you are interested, get in touch, using my e-mail norton_history@hotmail.com, and we can discuss in confidence …
I have family connections in Norton going back to the early 1800s and probably earlier.  
In more recent years my mother Sheila was born in the village in 1923 and her parents, Fred and Margaret Mullens, lived their entire married lives at Yew Tree Cottage, Bishops Norton.
I was a founder member of the Norton & The Leigh Historical Society and have been writing their monthly 'The Journal' publication since 1999. I have a deep interest in the history of the village and over the years have amassed a great deal of information that I would like to share with a wider audience.
This is my first step into the world of websites and readers may have to bear with me a little as I find my feet. I intend to add articles and photos to this site as time progresses and would love to hear from anyone who visits with their thoughts, ideas, and in particular anything they could add.
I look forward to building a site of interest to everyone with Norton village connections.

[Photo of me with my mother taken outside The Red Lion Inn at Wainlode in 2014]
About Me image

The Webb Family of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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The Browne and Lane Families of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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Norton Court and the Opium Trade

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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Norton Court and Marling School, Stroud

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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John Watts of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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William Pegler of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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The Arbuthnot Family of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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The Walker Family of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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Walter Buller of Norton Court

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Court article.

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The Green Family of Norton

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Farm article.

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Peter Heylin

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the Norton Farm article.

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Aveline, Lady of Norton ?

This article may be read on its own but is primarily intended to be read alongside the St Mary's Parish Church article.

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