Colesbourne

Colesbourne

Colesbourne, a small rural parish lying 12 km. SSW. of Cheltenham, covers 890 ha. (2,198 a.) and is irregular in shape. (fn. 1) The river Churn runs across the middle of the parish before turning southwards to form part of the eastern boundary, the rest of which is formed by Hilcot brook, a tributary called Lyde brook in the 18th century and early 19th; (fn. 2) in a Saxon survey of an estate in Withington the river above the confluence was apparently called the Colesbourne, the name Churn being used for Hilcot brook. (fn. 3) On the west the parish is bounded by the river and streams but elsewhere by field boundaries. (fn. 4)

The Churn valley forms the major feature of the landscape. Above it the parish takes in high wolds rising to 271 m. in the north-western corner near Pinswell and to 267 m. in the southern part on Pen hill, called Grove hill c. 1703 when Colesbourne Pen, a group of trees forming a landmark on the summit, was recorded. (fn. 5) Most of the high ground is on the Inferior Oolite, which in the southern part is overlaid by fuller's earth and the Great Oolite, and the valleys of the Churn and its tributaries lie on Midford Sand. (fn. 6) The high land was once cultivated as open fields but some had been laid down as pasture by the later 18th century. The parish is extensively wooded. Woods planted c. 1800 included the Forest in the north-west, Cocklar plantation, then a small area on the southern side of the Churn valley, and Harp plantation, a triangular area in a road junction to the east. (fn. 7) Nevertheless in 1839 there were still only 194 a. of woodland in the parish, confined mainly to the south-west. (fn. 8) Most of the woodland was created in the early 20th century by Henry John Elwes, who planted a large part of the Colesbourne estate, including the Hilcot brook valley and the area east of Pen hill. (fn. 9) In 1979 plantations on the estate covered 283.3 ha. (700 a.) of Colesbourne and adjoining parishes. (fn. 10)

By 1770 an area of park-land called Rapsgate or Rendon park had been laid out on the southern boundary of the parish. (fn. 11) The park, which was let with other farm-land in the early 19th century, covered 64 a. in Colesbourne and North Cerney (fn. 12) and had been disparked by 1839. (fn. 13) By 1820 a deerpark comprising 61 a. had been created for the Elwes family's manor-house in the angle of the Churn and Hilcot brook. (fn. 14) The park, which had been enlarged by the early 1880s, (fn. 15) was developed as an arboretum by H. J. Elwes, who planted rare specimens collected from many parts of the world, especially Asia. (fn. 16) Hilcot brook on reaching the north-eastern corner of the parish opens into an elongated lake, formed by 1820. (fn. 17) Downstream, just above the confluence with the Churn, another lake was formed in 1925 as part of the pleasure grounds of Colesbourne Park. (fn. 18)

An old road from Gloucester to Northleach ran eastwards by way of High Cross in Elkstone to a crossing of the Churn at its confluence with Hilcot brook. (fn. 19) The crossing, which was a ford at the time of the Saxon survey of Withington, (fn. 20) had probably been bridged by the mid 13th century. From the southern boundary a route from Cirencester which passed Rapsgate, (fn. 21) the meeting-place of the hundred court, (fn. 22) ran NNE. and, on the north-eastern side of Pen hill, crossed an old route between High Cross and Rendcomb. North of the river it continued towards Hilcot in Withington and was known as Winchcombe way in 1680. (fn. 23) A road to Cheltenham, which led north-westwards from Colesbourne church in the angle of the Churn and Hilcot brook, followed two routes south-east of Pinswell. (fn. 24) By 1824 it had become a private carriage-way from the manor-house to the crossroads east of Seven Springs in Coberley, (fn. 25) and later, possibly before 1839, the Elwes family built a toll-house at Pinswell to collect toll from others using that route. (fn. 26) In 1825 the new Cheltenham—Cirencester road along the bottom of the Churn valley became the main road through the parish. (fn. 27) The section of the road from High Cross to Rendcomb running through the parish was closed in 1827 (fn. 28) and by 1838 the old Cirencester road had become a private carriage-way for much of its length. (fn. 29)

Colesbourne village grew up beside the Churn near the Gloucester–Northleach and Cirencester–Winchcombe routes, but there had been earlier settlements in the parish, including Norbury Camp, a hill fort near Pinswell, and, in the south-western corner, a Roman villa (fn. 30) which Samuel Lysons excavated in the later 18th century. (fn. 31) Around Colesbourne church, which had been built by the end of the 11th century, the settlement included a manor-house and the rectory, both of which were demolished in the mid 19th century. Some way south-west on the other side of the river Old Farm, a farm-house, was apparently rebuilt c. 1790 (fn. 32) and has a 19th-century addition. Among the out-buildings is a barn dated 1789 and enlarged in the 19th century. There was an area of cottage development to the west along a lane leading northwards from the old Gloucester– Northleach road, and a 17th-century cottage built on that road survives. Further west the Colesbourne inn, which was built soon after the completion in 1825 of the new Cheltenham–Cirencester road, (fn. 33) was enlarged in the later 19th century. The enlargement was presumably financed by John Henry Elwes, who then built or rebuilt many of the cottages on his estate. (fn. 34) The new cottages were possibly designed by David Brandon, whom Elwes employed in the early 1850s when he restored the church and built Colesbourne Park, near the site of the former manor-house, and a school and school-house by the main road south-west of Old Farm. In the later 1860s Elwes extended the school-house westwards to make it a residence suitable for the rector and put up stabling to the west behind the 17th-century cottage. (fn. 35)

On the old Gloucester road some distance west of the village a small cottage settlement had been established at a cross-roads by 1820. (fn. 36) Some of the cottages recorded there in 1839 were later rebuilt and others demolished. (fn. 37) Penhill Farm, to the west, was rebuilt in the early 19th century by the Elwes family, which acquired it in 1790. (fn. 38) Either that house, which is on a site once the property of Llanthony Priory, or Old Farm may have been the ancient farm-house with an adjoining chapel called the Priory in the early 18th century. (fn. 39) On the old Rendcomb road south of Penhill Farm three cottages had been built by 1820 (fn. 40) but two had been demolished by 1979. By the main road north-east of Penhill Farm J. H. Elwes built two pairs of estate cottages in 1857 and 1883 respectively. (fn. 41) East of the Hilcot road at Southbury a lodge, built in the 1790s, (fn. 42) was evidently rebuilt in the early 19th century as a farm-house. (fn. 43) Two pairs of council houses were built west of the road in the mid 20th century.

By c. 1770 a farmstead had been established at Pinswell (fn. 44) where the farm-house was a private residence in 1979. (fn. 45) In the north-eastern corner of the parish Lyde Cottage, which had been built by 1820, (fn. 46) was converted in the 19th century as a summer-house for the Elwes family by the addition of a verandah. (fn. 47)

Those inhabitants of Colesbourne who were described as of the coomb in the 13th century and early 14th (fn. 48) apparently lived in the south-western part of the parish in the deep valley forming the boundary with Elkstone near the hamlet of Combend in that parish. (fn. 49) By 1838 there were several cottages in that valley for labourers on the Combend estate. (fn. 50) To the south-east the hamlet of Rapsgate, below the old Cirencester road, comprised a large house, Rapsgate Park, and a few cottages in 1979. Rapsgate Park, an 18th-century farm-house set in an area of park-land c. 1770, (fn. 51) may have been adapted by Francis Eyre, owner of the Colesbourne estate, as his residence (fn. 52) but it was a farm-house c. 1790. (fn. 53) In 1903 the interior was remodelled and out-buildings to the east were incorporated in the house, (fn. 54) which later was either let as a gentleman's residence or used by the Elwes family. (fn. 55) A pair of late-19th-century cottages among the farm-buildings 800 m. to the north-east was converted as a farm-house in the mid 20th century. (fn. 56)

In 1086 26 tenants were mentioned on two estates in Colesbourne, (fn. 57) and 13 people were assessed for the subsidy in 1327 (fn. 58) and at least 6 for the poll tax in 1381. (fn. 59) In 1551 there were said to be c. 60 communicants in the parish (fn. 60) and 18 households were recorded there in 1563. (fn. 61) The parish had 67 communicants in 1603 (fn. 62) and the population was estimated at 34 families in 1650 (fn. 63) and at 120 people living in 30 houses c. 1710. (fn. 64) It had risen to 254 by c. 1775. (fn. 65) In 1801 it was 231 and, apart from a slight fall in the 1850s, it rose slowly to a peak of 286 in 1881. It had fallen to 204 by 1901 and then, after a slight rise over the next two decades, to 142 by 1961. In 1971 153 people lived in the parish. (fn. 66)

The Elwes family has been the leading influence in the parish since c. 1790 when it acquired most of the land. H. J. Elwes (d. 1922), the naturalist and traveller, collaborated with the botanist Augustine Henry in writing The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, published between 1906 and 1913. (fn. 67)

Manors and Other Estates

Colesbourne became a possession of the bishopric of Worcester before 822. Bishop Denebeorht leased 9 'manentes' there to a priest, Balthun, for three lives and in 840 Beorhtwulf, king of the Mercians, exempted the bishop's estate from certain dues. (fn. 68) Before the Conquest the estate, comprising 8 hides, was held from the bishop by Sweyn but by 1086 the tenant was Walter son of Roger, (fn. 69) better known as Walter of Gloucester, who in 1095 granted two-thirds of the Colesbourne tithes to the church of St. Owen in Gloucester. (fn. 70) By the later 12th century two separate estates of 4 hides each were held in Colesbourne under Walter's descendants (fn. 71) and together were assessed for 2 knights' fees in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. (fn. 72)

Walter of Gloucester's son and heir Miles, the founder of Llanthony Priory, was created earl of Hereford in 1141 and died in 1143. His estates passed in turn to his four sons, the last of whom, Mahel, (fn. 73) died in 1165. Mahel's English possessions were divided between his sisters Margaret, wife of Humphrey de Bohun, and Lucy, wife of Herbert FitzHerbert, (fn. 74) but evidence for the descent of the intermediate lordship of the two Colesbourne estates is contradictory. Margaret, who c. 1178 confirmed grants of land to Bruern Abbey (Oxon.), (fn. 75) held it in the later 12th century (fn. 76) but Herbert's son Peter (d. 1235) (fn. 77) confirmed a grant of land to Llanthony Priory (fn. 78) and his son Reynold held the 2 fees under the bishop of Worcester in 1285. (fn. 79) Reynold's interest passed with Barnsley manor, from which land in Colesbourne was held in the early 15th century. (fn. 80) Nevertheless in the later 13th century Margaret de Bohun's descendants, the earls of Hereford, held Colesbourne with Southam from the bishop's manor of Bishop's Cleeve. (fn. 81) Southam passed with the earldom to the Crown (fn. 82) and in 1508 a Colesbourne estate was held from Henry VII's mother Margaret, countess of Richmond. (fn. 83) The superior overlordship of the bishop of Worcester was recorded in 1613 when the same estate was held from his manor of Withington. (fn. 84)

By c. 1140 all or part of the Colesbourne estate was evidently held in demesne by Ellis Loholt. (fn. 85) Ellis and his son Walter granted land there to Bruern Abbey (fn. 86) and Walter later held part of the estate. (fn. 87) That part, which was assessed at 1 knight's fee in the 13th and 14th centuries (fn. 88) and was known as the manor of COLESBOURNE by the mid 14th, (fn. 89) was held by Walter's descendants, including Walter Loholt (fl. 1260) who made a grant of the advowson, Ellis Loholt who was involved in a dispute over tithes in 1283, (fn. 90) and Walter Loholt who was described as lord of Colesbourne in 1316. (fn. 91) In 1341 John Loholt conveyed the manor to John Coggeshall and his wife Elizabeth. (fn. 92)

The descent of the manor following that conveyance is not clear. In 1396 Walter Catewy made a grant of a reversion of it (fn. 93) and the following year half of the manor was held under John Wotton of Kemble and his wife Isabel by John Mene in right of his wife Joan, (fn. 94) who had evidently married Thomas Attwater by 1407 and Simon Raleigh by 1422. (fn. 95) The other half of the manor may have been held in the early 15th century by Robert Gifford in right of his wife Elizabeth, (fn. 96) though in 1402 John Mene was assessed on 1 knight's fee, evidently for the whole manor. (fn. 97) Joan Raleigh's half of the manor reverted after her death by 1435 to John Vampage, who then apparently acquired the other half. (fn. 98) The following year he settled the whole manor on the marriage of his son John but retained life-interests for himself and his wife Elizabeth. (fn. 99) Colesbourne manor passed to the younger John Vampage's son, also John (fn. 100) (d. 1502), who was succeeded by his son Robert. (fn. 101) After Robert's death in 1516 the manor was held by his wife Eleanor, later passing to his son John. (fn. 102) John, who settled the manor on himself and his wife Anne for their lives, died without issue in 1548. He left the reversion of the manor and property in Withington to his sister Dorothy and her husband Thomas Winchcombe with remainder to John Higford, Dorothy's son by an earlier marriage. (fn. 103) Anne Vampage married Sir Thomas Baskerville (fn. 104) but the descent of the manor after 1548 is not clear. John Higford owned it in 1571 (fn. 105) and Edmund Harewell of Besford (Worcs.), John Vampage's nephew and coheir, was in possession by 1586 when he granted a lease of the manor-house. (fn. 106)

Edmund Harewell's son Edmund (fn. 107) sold the manor in 1602 to William Higgs, the owner of another estate in the parish. (fn. 108) William (d. 1612) was succeeded by his son Thomas, (fn. 109) who settled the Colesbourne estate the following year on his marriage to Elizabeth Bludder. (fn. 110) Thomas, who bought more land in Colesbourne and Withington in 1624, (fn. 111) was dead by 1649 and was survived by Elizabeth. (fn. 112) The estate passed to their son Thomas who conveyed it in 1672 to Samuel Sheppard. (fn. 113) Samuel died the following year and his son Philip, lord of Avening and Minchinhampton manors, (fn. 114) owned the Colesbourne estate in 1680. (fn. 115) By c. 1710 Philip had conveyed Colesbourne to his younger son Philip (fn. 116) (d. 1738). (fn. 117) John Sheppard, who apparently sold the estate to Francis Eyre in 1770, (fn. 118) possibly lived in the manor-house until his death in 1791. (fn. 119)

Francis Eyre, who became M.P. for Grimsby in 1780, (fn. 120) sold the estate, covering 1,515 a., (fn. 121) to John Elwes (fn. 122) soon after the latter had purchased a smaller estate in the parish in 1790, when he was described as of St. Marylebone (Mdx.). (fn. 123) John, who became High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1799, (fn. 124) enlarged the estate to c. 6,000 a. mainly by purchases in Coberley and Withington parishes. (fn. 125) He died in 1817 and the estate then passed in the direct line to Henry (d. 1851), (fn. 126) John Henry (d. 1891), Henry John (d. 1922), and Henry Cecil (d. 1950). The last was succeeded by his grandson Mr. H. W. G. Elwes, (fn. 127) who sold parts of the estate in the 1950s to meet death duties and retained 1,011.7 ha. (2,500 a.) in Colesbourne and adjoining parishes in 1979. (fn. 128)

In 1586 Edmund Harewell leased the manor-house to John Stone, who was involved in two lawsuits against William Higgs in 1605. (fn. 129) In 1672 the house had 11 hearths. (fn. 130) In 1786 the house, standing north of the church, was said to have been recently modernized (fn. 131) and in the early 19th century it had a symmetrical eastern elevation of mid-18th-century date. (fn. 132) It was demolished in the early 1850s and replaced by Colesbourne Park, built a little to the north-east in 1854 to the designs of David Brandon. That house was demolished in the late 1950s save for the dining-room, around which a smaller house was built. (fn. 133) West of the church, on the site of the former rectory, stabling and coach-houses occupy three sides of a courtyard; two of the ranges are dated 1842 and 1859 respectively. (fn. 134)

Maud de Wateville, who granted land in Colesbourne to Bruern Abbey c. 1160, (fn. 135) was related to William le Poer, who held the other part of the Colesbourne estate in demesne in the later 12th century. (fn. 136) That part was also assessed at 1 knight's fee in the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 137) William le Poer was succeeded by his son William, who granted half of his Colesbourne property to his sister Hawise de Wateville in free marriage for life. She conveyed that part to Llanthony Priory before 1235 and William's son Roger confirmed her grant. By 1260 Walter le Poer held the rest of the property (fn. 138) which apparently passed to John of Morton and his wife Elizabeth, evidently in her right, before 1303 when they were assessed for 1 knight's fee. (fn. 139) It may have been held later by Walter Cokey but by 1346 it had apparently been taken into Llanthony Priory's estate. (fn. 140)

At its foundation Llanthony Priory had been endowed with those Colesbourne tithes which had been granted to St. Owen's church, (fn. 141) and in 1291 its portion in Colesbourne church was valued at £2 6s. 8d. (fn. 142) In the 13th century the priory acquired land in the parish, including ½ hide from Joseph Marsh and his wife, (fn. 143) and in 1291 was granted free warren. (fn. 144) The priory retained its enlarged estate, later known as COLESBOURNE LLANTHONY manor, until the Dissolution. (fn. 145) In 1540 Henry VIII granted the estate for life to his servant Thomas Guise. (fn. 146) Under grants of 1542 a sheep-pasture passed to the Porter family after Guise's death (fn. 147) and the rest of the estate to the Crown. In 1551 the king, who was entitled to the greater part of the tithes, was called rector. (fn. 148) In 1564 the Crown granted the manor to Thomas Reeve, William Ryvett, and William Hutchins. (fn. 149) Ryvett, who presented to the rectory in 1570, (fn. 150) conveyed the manor and tithes to John Robinson in 1589, (fn. 151) and Robinson, a London mercer, sold them in 1595 to William Higgs. (fn. 152)

In 1602 Higgs bought the other Colesbourne manor, thus creating the Colesbourne estate which passed to the Elwes family. The estate included two-thirds of the Colesbourne tithes but c. 385 a. in the parish, which had belonged to the priory, were exempt from tithes and were described as tithe-free. (fn. 153) In the late 17th century and the 18th owners of the Combend estate, based in Elkstone, took or claimed two-thirds of the tithes from their land in Colesbourne (fn. 154) but in the later 18th century owners of the Colesbourne estate took all the tithes of the parish and paid the rector a modus for his share. (fn. 155) In the early 19th century Henry Elwes took two-thirds of the tithes, except those of the glebe and 66 a. of woodland on the Combend estate, and in 1839 his tithes were commuted for a corn-rent-charge of £242 14s. (fn. 156) The Combend estate, which had acquired part of the Colesbourne estate by 1680 (fn. 157) included 237 a. in the south-western corner of the parish in the early 19th century, mainly former Llanthony Priory land. (fn. 158)

In Edward the Confessor's reign Eluuin held an estate of 1½ hide in Colesbourne as a manor. After the Conquest it was granted with Elkstone to Ansfrid de Cormeilles. The Colesbourne land, which was held under him by a knight in 1086, (fn. 159) presumably descended as part of the Elkstone estate and in 1166 was evidently held under Richard de Cormeilles by William of Colesbourne, a tenant by knight service. (fn. 160)

Bruern Abbey, which acquired land in Colesbourne piecemeal from the mid 12th century, (fn. 161) was granted free warren there in 1366. (fn. 162) In 1543, after the Dissolution, the Crown granted the abbey's lands in Colesbourne and Little Colesbourne in Withington to Edmund Harman and his wife Agnes. (fn. 163) The following year Edmund granted them to Thomas Preedon, (fn. 164) who died in 1558 leaving as his heir his son Richard. (fn. 165) In 1624 Thomas's property was sold by Sir Egremont Thynne and Arthur Lowe to Thomas Higgs. (fn. 166)

In the mid 18th century George Weare of Cirencester owned an estate which included the western part of Colesbourne by the Churn. It had been divided among his four daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, Mary, and another, by 1754 when Anne's share was settled on her husband Thomas Chamberlayne Coxe, rector of North Cerney. Coxe later acquired Mary's share and part of Elizabeth's (fn. 167) and at his death in 1779 left land in Colesbourne and Elkstone to trustees for sale. Part of the land had been sold by 1790 when the remainder, c. 320 a. mainly in Colesbourne, was bought by John Elwes. (fn. 168)

In 1668 Thomas Higgs granted 2 yardlands of his Colesbourne estate to Richard Sollace, already a landowner in the parish. In 1679 Sollace settled his land on the marriage of his daughter Mary and Anthony Edwards but retained life-interests for himself (d. 1702) and his wife Jane (d. 1705). Anthony granted the land in 1711 to his second son Richard (d. 1743) and it had passed to another Anthony Edwards by 1744 when Sir John Guise, lord of Rendcomb, bought it. (fn. 169) In the 19th century the Rendcomb estate included almost 100 a. in the south-eastern corner of Colesbourne. (fn. 170)

St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Gloucester, which was granted ½ yardland in Colesbourne in the mid 13th century, (fn. 171) retained 22 a. there until 1819 when it was exchanged with Henry Elwes for land in Withington. (fn. 172) In 1574 land in Colesbourne which had supported a lamp or lights in Cheltenham church was sold by the Crown. (fn. 173)

Economic History

Some land on the bishop of Worcester's Colesbourne estate may have fallen out of cultivation between 1066 and 1086 when the estate was halved in value. Of the six ploughs on it at the latter date only one was used on the demesne, which had two servi. The demesne on the Colesbourne manor then held under Ansfrid de Cormeilles comprised ½ plough-land. (fn. 174) In 1291 there were 2 plough-lands in demesne on Llanthony Priory's estate. (fn. 175) In 1537 the priory granted a lease of its demesne together with the rent from a sheep-pasture. (fn. 176)

Among the tenants of the bishop's estate in 1086 were 18 villani and 2 bordars who between them worked 5 ploughs. On the manor held under Ansfrid de Cormeilles the tenants were 2 villani and 2 bordars with 1 plough. (fn. 177) Llanthony Priory received assized rents valued at 22s. in 1291 (fn. 178) and at £1 15s. 5d. in 1539 when the rents of its customary tenants were worth £2 1s. 3d. (fn. 179) No further evidence of tenurial history has been found before the mid 17th century when tenants on the Colesbourne estate held by copy. (fn. 180) Much of the copyhold land was probably converted to leasehold during the creation of large farms. (fn. 181) On the Colesbourne estate c. 1790 were farms of 500 a., 470 a., 340 a., and 170 a., and the smaller tenements were a mill estate held by copy and several cottages. (fn. 182) In 1820 995 a. of the estate in Colesbourne were in hand, and farms based on Penhill Farm and Rapsgate Park covered 532½ a. and 325 a. respectively. (fn. 183)

Some commons, including one called Lammas Grounds, were recorded in the early 18th century (fn. 184) but much of the higher land in the parish was included in two extensive open fields, a north and a south field on opposite sides of the Churn valley, recorded from the mid 13th century. (fn. 185) In the mid 18th century the pasture rights in those fields were used primarily for sheep. (fn. 186) The estate of 22 a. owned by St. Bartholomew's Hospital lay scattered throughout the fields in 52 pieces in 1819. (fn. 187) The owners of the Colesbourne estate, to which most of the open-field land belonged, had begun inclosing land by the early 18th century (fn. 188) and in the mid 1780s 195 a. south of Pen hill were inclosed. (fn. 189) In 1838 the north field covered 533 a. in an area extending from the Cheltenham–Cirencester road and Southbury north-eastwards almost to Hilcot brook, and the south field covered 317 a. in an area south of the old Rendcomb road and extending eastwards from Pen hill to the Churn. (fn. 190) By the later 18th century the open-field land of the Colesbourne estate had been arranged in compact holdings attached to the large farms of the estate. One farm included 158 a. on Pen hill which had been laid down as a sheep-pasture but was still regarded as commonable. (fn. 191) The open fields were inclosed in 1838 when Henry Elwes was allotted 812 a. and the rector 48 a. for his glebe, but the award was not finalized until 1849 when Elwes had bought out the only other owner of open-field land. (fn. 192)

After inclosure Elwes retained 295 a. of woodland and pasture in hand and the rest of his estate in Colesbourne was organized as four farms, comprising 505 a., 480 a., 359 a., and 150 a. in 1839 and based on the farmsteads at Southbury, Penhill Farm, Rapsgate Park, and Pinswell respectively. Other land in the parish was farmed at that time from Combend in Elkstone or Marsden in Rendcomb. (fn. 193) From the late 1870s when arable farming became unprofitable the farms on the Colesbourne estate were taken in hand and by the mid 1880s H. J. Elwes was farming c. 2,500 a. for his father. (fn. 194) The letting of parts of the estate had been resumed by 1889 (fn. 195) and in 1926 there were four farms in the parish, three with over 150 a. each and one with over 100 a. They provided full-time employment for only 14 labourers. (fn. 196)

In 1839 1,473 a. were given over to arable and 525 a. to pasture (fn. 197) and in the mid 19th century the parish was devoted mainly to sheep and corn husbandry. In 1866 the area returned as under crops or temporary grass was 1,104 a. and that under permanent grass 391 a. The sheep, then returned at 941, were folded on turnips, mangolds, and grass leys. The other crops in the rotation were wheat, barley, oats, peas, and potatoes. Other livestock returned then included 119 cattle of which 24 were kept for dairying. (fn. 198) There was a considerable shift from arable after 1879 as land on the Colesbourne estate was allowed to revert to grass, (fn. 199) and 1,399 a. in the parish were returned in 1896 as permanent grass and only 352½ a. as arable or temporary grass. (fn. 200) From 1882 H. J. Elwes made silage in place of hay (fn. 201) and by 1885 there were seven silos on the estate. (fn. 202) Elwes improved the quality of the estate's flock of Cotswold sheep in the early 1880s by selective breeding but by the 1890s sheep– farming had become less important. (fn. 203) To make the estate profitable he developed some parts as rabbit warrens and in the early 20th century planted large areas. (fn. 204) The area returned as permanent grass had been reduced to 466½ a. by 1926 when another 157 a. were used for rough grazing. The number of cattle returned then was 158, including 36 milk cows. At least 511½ a. were farmed as arable then. (fn. 205)

After 1950 most of the land was kept in hand by the Colesbourne estate and by 1979 only 242.8 ha. (600 a.), farmed from Rapsgate Farm and Lower Hilcot Farm in Withington, were worked by tenants. Elsewhere in Colesbourne in 1976 were three farms with less than 30 ha. (74 a.) each. In the later 1970s local farming was largely based on sheep and corn husbandry but pig- and cattlerearing were also significant. In 1979 the home farm of the Colesbourne estate, managed from 1967 by a company, included 404.7 ha. (1,000 a.) of farm-land, most of which was worked as arable with a six-year rotation, and it had a flock of 700 ewes. The woodland on the estate was managed separately. (fn. 206)

Several mills were recorded in Colesbourne in the Middle Ages. In 1086 there were two on the bishop of Worcester's estate and one on the manor held under Ansfrid de Cormeilles. (fn. 207) William le Poer's property in the early 13th century included a mill. (fn. 208) Another mill was granted by William Marsh to Llanthony Priory, which alienated it in 1272 to Walter Loholt the younger. (fn. 209) At the Dissolution a fulling-mill in Colesbourne was held from the priory together with a small estate in Chedworth. (fn. 210) In 1661 Thomas Higgs conveyed two water-mills in Colesbourne and Chedworth to John Hicks (fn. 211) but they were bought in again by Philip Sheppard in 1713. (fn. 212) One of those mills probably stood on the Churn south-west of Colesbourne church where a grist-mill was recorded c. 1770. (fn. 213) It had evidently stopped working by 1820 when it was called the old mill. (fn. 214) By the middle of the century a saw-mill had begun operating a little to the west. (fn. 215) Its waterwheel was scrapped in the late 1950s (fn. 216) but the timber-yard remained open in 1979.

In 1831 29 families were supported by agriculture and 13 by trades (fn. 217) but in the mid 1860s, a time of agricultural prosperity, there were not enough resident labourers to work the farms of the Colesbourne estate, for most of the cottages were occupied by small tradesmen and servants. (fn. 218) A smith lived in the parish in the early 13th century (fn. 219) and the blacksmith recorded in 1641 (fn. 220) may have worked the smithy recorded west of Old Farm in 1845. (fn. 221) Inhabitants included a butcher and a shoemaker in 1327 (fn. 222) and possibly a walker in 1381. (fn. 223) A dyer lived in the parish in the early 13th century (fn. 224) and there is evidence of a small cloth industry in 1608 when a tucker and a weaver were among the inhabitants. A mason also lived in Colesbourne then (fn. 225) and a number of masons and slaters in the 19th century. (fn. 226) Many of the usual village trades died out from the end of the 19th century but the village still had a blacksmith in 1939 (fn. 227) and a gate- and hurdle-maker in 1940. (fn. 228) In 1979 the village had a post office and a small garage, which had opened in 1919. (fn. 229)

Local Government

The view of frank-pledge for Colesbourne was held in the hundred court but by the early 15th century some of Bruern Abbey's tenants may have attended the view held by the lord of the hundred's steward on the abbey's manor of Marsden. (fn. 230) In the early 13th century courts were held by the Loholt and le Poer families for their parts of Colesbourne. (fn. 231) Llanthony Priory agreed, probably in the mid 13th century, to do suit every three weeks to Cirencester Abbey's foreign court at Cirencester for property in Colesbourne, (fn. 232) and profits of court were received for the priory's Colesbourne manor in 1539. (fn. 233)

The parish was served by two churchwardens, recorded from 1548, (fn. 234) but in the 19th century there was sometimes only one. Their accounts survive from 1754. (fn. 235) There were two overseers of the poor in 1718 when the parish apprenticed a boy. (fn. 236) The cost of poor-relief, which was £93 in 1776, had risen to £164 by 1803 when 17 people received regular help and 19 occasional but the numbers had dropped to 14 and 2 respectively by 1813. The cost that year was pushed up to £201 by an expenditure of £38 on lawsuits but had fallen to £110 by 1815 (fn. 237) and in the late 1820s and early 1830s varied between £116 and £154. (fn. 238) By 1820 the parish rented as a poorhouse a cottage on the old Rendcomb road south of Penhill Farm. (fn. 239) Colesbourne, which became part of the Cirencester poor-law union of 1836, (fn. 240) was included in Cirencester rural district until 1974 (fn. 241) and then in Cotswold district.

Church

A church had evidently been built at Colesbourne by 1095 when Walter of Gloucester granted two-thirds of the tithes, which were collected in two courts, to the church of St. Owen, Gloucester. (fn. 242) The living was a rectory in 1260 (fn. 243) and remained one, though the incumbent was styled vicar in 1551, presumably because he received only part of the tithes. (fn. 244) The rectory was united, under an order of 1868, (fn. 245) with Coberley in 1871, (fn. 246) and Cowley was added to the united benefice in 1937. (fn. 247) In 1954 Colesbourne again became a separate living, described as a vicarage or perpetual curacy, but a vacancy in 1975 was left unfilled and the rector of Coberley and Cowley was appointed priest-in-charge. (fn. 248)

In the mid 13th century Walter Loholt granted the advowson of the church to Llanthony Priory, (fn. 249) which presented to the living of 1266 (fn. 250) and retained the patronage until the Dissolution. (fn. 251) The Crown, which exercised the advowson in 1542, (fn. 252) granted it to George Huntley in 1564 (fn. 253) but it evidently passed with the priory's Colesbourne estate the same year, for William Ryvett was patron in 1570. (fn. 254) In 1578 Tobias Damforde was patron for a turn and in 1665 the bishop presented through lapse. (fn. 255) Colesbourne and Coberley churches had the same patron when the benefices were united, but after the union with Cowley the Lord Chancellor had the right to present at every third vacancy. (fn. 256) Mr. H. W. G. Elwes was patron of Colesbourne in 1979. (fn. 257)

Colesbourne was a poor living because the rector took only a third of the tithes. (fn. 258) In the later 13th century Llanthony Priory was in dispute with the rector, who had been taking its tithes before 1283, and in 1301 it granted its share of the hay tithes to another rector for the duration of his incumbency. (fn. 259) The rector had ceased to receive his part of the tithes from the priory's estate by 1407 (fn. 260) and in 1680 Thomas Horton was withholding his share in those from some woodland on the Combend estate. (fn. 261) In the later 18th century owners of the Colesbourne estate took all the tithes of the parish and paid the rector £50 a year as a modus for his share. (fn. 262) The rector's tithes, including those from 66 a. of woodland on the Combend estate, were commuted in 1839 for a corn-rent-charge of £122 10s. (fn. 263)

The rector's glebe measured 24 a. in 1535, (fn. 264) 2 yardlands in 1572, and c. 44 a. in 1680. (fn. 265) Two awards of £200 each, made by Queen Anne's Bounty in 1809 and 1812 to meet benefactions by the patron of £200 and £300 respectively, (fn. 266) had been used by 1827 by buy 27 a. and 4 dilapidated cottages in Withington. (fn. 267) The glebe, which was enlarged slightly by an exchange with Henry Elwes at inclosure in 1838 (fn. 268) and by a gift from J. H. Elwes in 1869, (fn. 269) covered c. 85 a. at the end of the century and was sold c. 1916. (fn. 270) The living was worth £4 6s. 8d. in 1291 (fn. 271) and £5 6s. 9½d. clear in 1535. (fn. 272) The value had risen to £26 by 1650, (fn. 273) and to £43 by 1750. (fn. 274) The living was worth £130 in 1856. (fn. 275)

The rectory house, which was ruinous in 1569, (fn. 276) had three hearths in 1672 (fn. 277) and comprised three bays in 1680. (fn. 278) The house, standing west of the churchyard, (fn. 279) was described as unfit for a residence in 1838 (fn. 280) when it was part of the property exchanged with Henry Elwes. (fn. 281) It had been demolished by 1842. (fn. 282) The school-house, which J. H. Elwes gave to the rector for a parsonage in 1869, (fn. 283) became the home of curates. (fn. 284)

In 1269 the rector, William of Thornbury, was dispensed to stay in Rome for a year on business concerning the church. (fn. 285) In 1306 the rector Ranulph White, who purged himself of homicide and other crimes, was licensed to let the church at farm for three years to pay debts incurred during his imprisonment. (fn. 286) He was granted leave of absence for part of 1310. (fn. 287) In 1331 the rector, John of London, was licensed to be absent for study. (fn. 288) William Vance, instituted in 1465, was the bishop's chancellor. (fn. 289) Richard Hawker, who became rector in 1542, (fn. 290) was unable to prove the Articles in 1551. (fn. 291) By 1563 he was non-resident and employed curates, including in 1566 one who was not in orders. (fn. 292) In 1569 the rector, who had been nonresident for two years, was said to have erased passages in the Bible. Humphrey Horton, rector from 1570, (fn. 293) also held the livings of Rendcomb and Tetbury. He was non-resident in 1576 but may have served for a while earlier, for he was presented for wearing a cope during communion. (fn. 294)

Thomas Freeman, who became rector in 1637 or 1638 (fn. 295) and was described as a preaching minister in 1650, (fn. 296) retained the living until his death c. 1665. Joseph Wilkes was rector from 1668 to 1713 (fn. 297) but in 1672 a Mr. Haigh, who was living in the parsonage, was described as rector. (fn. 298) William Alexander, rector 1713–29, (fn. 299) taught at Cheltenham grammar school until 1718 when he became headmaster of the King's School, Gloucester. (fn. 300) George White, his successor at Colesbourne, was also rector of Rendcomb. (fn. 301) John Raffles became rector in 1780 but was deprived soon afterwards for forging his letters of ordination. (fn. 302) John de la Bere, rector from 1782, (fn. 303) lived in Cheltenham and employed curates. (fn. 304) His successor James Holmes, rector, 1789–1837, (fn. 305) lived in Suffolk (fn. 306) but moved to Colesbourne in 1806. (fn. 307) After he became perpetual curate of Compton Abdale in 1824 (fn. 308) Colesbourne had only one service each Sunday. (fn. 309) Frederick Hohler, who became rector in 1837, lived in Winstone where he was curate and later rector. He employed curates at Colesbourne from 1855 and the church was also served by curates after the union with Coberley. (fn. 310) When Colesbourne became a separate living in 1954 it was served in plurality with Rendcomb until 1973. (fn. 311)

Land, which brought in an income of 20d. in 1548 for two lights and a lamp in the church, (fn. 312) was sold by the Crown the following year. (fn. 313) Although no evidence has been found of a chantry-chapel in Colesbourne, the Crown acquired land in Colesbourne at the dissolution of the chantries and sold it in 1568. (fn. 314) By 1683 the income from some land had been assigned to providing two bell-ropes or repairing the church. (fn. 315) That land has not been traced after c. 1775. (fn. 316)

The church, which had apparently been dedicated to St. Samson by c. 1140 (fn. 317) but bore a dedication to ST. JAMES by 1743, (fn. 318) is mostly built of rubble and has a chancel, a nave with transeptal north and south chapels and south porch, and a west tower. The nave was probably built in the 12th century but the only obvious features of that date are the jambs of the chancel arch and the lower parts of a blocked north doorway. The chancel arch and the south doorway were rebuilt in the 13th century and the chancel in the 14th, during which the porch and south chapel were added. During the 15th century the tower and north chapel were added, the nave walls were heightened to take a roof of lower pitch, and new windows were put into the north and south walls.

An early-19th-century view suggests that the church had a west gallery lit by a window in the south wall. (fn. 319) In 1851 and 1852 the church was extensively restored by J. H. Elwes to designs by David Brandon. (fn. 320) The north chapel was rebuilt, the nave walls were reduced in height, and the roof was returned to its original pitch. In the churchyard a chapel over the Elwes family vault north of the chancel was demolished and several memorial plaques to members of the family were placed in the chancel. The organ was given in 1919. (fn. 321) The font and stone pulpit date from the 15th century. The bells which were apparently recast in 1679 (fn. 322) numbered two (fn. 323) and were replaced by a ring of five cast by Abraham Rudhall in 1719. (fn. 324) The plate includes a chalice and paten-cover of 1576. (fn. 325) The parish registers survice from 1632. (fn. 326)

Nonconformity

Colesbourne had three nonconformists in 1676 (fn. 327) and Joshua Head (d. 1719), a Baptist, preached there. (fn. 328) In 1816 and 1819 Henry Hawkins, Particular Baptist minister of Eastcombe, registered meeting-places in the parish (fn. 329) but in 1825 there were said to be no dissenting meetings. (fn. 330) Cheltenham men registered houses as meeting-places in 1831 and 1846, (fn. 331) and there was a Baptist meeting in 1851 with attendances of up to 40. (fn. 332)

Education

In 1818 a Miss Hamond, a relation of Henry Elwes, supported a Sunday school in Colesbourne which taught 55 children. (fn. 333) In 1825 10 children attended a day-school, (fn. 334) and a day-school, opened in 1831 and supported by Elwes and the rector, taught 15 children in 1833. (fn. 335) In 1847 a dayschool with 36 children was supported by subscriptions and pence and had 2 teachers but no schoolroom. (fn. 336) J. H. Elwes opened a school in a new building by the Cheltenham–Cirencester road (fn. 337) in 1852. It had become a National school by 1866, when the income was derived from voluntary contributions and pence, (fn. 338) and the following year it had an average attendance of 30. A night-school held twice a week then taught 9 boys. (fn. 339) The school building was enlarged in 1879 and the day-school had an average attendance of 50 in 1885 and of 33 in 1889, when the infants were taught separately. (fn. 340) Later and until the mid 20th century the average attendance was usually over 40 but it fell as low as 25 in 1936. (fn. 341) The school closed in 1965 and the building became the village hall. (fn. 342)

Charities for the Poor

None known.