OPC Vacancy
Bradford on Avon Photo Gallery
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Great Chalfield – Holt – Limpley Stoke – Monkton Farleigh – North Bradley – South Wraxall – Staverton – Trowbridge – Westwood – Wingfield – Winsley
Websites
Bradford on Avon – For maps, photographs and other sources of local history and genealogy
The Parish Church of Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity Gallery Holy Trinity Interior Gallery Holy Trinity Interior Memorials Gallery Holy Trinity Churchyard Gallery
Churchyard Memorial Inscriptions Interior Memorial Inscriptions
Church News
Church Matters 1800-1899 Bells Restoration Fund Accounts 1892
Ordination of Deacons & Priests 1876
Parish Register Transcripts
Marriages
1566-1599 1600-1649 1650-1699 1700-1724 1725-1749 1750-1774 1800-1824 1825-1849
Parish Registers held at WSHC for Holy Trinity
Baptisms 1579-1951
Marriages 1580-1977
Burials 1579-1856
Parish History
At Bradford on Avon can be seen what may represent the first stone building to be raised in England after the departure of the Romans, the little church of St. Lawrence, believed to have been built by St. Aldhelm at the end of the 7th century. The walling of this venerable church, with its chancel arch a little over a yard wide, is built of large, roughly-shaped stones giving it at almost prehistoric appearance.
Writing in 1886, Professor Edward Freeman said “there can be no reasonable doubt that the building now standing is the ‘Ecclesiola’ recorded by William of Malmesbury as having been built by St. Aldhelm . . . an all but untouched example of a church at the end of the 7th century or the beginning of the 8th century; it must be unique, or very nearly so”.
The Parish includes Frankley, Great Ashley, Little Ashley and tithings of Leigh, Trowle and Wooley
There are two main churches for Bradford-on-Avon, Holy Trinity the Parish Church and Christchurch
Bradford on Avon is twinned with Sully-sur-Loire, France and Norden, Germany
History and Description of Bradford on Avon 1907 Town’s Future Blueprint 2014
Civil Registration
1837 – April 1936 Bradford Registration District
April 1936 – Present Trowbridge Registration District
Twin Towns
Buildings and Land
Orpin’s House Cattle Plague Regulations 1867 Owners of Land 1873 North Leigh House Furniture Sale 1916
Cemetery
Historic Plaques
Information Display Signs
Kennet & Avon Canal
Maps
Ordnance Surveyor’s Drawings 1808-1811
Mckeever Bridge
Public Houses
Kings Head
New Bear Inn
New Inn
New Inn News Reports 1800-1899
Riverside Inn
Railways
Tithe Barn
Crime and Legal Matters
Capital Punishment
Ann Strawbridge Hanged for Murder 1867
Forgery
Fake Notes in Circulation 2014
General Items
Crime Reports 1800-1849 Crime Reports 1850-1899 Cases of Conscience 1857
Murder
Prisons and Prisoners
Inmates of Gloucester Gaol 1815-1879 Convicts sent to Prison Hulks 1823-1842
Quarter Sessions
Appearances
Mary Ann Allen 1876 Thomas Bath 1883
Victims of Crime
Albert Nicolls 1911 Richard Ponting 1911
Robbery
Surgeon Faced Highway Robbery 1835 Robbery on the London Road 1839
Riots
Theft
Shoemaker Steals Leather and Lasts 1870
Transportation
Assault, Robbery & Livestock Theft 1831 Sarah Penny 1846
Directories
Pigots 1822 Post Office 1855 Post Office 1875 Kellys 1907 Kellys 1915 Kellys 1915 (Without)
Education
Formation of School Board 1870 Christ Church Primary School Fun Day 2014
Emigration and Migration
Strays Index Emigration Home Contact Requested 1800 – Present USA Naturalisation Record – Cecelia Maude Mariane Bainton 1920
Employment and Business
Advertising
Rogers & Co. Advertisements 1900-1949
Apprentices
Apprentice records published here may not necessarily mean that the apprentice was from the parish but was apprenticed to a master within the parish.
Apprentices to London Livery Companies 1599-1755 Apprentices 1712-1797
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
Other Apprentices
Aviation
Aviation Certificate for Hubert Applegate 1939
Communications
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969
Community Services
Fire Service
Police
Engineering
Automobile Engineer – Hubert Frederick Applegate 1895
Fashion and Materials
General Items
Situations Vacant & Wanted 1800-1899 Hair Powder Tax Stamp Distributors 1801
Inventors and Patents
Medical Matters
Medical License Extract – John Clarke 1708 General Medical Council Registrations 1859-1959
News
Trades Unions
Miscellaneous Documents
Facts and Figures About Wiltshire 1874
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Bethel Chapel
Grove Meeting House
Hermitage Tory Chapel
St. Mary Tory Chapel
St. Mary Tory Interior Gallery
The Hermitage (St. Mary’s Chapel) Tory
Methodist Chapel, Coppice Hill
Morgan’s Hill Independent Chapel
The Independent chapel at Morgan’s Hill was formed by a group who seceded from the Grove Chapel in 1739. They met first in the house of John Pitman (licensed 10 Jan 1739) and then in a newly erected house in 1740 near to St. Margaret’s Street joining Morgan’s Hill.
The chapel became congregational in the 19th century, the United Reformed Church in 1972 and joined with the Methodists in 1982 to become the United Church.
Old Baptist Chapel, St Margaret’s Street
The present building dates from 1797.
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Sladesbrook
The Chapel was set up in 1845 by a group of Methodists who had broken away in 1810. The congregation was always small and was forced to close the chapel in 1932 and the members joined the main body of Methodists. The chapel has now been converted into a house.
Primitive Methodist Chapel Gallery
Providence Baptist Chapel
The chapel opened in 1858. The congregation of the chapel was always small and dwindled to the extent that it closed in the early 1980s. The building was converted into two houses.
In the Museum, is the pulpit from the Chapel.
Providence Baptist Chapel Gallery
Quaker Meeting House
St. Laurence, Saxon Church
St. Laurence, Saxon Church
This little Church of Saxon Times for centuries forgotten and converted to secular uses, was recognised and recovered AD 1857 and restored to the service of God through the learning & care of a notable Wiltshire Antiquary William Henry Rich Jones M.A. F.S.A. Canon of Salisbury and from 1851 until his death 1885, Vicar of Bradford on Avon. [see plaque]
St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Market Street
Tithe Barn Chapel
United Church (see Morgan’s Hill Independent Chapel)
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel
Zion Baptist Church, Conigre Hill
People and Parish Notables
Accidents
Swindon Tram Disaster Accident 1906
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Agricultural Association & Societies
Chippenham
Ploughing Match and Dinner 1847
Wiltshire
Agricultural Show Prize Winners 1904
Friendly Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871 Trowbridge Provident Society Success 1789
Hobbies
Metal Detector Club Help Find Wedding Band 2014
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy Notices 1800-1849 Bankruptcy of Seth Burge 1847
Celebrations
Census Returns Transcripts
Ancient parish of Bradford, included the greater part of Bradford Hundred
1851 1881 (whole of Holy Trinity and Christchurch)
Coroners Bills
County coroners were introduced in England in around 1194 once established other boroughs and liberties sought the right to have their own coroner. Often in Medieval times the coroner also assumed the role of the sheriff and his duties weren’t limited to holding inquests on dead bodies although almost a full time post they were unpaid for the duties apart from those that were deemed murder of manslaughter when they would receive 13s. 4d. From the 24th June 1752 a law was passed allowing the coroner to claim £1 for every inquest they attended not held in a gaol and also to claim 9d per mile travel allowance from the place of residence. Inquests held in any gaol were performed at a rate totalling no more than £1. These costs were to be paid from the county rates. In cases of homicide the coroner also received the former fee of 13s. 4d. The coroners submitted their bills at the quarter session sittings for approval. Coroners Bills 1752-1796
Elections and Polls
Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 Voters Lists Revisions 1843 MP Nominations 2015 MP Nominations 2017
Entertainment
Trinity Festival at Holt 1858 Hunt Ball 1929
Family Notices
1700-1799 1800-1849 1850-1899 1900-1949 1950-1999
General Items
Knight Compositions 1628 Prize Winners at Roots Show 1874
Inquest Reports
Inquest Reports 1800-1849 Inquest Reports 1850-1899
| Mary Ann Bolwell 1869 | Norman Hill 1932 | Mark Lazbury 1850 | William Stokes 1846 | Benjamine Strine 1846 |
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
Parish Notables
| Will Carling – England International Rugby Union Player | Sharron Davies – British Swimmer and Olympian | Ed McKeever – Kayak Racer & Olympic Champion in 2012 |
| Henry Shrapnel – Soldier and Military Weapons Inventor |
Sport
Bowls Club Open Day 2014 Football Club Receives Defibrillator 2014
Wedding Reports and Anniversaries
James & Rosa Pratten Celebrate Golden Wedding Anniversary 1944
Poor Law, Charity and The Workhouse
Charity Events
Golf Tournament in Aid of Air Ambulance Charity 2014 Men Tackle Peaks Challenge for Charity 2014 Tow Path Walk for RUH, Bath 2014
Election of Guardians of the Poor
Elections of Union Officers
Election of Poor Law Union Officers 1835 Bradford Union Medical Appointments 1842
General Items
Tender to Survey Parishes for Poor Rate Assessment 1837 Union Requires Loan 1838 Poor Law Union Audit 1849 Offences Committed in the Workhouse 1835-1850
Parish Relief
Removal Orders and Settlements
Union Registration Districts
Bradford Union Registration Districts 1836
Workhouse Inmates
Adult Paupers of Union Workhouse 1861
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
Inquisitions Post Mortem of Lands Held
| John Hall 1632 | Susan Titcombe 1639 | John Yerbury 1633 | Henry, Earl of Marlborough 1638 |
| James, Earl of Marlborough 1633 |
Parishioners Wills
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War, Memorials & Military Gallery WWI & WWII War Memorial Gallery
WWI & WWII War Memorial, Westbury Gardens
Attestations and Discharge Records
Royal Marines
Servicemen and Women
Military Record of Gilbert Burton 1877-1922 Communication Home W.G.H. Andrews 1915 South African War 1899-1902 Casualties
Wiltshire Regiments
Encampment of the Wiltshires 1868 Servicemen & Families with the 1st Wilts. Regt. in South Africa 1911
WWI
British Red Cross/Voluntary Aid Detachment
V.A.D. & Red Cross Hospitals 1914-1918 Local Nurses and War Work 1919
Volunteers
| Phyllis Baynton 1915-1917 | Margaretha Baynes 1916-1917 | Innes Muriel Crossely 1917-1918 | Laura Dando 1917-1919 |
| Helen Douglas 1917-1919 | Florence Dyer 1916-1918 | Jemima Harding 1917-1919 |
Casualties
| Charles Edwin Adams 1915 | William Harry George Andrews 1916 | Leonard Victor Drew 1915 | Donald Robert Keates 1918 |
| Christopher Ken Merewether 1917 | Frederick William James Young 1918 |
General WWI Items
Christmas Gift Ideas for the Troops from H. J. Knee Ltd 1914-1918 Considerate Soldiers 1914-1918 Egg Collection for Wounded Servicemen 1914-1918
Served King and Country
Wiltshire Regiment During WWI
Death of Drummer G. Howell & Christmas Truce of 1914 Wiltshire Regiment Wounded List July 1917
WWI & WWII Memorials and Books of Remembrance
WWII
Royal Air Force
Ashley
People and Parish Notables
Bearfield
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Bearfield Congregational Church
Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, Bearfield
John Wesley Preaching at Bearfield & Seend 1749
People and Parish Notables
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Coroners Bills
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1995
Bradford Leigh
Buildings and Land
Landowners
Maps
Crime and Legal Matters
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Methodist Church, Bradford Leigh
People and Parish Notables
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871 Bankruptcy Notice of Charles Hellier 1861 Family Notices 1900-1949
Census Returns Transcripts
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
Parishioners Wills
Edward Cottle proved 1758 Elizabeth Clutterbuck proved 1826
War Memorials & Military
WWI
Casualties
For King and Country
News Reports
Sad News – Death of Victor Wallace Alford 1919
Cumberwell
Crime and Legal Matters
People and Parish Notables
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
Frankley
Crime and Legal Matters
Quarter Sessions
Victims of Crime
People and Parish Notables
Coroners Bills 1752-1796 Poll of Freeholders 1772
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
Trowle
Employment & Business
Apprentices
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Prize Winners at Bradford Roots Show 1874
Census Returns Transcripts
Coroners Bills
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – These items were donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many references to Quaker entries may be found from across the county.
Turley
People and Parish Notables
Family Notices
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
Woolley
Employment and Business
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
People and Parish Notables
Census Returns Transcripts
Elections and Polls
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
