Paganhill's History

A garden wall in Paganhill (14th century window tracery?)

Also found in the above garden

Close-up

A conspicuous red-brown, Berkeley-like stone near the above wall ~100x30cm

Reverse of stone

Possibly a boundary stone?

The manor, like the manors of Upper and Lower Lypiatt, was originally held of the honour of Hereford.

By 1279: A church was built at Stroud as a chapel of ease to Bisley. It was agreed by 2 portioners of Bisley rectory and by the vicar of Bisley that there would be a resident chaplain at Stroud who would service the villages of Over and Nether Lypiatt, Paganhill and Bourne. Although it was decided that a house for the chaplain would be built on Pridie's Acre, there is no evidence that one was ever built.

By 1287: The chapel at Paganhill was the chapel of ease to Bisley.

1304: Date of deed of Endowment/ Composition of the chapel of Stroud. The chaplain's stipend was paid by the inhabitants, portioners and by the stipend formerly paid to the chaplain of Paganhill. The chaplain at Stroud also had to serve Paganhill. Whiteshill and Ruscombe formed part of the tithing of Paganhill. (By the 1800s they had become notorious for being the poorest and most immoral in the parish.) Hawkins has commented in Notes and Recollections that no evidence of Paganhull chapel or its location had been found, but that the Composition showed that Paganhull 'seems to have been a great place in early times seeing it had a chapel and a beneficiary clerk all to itself, before the year 1304...', indeed even before maintenance arrangements had been made for a resident priest at Stroud.

1329: There is a record of the existence of a chantry, presumably in the ancient chapel at Paganhill, dedicated to St James.

1375: John Monemuthe, John Seymour and John Fremer held a fee in Paganhull of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Wessex at his death in this year.

1439: Richard atte Mill held land by gift of Thomas Guysshe (later to become Ruscombe Estate).

1532: William Pawne leased Ruscombe Mill and Farm to Richard Gardner.

1553: As the chapel adjoined the manor house at Field Place owned by Giles Field, it was seen as church property, and so he was accused of having carried away ornaments, vestments as well as a chalice. He quickly defended his claim, stating the chapel was purely for his own use, no more than twice a year, and so it could not be deemed a chapel of ease.

1556 - 1558: Thomas Clayffeald versus Giles Fyldes, gentleman: Injunction obtained, `but suspended owing to the late King's death,' to stop an action of slander by the defendant, who was accused of embezzling the chalice and ornaments of the chapel of Paganhill (Pakynghill) in Stroud.: GLOUCESTER. C 1/1412/22-23 : C 1 Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Early Proceedings, Richard II to Philip and Mary; C 1/1412. Papers held at The National Archives, Kew

1572: Stone was quarried in Paganhill around this time.

1574: The Ruscombe estate was sold.

1576: Whatever the circumstances of his claim, by this year, the chapel had been demolished according to Field's instruction.

1608: Records of Paganhill show the following trades being followed in the village: a carpenter, a joiner, a mason, 2 sawyers, 2 shoemakers, a smith, a tailor, a tiler, a wheeler.

1625: At the Ipm (Charles I, part 2, No7) taken at Gloucester Castle re death of Thomas Turnor on the 17 March, there is reference to some of his property at Pakenhill: 'one messuage, situate in Pakenhill, within the parish of Stroud, in the tenure of George Brone; one other messuage in Pakenhill, in the several tenures of Richard Kaise, Henry Stephens, Thomas Heyway, and Thomas Elliotts..' Later: 'the several messuages and cottages in Pakenhill are held of Henry, Earl of Suffolk by knight's service, as of his honor of Hereford, but by what part of a knight's fee the jurors know not, and they are worth per annum, clear, 6s 8d.' The jurors included: Robert Taylor, Roger Batt, Henry Townsend, Henry Twissell, Robert Houne, Thomas Cooke, John Furmer, Edmund Snow, Thomas Aldridge and John Hancoxe.

1648: Giles Gardner, owner of Ruscombe Farm, leased the corn mill to Daniel Gardner, clothier.

1677: Giles, Daniel Gardner's son, also a clothier, continued the lease.

Late 1700s: Independents were beginning to flourish in the parish.

1728: A Gardner descendant, also a Daniel and clothier, was still leasing Ruscombe Corn Mill when he was declared bankrupt.

1799: Houses were registered in Paganhill for worship.

1802: Houses were registered in Ruscombe for worship.

1810: Houses were registered in Bread Street for worship.

1811: Independents /Congregationalists had become established on the western side of Paganhill parish, under John Burder's ministry.

1815: Paganhill Mill was offered on lease.

1819: Ruscombe Corn Mill was demolished.

1822: Paganhill Mill, owned by John Phelps of Field Place, was let to Thomas Steel. Puckshole Mill where the Randwick - Paganhill Road crosses Ruscombe Brook, was owned and occupied by Thomas Ellary. Rose Inn on Paganhill Lane opened. Solomon Hopson was the Tavern / Public House Keeper according to the Pigot 1830 Directory, and, by 1894, Kelly's Gloucestershire Directory showed that Adolphus George Mallett was in charge.

1825: John Burder registered a house in Paganhill for meetings. An Independent Chapel was built in Paganhill after this date, and, by 1850, it had congregations of about 50. The Plain on the Paganhill / Whiteshill road was the pound for the tithing created in 1825. The old main route from Stroud to Cainscross ran through Paganhill until the Cainscross road was constructed, which helped to expand the area further.

1830: Holmes Samuel, Tavern / Public House Keeper, Wool Pack, Bowbridge, Stroud; Holmes Thomas, Grocer/Tea Dealer, Pagan Hill, Stroud (Pigot's Directory).

1833: Gas was supplied for street lighting in Stroud by a company, which included Thomas and Samuel Marling and iron-founder John Ferrabee, in the south of Paganhill Tithing near Fromehall Mill. Mills and shops were also supplied by the company.

1841 St Paul's Church, Whiteshill, was consecrated as a chapel of ease to Stroud Parish Church.

1842: Stroud tithe map showed a chapel, blacksmith's shop and cottage, all owned by William Holmes, blacksmith, near the centre of Paganhill Village, across from Upfield. Paganhill Mill was let to Stephen Clissold.

1847: Death of Henry Wyatt of Farmill Park who had paid the salary of Ruscombe's Independent Chapel's minister, and had provided for the maintenance of associated schools.

1856: Occupations recorded in Paganhill village included: a blacksmith, a bootmaker, a butcher, 2 carpenters, 3 shopkeepers, a wheelwright,

c1865: A house was built adjacent to Paganhill Mill.

1869: 'Holmes's' Chapel was being used by the Baptists.

Re the chapel mentioned in VCH:
It was presumably the chapel north-west of the road junction in the main village which William Holmes owned with the adjoining smith's shop in 1842; from 1869, however, that chapel was used by Baptists.

and an Independent chapel was built in the village in 1835 and had congregations of up to 50 in 1851. From: 'Stroud: Nonconformity', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 11: Bisley and Longtree Hundreds (1976), pp. 140-141

This is puzzling: the 1869 document stated that before then the building had been a chapel and formerly a house, yet the 1842 tithe map shows that the chapel was part of the front plot now occupied by Cooke and used (at least until recent times) as a chapel of rest for coffins until the funeral. The later censuses of 1891 and 1901 show a Baptist Mission Room on the back plot ie presumably Dissenters' Cottage. Perhaps it was described as such so that there was no clash with the new Paganhill Chapel, described as the Iron Church aka Mission Church 1903, but the 1903 map has 'Chap' written at the back of plot 369, although that may be for convenience as available space for text is cramped.

By 1870: Richard Barton was the owner of Puckshole Mill.

1871: Harman and Adey made cloth at Puckshole Mill, but went bankrupt. By 1900, the mill had become known as Vale Mill and was being used for corn.

1882: Paganhill Mill was being known as Steel's Mill.

1894: Kelly's Directory Gloucestershire: 'Pakenhill is a hamlet half a mile south [of Whitesill], partly in this and partly in Cainscross parish. farm Hill House is the residence of Mrs Holloway, and Field Place of Edward Caruthers Little Esq, JP.' residents of note included: Henry Albert Blanch of Hillfield; Mrs Holloway of Farm Hill House; Edward Caruthers Little JP of Field Place; William Margetson of Brightside and the Misses Stanton of Upfield.

1897: The iron mission chapel was built in Paganhill village in memory of Fanny Holloway. At her death, her relatives donated one thousand pounds' worth of stock for its maintenance.

1897 - 1906: Steel's Mill, formerly Paganhill Mill, was being known as Little Mill where corn was processed by the King family.

1905: The Misses Emily Rose and Rose Emily Stanton of Upfield, Paganhill painted the murals in St Paul's Church, Whiteshill.

1930s: The former Paganhill Mill aka Steel's Mill aka Little Mill had been demolished and the associated house and land became known as Little Mill Farm.

By 1936: Puckshole Mill aka Vale Mill had been demolished, leaving a brick-faced stone-built house plus associated 17 century / 18 century cottages on the west side of the old mill pond, possibly former employee homes.

1960s: Little Mill Farm's land was sold as building land.

1965: A new chapel was built south of Farmhill House.

1971: The new chapel was achieving congregations of 50 - 100.

Principal Families and Ownership of Estates in Paganhill Manor

The manor of Paganhill in the detached western part of the parish was divided among at least two owners by 1268, and in 1303 there were 7 owners holding Paganhill as ½ fee from the Earl of Hereford. The manor remained in 7 parts in 1374.

1268: Henry of Dean and his wife, Agatha, dealt with 2 messuages + 13 yardlands in Paganhill. Henry held a moiety of the manor in right of Agatha at his death around 1292 when his heir was his son William.

1303: Rose of Dean and her sister Margaret held Henry's portion of the manor. Other portions held by: Nicholas Seymour (de Seymour), Henry Farmer (le Fermer), Richard the clerk, Maud Walsh (la Walsche), and Richard Dabitot.

SEYMOUR > MORETON > WEST > FOWLER > WINTLE

1303: Nicholas Seymour held a portion of Paganhill manor.

1346: Roger heir of Nicholas Seymour held a portion of Paganhill manor.

1374: John heir of Roger Seymour held a portion of Paganhill manor.

1522: William Moreton, son of Robert, held the estate in Paganhill at his death. He had no heir as he was still a minor, and so sisters Dorothy and Elizabeth inherited his the estate.

1538: Elizabeth nee Moreton and her husband Sir George West passed the estate on to Richard Fowler, a clothier of Stonehouse.

1560: Richard Fowler died. Half of his Paganhill estates were bequeathed to his wife Margery. The other half, including Seymour's farm, passed to his son William.

1593: William settled a large Paganhill estate on himself and his wife Alice, and also on their 2 sons.

1599: William died.

1613: William's sons, Daniel and Henry, sold Seymour's farm and estate to Richard Wintle.

FIELD > MONMOUTH > FIELD > DELAFELD PHELPS > TYERS > DELAFELD PHELPS > STANTON

1346: John of the Field held a portion of Paganhill manor, based on the house named Field Place.

1363: Ruscombe lands were granted to John of Monmouth by William in the Field of Gloucester.

1374: John in the Field held a part of Paganhill manor.

1443: Reference to John Field of Paganhill.

1510: Thomas Field of Paganhill died.

1556: Giles Field held his estate, termed the manor of Paganhill.

1611: Reference to Richard son and heir of Anthony Field of Paganhill.

1637: Reference to Richard Field.

1653: Reference to Richard Field.

1693: Richard Field of Field Place died.

1715: Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Hill of Cam, Richard Field's widow, died aged 78. Land was left to her by a pre1684 agreement. There is a memorial to Richard and Elizabeth Field in St Laurence Old Church, Stroud.

c1710: Thomas Field owned Field Place Estate.

c1728: Edward Field owned Field Place Estate.

1736: Edward Field JP died aged 67 and the estate passed to Thomas Field. There is a memorial to Edward erected by his second wife Anne daughter of Richard Plummer of Stroud in St Laurence Old Church, Stroud.

c1779: Descendants of Thomas Field's nephew, John Delafeld (de la Field) Phelps of Dursley, owned Field Place estate.

1803: The estate was bought by James Tyers.

1835: The estate was owned by another John Delafeld Phelps.

1842: John Delafeld Phelps also owned an additional 87 acres of land adjoining the Field Place estate.

1863: Charles Stanton died. He was of a successful clothier family and he bought Field Place after 1842, later living in the neighbouring property Upfield. His eldest son, Charles Holbrow Stanton, Esq, barrister of Lincoln's inn, succeeded him.

1897: Charles Holbrow Stanton was living at Field Place.

By 1919: Charles Holbrow Stanton had died and had been succeeded by Arthur William Stanton who died in 1944.

SMITH

1346: Walter Smith held a portion of Paganhill manor.

1374: Thomas heir of Walter Smith held a portion of Paganhill manor.

FARMER

1303: Henry held the portion

1346: Henry held the portion

1374: John held that portion.

1408: Henry son of John Farmer of Paganhill.

CLERKSON

1303: Portion held by Richard the Clerk.

1319: Richard accused of hunting illegally in the Earl of Pembroke's Painswick Park.

1346: Portion held by Richard the Clerk.

1374: Portion held by Richard Clerkesson.

WALSH

1303: Maud held the portion.

1316: John of Paganhill succeeded Maud and held the portion.

1319: John of Paganhill was accused of hunting illegally in the Earl of Pembroke's Painswick Park.

1321: John's Paganhill lands were confiscated by the king as he was suspected of participating in John Giffard's rebellion.

1322: John's Paganhill lands were returned to him.

DABITOT > DUDBRIDGE

1303: Richard held the portion (possibly a messuage + 1 ½ acres of meadowland and ½ yardland).

1305: Benet of Dudbridge settled the bracketed land above on himself and his wife Nichole.

1346: Richard and Walter of Dudbridge were portion owners.

1374: John Dudbridge owned the portion.

MONMOUTH > PAWNE > GARDNER > DAVIES > WARNER > WYATT > COOKE > CRIPPS > HALLEWELL > HOLLOWAY

1346: John of Monmouth held a portion of Paganhill manor.

1363: John of Monmouth, his wife Emme and his son Richard obtained other Paganhill lands.

1439: A Paganhill deed was witnessed by Richard Monmouth.

1470s: John Monmouth was obtaining more Paganhill lands.

1494: Monmouths' estate (the manor of Paganhill) passed to William Pawne and his wife Anne.

1532: William and Anne Pawne's son, William, held the manor, which included an estate called Ruscombe Farm. In that year, the farm was leased to Richard Gardner who died in 1548.

1571: William Pawne of High Ongar, son of William, held the manor.

1574: William Pawne of Ongar conveyed parts of a large Paganhill estate to 10 purchasers (including Giles Gardner (possibly Richard Gardner son) and Richard Davies). Giles Gardner bought Ruscombe Farm.

1585: Richard Davies was dealing with 'Paganhill manor'. Giles Gardner settled Ruscombe Farm estate on himself, his wife Jane and his eldest son, William Gardner.

1601: The Cooke family occupied a mill at nearby Lodgemore.

1626: William Gardner was holding Ruscombe Farm.

1628: Ruscombe Farm estate was settled by William Gardner on his son Giles.

1632: William Warner, clothier, died, owning a capital messuage and 47 acres, possibly 'Paganhill manor'.

1640: Thomas, son of William Warner, died, leaving the estate profits to his wife Sarah during the minority of his son William.

1648: Giles Gardner was holding the 100 acre Ruscombe Farm estate.

1659: William Warner was living at Paganhill.

1672: The Warners' main house, thought to have been sited on the east side of the Paganhill - Whiteshill Road, had 8 hearths.

1677: Giles Gardner, a clothier, had inherited Ruscombe Farm from his father.

1701: Giles Gardner, clothier of Ruscombe Farm made his will.

1710: Thomas, son of Thomas Warner was described as Lord of Paganhill manor.

1713: Giles Gardner, clothier of Ruscombe Farm died around this year, leaving behind his wife, Elizabeth who later married Thomas Stratton.

1735: Thomas and Elizabeth Stratton made arrangements for Elizabeth to receive an annuity while the Ruscombe Farm estate was conveyed to Henry Cooke of Paganhill and Noah Chandler of Randwick.

1736: Thomas Warner, son of Thomas, died and bequeathed Paganhill manor to his nephew Henry Wyatt.

1758: Record of Richard Cooke of Lodgemore.

1784: Henry Wyatt died. Richard Cooke (descendant of wealthy clothiers who had owned Lodgemore Mill) bought Paganhill manor and built an estate house.

1825: Richard Cooke of Lodgemore was one of the Feoffees of Stroud, a select group who administered the historic property of the parish church.

1842: Richard Cooke, eldest son, heir and successor of Richard Cooke, owned a 330 acre estate, including Farmhill House, Ruscombe Farm (descended to him from Henry Cooke of Paganhill) and Stokenhill Farm.

1856: Joseph Cripps of Cirencester, married to Richard Cooke's daughter and only child, Elizabeth Anne, was the chief landowner in Paganhill.

1870 - 1889: J W Hallewell Esq, JP, of Stratford Park was regarded as the chief landowner in Paganhill, having also married Anne, granddaughter of Richard Cooke the younger from whom she had inherited the Cooke estates.

1897 - 1939: Trustees for the Cripps family were the chief landowner in Paganhill.

PAGANHILL MANOR ESTATE HOUSES

Paganhill manor was represented by two estate houses from the 1700s: Farmhill House on the east and Farmhill Park on the west. Confusion has been created by the similar names.

FARMHILL HOUSE: Grade II listed; SO 8305 NE 12/97; 17/18 century building with additions made in 1880. Built in stone with a cotswold stone roof and stone chimneys. Its 2 and 3 storeys had stucco mullion windows. Listing NGR: SO8395505924.

In 2008 with the nameplate 'Farmhill Park'

1700: The house was built on the east side of the Paganhill - Whiteshill Road.

Pre-1879 to 1892: George Holloway occupied the house until his death.

1906: George Holloway's widow lived at the house until at least 1906.

1971: The house was used as a school for children with learning disabilities.

FARMHILL PARK: Cooke > Wyatt > Strachan

Farmhill Park House was built about 1784, around the same time as the builder, Richard Cooke, a local clothier of Lodgemore Mill, bought the Manor of Paganhill.

The house, called Farmhill Park, was larger than its counterpart across the road, which only had larger additions during the nineteenth century. Cooke's building was a mansion in the form of a small Georgian rectangular stone building of three storeys. It was adorned with classical details such as urns and pediments. Its builder did not survive to live in it and, in 1833, it was sold with a farm of 60 acres to Henry Wyatt. (By 1842, Richard Cooke's son, Richard, was a property owner of some standing with an estate of 330 acres, which included Farmhill House and lands up to Ruscombe Farm and Stokenhill Farm.)

1833: The Cooke family sold Farmhill Park and a farm of 60 acres to Henry Wyatt of Stroud. He was delighted with his purchase from the Cooke family as it marked the return to the family of inherited property that had been sold to the Cooke family in the past.

1834: Henry Wyatt (1793 -1847), clothier and local businessman with brewing and banking interests, was associated with the Stroud Anti-Slavery Society. He erected the famous archway, which marks the abolition of slavery in the British colonies.

1847: Henry Wyatt died aged 64. Wyatt's widow, Priscilla, exchanged her life interest for an annuity. She died in 1865. Her daughters, Caroline, Elizabeth and Frances (later wife of George Edwards) became owners of the estate.

1870 - 1892: The Wyatt connection with Farmhill Park lasted until 1870 after which it was associated with a series of well-known tenants. Josiah Greathead Strachan (who was an Ebley Mill partner with S S Marling) took the house over.

1900 - 1916: C P Allen, MP for Stroud, was a later tenant. In his last year, tenancy was expensive as much needed repairs had not been done and the property lacked electric light and mains water.

1930s: By that decade, the old house had deteriorated so much that, by 1927, it could only achieve a price of £3,150 for the building and 7 acres of land. Farmhill Park House was demolished. The site was developed, leaving the original arch and gatehouse.

ARCHWAY SCHOOL; Photo showing Paganhill and Archway School, looking towards Whiteshill. Archway was the first comprehensive school in Stroud. It is named after the 19th-century anti-slavery arch which stands at the entrance road to the school. The school occupies land in the south of what was once Farmhill Park. Below: three views of the Anti-slavery Arch; the middle and bottom photos show Farmhill Park Lodge. Originally, the arch had the wrought-iron gates, which were removed to The Garden House at Dodington, which is ironic as the arch was intended to commemorate the abolition of slavery, but its gates stood eventually on the Dodington estate that was financed principally by slave-worked sugar plantations.

Other buildings and estates in the Paganhill area:

FIELD PLACE was owned by the Stantons who controlled many of the activities within the area. The Field family is a long established family in the area, the first mentioned was Thomas Field, Esq, who died in 1510 and was buried on the south side of the old parish church. It is thought that the mansion house mentioned around 1556 by Giles Field is Field Place. In 1672 there was a tax assessment on 9 hearths at that property owned by a Mr Field, possibly Richard Field, gentleman, who died in 1693. Before 1803 James Tyers rebuilt much of the original structure of main building and crosswings. The south front was bestowed with Gothic appearance and a central semi-octagonal porch. During the 1800s, other structures were added on the south-west, using some original early features. By 1971 the house was occupied as three separate dwellings.

Grade II Listed, the property's gateway to the east and south east of the house (SO 8305 NE 12/415 II 2) is thought to date to the mid 18th century. It consists of hammerdressed rubble with an embattled top, gatepiers with panelled sides and elaborate crowns with crocketed finials, and its gates are panelled.

A date stone of 1477 has been found. [Nos 1 to 3 (consec)] SO 8305 NW 11/94 SO 8505 NE 15th century. The building was altered in around the 16th to 17th century, but the front of the building is thought to be gothic in style from the mid-18th century, with additional 19th century alterations. The building is of two storeys and consists of ashlar with a slate roof and e-shaped front. Crenellated parapets were added to gable ends in the 19th century (original finials are still evident.). The mullioned windows are pointed as are the continuous windows of the central three storied 18th century porch. Quatrefoil panelled decoration and an embattled parapet were also added.

Another view of Field Place

PUCKSHOLE MILL
PAGANHILL MILL bc1815 demolished 1936
RUSCOMBE FARM, the earlier-mentioned sixteenth-century house, comprising a main block and cross-wing.
STRATFORD PARK and The GARDNER FAMILY Stratford was another estate in Pakenhill tithing. Stratford Park is also thought to have formed part of Pawnes' manor of Paganhill, because Edward Stratford was among the parties to the conveyance by William Pawne in 1574. In 1307, Gilbert of Stratford held land in Paganhill tithing and Henry of Stratford attested a deed concerning lands there. In 1607, at the death of Edward Stratford, his Stratford Park estate, on the north side of the Stroud-Paganhill road (whose ford had given the family its name) consisted of a messuage, Stratford Mill and about 70 acres of land. The estate later belonged to Giles Gardner, Esq, JP, who lived there for many years until his death. In 1779, Gardner's widow was living on the estate and she died there. The estate became the property of JW Hallewell, Esq, in the nineteenth century.

In the seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century there were cottages in the Park End area and a row of cottages near Field Place, Paganhill, the northern-most buildings dating from 1714, the southern-most including cottages, of a later date, and the Old Crown, which has been run since 1879, according to Kelly's Directory of 1939.

Other Park End houses

Crown Cottages

The grade II listed Old Crown Inn Public House (SO 8305 NE) dates from the 17th - 18th century. The two-gabled stone building has a cotswold stone roof over its three storeys. Next to the pub are Nos 1 to 5Crown Cottages). No 6 Crown Cottages was once listed as No 1 Parkend ("Dorreg") (SO 8305 NE) The row of 18th century cotswold style cottages are built of stone under a cotswold stone roof. They have two storeys and dormers. No 5 is dated 1714. The Old Crown Inn Public House and Crown Cottages form a group with Nos 7 and 8 Park End. '

The Old Crown at the end of the row of cottages in 2008

The Old Crown in 1891 (photo courtesy of landlord)

Other cottages are mainly later eighteenth century, which include the three-storey row of 5 cottages at the road junction in the village centre called May Pole Terrace. Blenheim Cottage may also date from this period. Maypole Terrace is Grade II listed ( SO 8305 NE) and is thought to date from the early l9th century. Construction is hammer-dressed rubble under a pitched stone roof with ashlar chimneys, three storeys, and two ranges each of segment-headed casements and one segment-headed planked door each. Alma Terrace and Maypole Terrace form a group with the Baptist Hall and Yew Tree Cottage.

Maypole Terrace

ALMA TERRACE is grade II listed ( SO 8305 NE), NGR: SO8372105636, and dates from the early l9th century. Construction is hammer-dressed rubble with a Hipped slate roof to No 4. Chimneys are brick on the buildings of two-storeys. The cottage at the left end of the terrace was demolished when the road was widened.

Alma Terrace

UPFIELD , a Tudor style building of early nineteenth century, once housed clothier Charles Stanton. The building was a preparatory school, later run by the Harris family until 2001. Upfield Lodge was occupied by Charles Offley Esq according to Pigot Directory of 1830. Upfield is grade II listed (SO 8505 NE) and dates from the early 19th century. It is made of stone with gables and a slate roof over three storeys. Stone mullion windows are decorated with tracery. It has now been converted into private accommodation. Upfield School memories and photos.

Other Landmarks

The tree on the corner (below) marks a plot where a former Holmes residence stood. It was removed as a result of road alterations. The house behind the tree is Paganhill House.

South of the crossroads, on the east side of Paganhill Lane, is The Rose, which opened in 1822.

Opposite the pub is a car park on the west side of the road. The car park is on the site of another plot owned by a Holmes individual. A Mrs Barnfield lived in a cottage on part of the plot in 1841. In 1901 she was still a resident, then aged 99!

At the left of the photo can be seen Upfield Cottage, owned formerly by the Stantons and later by the Harris family who ran Upfield as a private school. Part of the cottage was rented out as a holiday let and the caretaker was Tom Watts who later lived in Blenheim House aka Blenheim Cottage until his death. Many people remember his love of birds, fish and flowers, all of which found a place on the plot of the property. Below is another view of Upfield Cottage, which is particularly appropriate because the hounds either side of the door are a reminder of the Stag and Hounds pub that was also on the plot at one time.

WHITESHILL and RUSCOMBE According to Kelly's 1894 Gloucestershire Directory, Whiteshill, with the hamlets of Bread Street ( a hamlet half a mile west) and Ruscombe (a hamlet a quarter mile north west), and a part of Pakenhill aka Paganhill (a hamlet half a mile south, also partly in Cainscross parish), was formed into an ecclesiastical parish in 1844, from the parishes of Standish and Stroud.
'it is1 mile north-west from Stroud station on the Midland and Great Western railways, in the Mid division of the county, Stroud union, county court district, rural deanery of Bisley, archdeaconry of Gloucester and diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. ... The area is 500 acres; the population in 1891 was 1,695.'

TRAVEL NOTES

A Sample of the Names of Paganhill Inhabitants

under construction!

1314: John le Waleys of Pagenhulle acknowledged that he owed to Philip le Heyr of Colewynston 60I. and, in default of payment, the money would be raised from his lands and properties in the county of Gloucester. [Calendar of the Close Rolls]
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1330: John le Walsh of Paganhill was indicted for sheltering the thief Thomas, son of Robert de Gloucester, who had been outlawed for robbery at Chipping Sodbury.

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1331: John le Walshe of Pagenhull was mentioned again in a dispute [Calendar of the Close Rolls]. Around the same time, the lands of John de Welshe of Pagenhull in Guphull and Pagenhull are mentioned in the Calendar of the Fine Rolls.
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24 July 1560: Will proved at Lichfield: Richard Fowler died in July 1560 and in his will he mentions William, son and heir, aged 37; son Edward and wife, Johanna Dawes; son Richard and wife Margaret. He left 2 messuages (11 acres each), 2 garden, 2 orchards, 120 acres meadows, 60 acres pasture, 10 acres meadows, 24 acres woods, all in Pagenhull, Puddesmere, Renwick Ebley, Ruscombe, amongst other property.----------------------

1619: Probate was granted at Gloucester to Thomasine, wife of William BOORNE of Pakenhall. Children mentioned included William, Henry, Anthony, Elizabeth and Margery.

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8 June 1625: IPM at Gloucester Castle, before Edward Hilly esq., escheator, after the death of Thomas Tumor [in Gloucester on 17 march 1625], by the oath of Robert Taylor, Roger Bait, Henry Townsend, Henry Twissell, Robert Houne, Thomas Cooke, Henry Rostall, John Gardner, Roger Egerley, Peter Clissold, John Farmer, Edmund Snow, Thomas Alderige, and John Hancoxe, who say that [amongst other property elsewhere] Thomas Tumor was seised in fee of one messuage or tenement in Througham, in which he was living at his death ; .....one messuage, in Pakenhill, within the parish of Stroud, in the tenure of George Brone; one other messuage in Pakenhill, in the tenure of Henry Halliday; four cottages in Pakenhill, in the several tenures of Richard Kaise, Henry Stephens, Thomas Heyway, and Thomas Elliotts.

The messuages and cottages in Pakenhill were held of Henry, Earl of Suffolk by knight's service, but by what part of a knight's fee the jurors did not know. Edmund Tumor aged nineteen was declared to be Thomas Tumor's brother and his heir.
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5 May 1664: Deed of exchange between William Dutton of Sherborne, Gloucestershire, Esq., and William Warner of Pakenhall, parish of Stroud, Gloucestershire, clothier. Dutton granted a portion of land outside the new wall he has erected for enclosing the Viness, in return for the portion of the Vinesse belonging to Warner within the new wall.

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10 December 1741: Bond: (1) Jonathan CHINN of Newnham, gent; (2) Joshua THORPE of Pakenhill, Stroud, doctor
William TOWNSEND of Steynbridge, Painswick, clothier John WEBB of the Hill, Painswick clothier, executors of will of Robert BROWNE of Stroud apothecary, deceased; Condition: payment of £500; Consideration: £1000; Witnesses: John TURNER; Horatio TURNER; William HARRISON. Ref: D2957/215/6

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21 Feb 1789: Sarah, widow, and daughter of Thomas Hodges of Pagenhill, Gent died/buried, aged 78.

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1 Oct 1790: Robert Ellis of Pagenhill, Stroud, Gent, only son of Robert and Esther, died/buried, aged 71
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1841 census: Halliday family living at Windsor Place, Pakenhill

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PAKENHILL, a tything, in the parish and union of Stroud, hundred of Bisley, E. division of the county of Gloucester; containing 1948 inhabitants. From: 'Pakenham - Parham', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 531-535.

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8 August 1850:Hester Thomas, late of Pagenhill, died aged 60 years. She was buried in a coffer tomb at Randwick.

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1876: Directory of Gloucestershire included under Trades and professions:

Fisher William H. C., civil engineer, architect, and surveyor, 6 George street; h. Pakenhill
Fullaway John, portrait and landscape photographer, 6 George street; h. Pakenhill
Hall John, grocer, baker, miller, and meal-man, Pakenhill
Harper Miss Ann, laundress, Pakenhill
Harper John, builder and contractor, Pakenhill
Holmes Edward, engineer and millwright, Pakenhill; h. The Plain, Whiteshill
Holmes William, blacksmith, Pakenhill
Hoose Frederick, " Stag and Hounds " inn, Pakenhill

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4th April 1883: Stephen Henry Preen, a domestic gardener aged 39, married Charlotte Selina Pitt in Stonehouse church.
1886: Their first daughter, Edith Blanch Preen was born
1888: Elizabeth May Preen was born at Pakenhill Lane, Stroud.

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Early 1890s: Residents of Pakenhill included: Henry Blanch of Hillfield; Mrs Holloway of Farmhill House; Edward Caruthers Little JP of Field Place; William Margetson of Brightside; The Misses Stanton of Upfield. There are Harpers, Harmers and an Arthur Sidney Cooke who are builders / tilers in the area.

Register of Electors (East Division) 1832, Stroud (in Bisley Hundred): list of owners of property in Pakenhill

no 457: John Apperley, freehold house and land in Pakenhill Lane.

no 470: George B of Lower St, Stroud, freehold house in Pakenhill

no 542: Daniel Gardner of Wallbridge, freehold house and garden in Pakenhill

no 569: William Hill of Pakenhill, freehold house in Pakenhill

no 570: Edward Holmes of Pakenhill, freehold house in Pakenhill.

no 573: John Harper of Pakenhill, freehold house and garden in Paganhill Lane

no 668: Henry Wyatt of Stroud, freehold house in Pakenhill