Kingswood, Gloucestershire

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Kingswood
latitude= 51.626226
longitude= -2.366255
population = 1,290 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Stroud
shire_county = Gloucestershire
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Stroud
post_town= WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE|postcode_district = GL12
postcode_area= GL|dial_code= 01453
os_grid_reference= ST746920

Kingswood is a village and civil parish within the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. It is southwest of Wotton-under-Edge and has a population of 1,290.

Kingswood should not be confused with the town within South Gloucestershire, also named Kingswood. (Note however, that this larger Kingswood, sometimes called Kingswood, Bristol, was also in Gloucestershire "prior to" the 1974 Local Government re-reorganisation - see talk page.) The present Kingswood was formerly a detached part of Wiltshire which was incorporated into Gloucestershire by an Act of 1844.

Kingswood Abbey was a Cistercian abbey, located within the village of Kingswood; the abbey was founded in the year 1169 by William of Berkeley in accordance with the wishes of his uncle, Roger II of ; Berkeley, and colonised from the Cistercian house at Tintern.(Archives Hub, 2006) All that survives today is the 16th century gatehouse, which is under the care of English Heritage. Other vicinity medieval buildings include Malmesbury Abbey and Beverston Castle.

Due to frequent floods at Kingswood, the monks colonised a nearby site that became known as Calcot Manor, where the Kingswood monks built an auxiliary tithe barn facility.(Lumina Technologies, 2006) The original Calcot datestone is extant within the porch of the tithe barn interior and reads: "ANNOGRE MOCC HENRICI ABBATIS XXIX FAI DOM H EDIFICATA", verifying founding by Abbot Henry in the year 1300 during the period of King Edward I.

References

* [http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/02101502.html Archives Hub profile: Kingswood Abbey]
* [http://www.luminatechnologies.org/luminaaw2.html C. Michael Hogan and Amy Gregory, "History and Architecture of Calcot Manor", Lumina Technologies, Calcot Manor, July 5, 2006]
* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/KingswoodWotton/index.html] , scroll to "Historical Geography"; ref. I. Gray & E. Ralph, "Guide to the Parish Records of the City of Bristol and the County of Gloucester" (1963)