STAVERTON

The small parish of Staverton lies 4 miles west of Cheltenham on both sides of the main GloucesterCheltenham road. In 1882 a peninsulated part of Boddington parish comprising 208 a. and separating the south-east corner of Staverton from the main body of the parish was transferred to Staverton, (fn. 1) which thus became 1,022 a. in area (fn. 2) and compact in shape. That enlarged area is the subject of the account here printed. In 1935 a further 11 a. at the south-west corner of the parish was transferred from Churchdown to Staverton. (fn. 3) The east side of the parish includes part of the hamlet of Hayden which is mainly in Boddington parish. The area in the east of the parish close to the main road was known as the Golden Valley from the 19th century, (fn. 4) and was in some ways treated as a separate hamlet. (fn. 5)

The parish is on flat ground, rising to 100 ft. at only two points in the north and south. The Hatherley brook runs through the middle of the parish, which is low-lying and damp, and two small streams run north and south from the brook across the parish. Staverton is almost entirely on the Lower Lias. (fn. 6) The land has been used mainly for arable farming, (fn. 7) and the greater part of it lay in open fields until inclosure in 1803. (fn. 8) There were no extensive areas of pasture, and little woodland. Orchards were a prominent feature of the parish around the houses, but in 1964 many of them were no longer cultivated. By 1903 land on the east side of the parish had been acquired by Cheltenham Borough as a sewage farm. (fn. 9) Staverton airfield lies entirely on the Churchdown side of the boundary between Staverton and Churchdown. A camp of temporary huts was built on the Staverton side in the Second World War; in 1964 it was mostly empty, though a small part was used for industrial purposes: the same part of the parish contained several sites used for workshops.

The name Staverton is thought to indicate a farm marked by stakes. (fn. 10) The site of the earliest settlement, presumably near where the church was built, may have been close to a road leading from Gloucester through Staverton, Boddington, and Elmstone Hardwicke to Tewkesbury. (fn. 11) The village is also near the road running north-east through the parish, which was the main road from Gloucester to Cheltenham until it was replaced by the road crossing the south part of the parish. (fn. 12) Staverton village, however, appears to have been always small and isolated. Part of the village was called Reynold's tenements in 1387 (fn. 13) and probably belonged to Reynold atte Townsend who held land in the parish in 1334. (fn. 14) The oldest surviving house in the village is a timber-framed house, next to the church, called the Old Manor, although it is apparently not a manor-house. The house has traditions of ecclesiastical connexions, and it is possible that it was at one time the vicarage. In the mid-19th century the house was converted to two cottages, and in 1964 it was being restored as a single house. (fn. 15) It has an L-shaped plan, brick and plaster filling, and a tiled roof. The older, 15th century part of the house is two-storied, of three bays, with a jettied gable at the north end, containing later quadrant timbering. The timbers are close set and the plaster filling has been largely replaced with brick. The house was extended in the 16th or 17th century by the addition of a two-storied wing with a jettied gable across the south end. Later additions to the house included a brick entrance hall and porch. The royal arms and the monogram of Charles I surmount a large open fireplace in the house, and the remains of similar arms survive over another fireplace. (fn. 16) A timberframed cottage near the church, formerly a post office, (fn. 17) had been partly demolished by 1964. Other buildings near the church are of the 19th century. They include Staverton House, a large stuccoed early 19th-century house, two-storied with a hipped slate roof, dentil cornice, and parapet; the entrance porch has pilasters, fanlight, and pediment. Lower Court Farm, south-east of the church, on the road from Boddington, is a large L-shaped timberframed house, partly faced with stone and brickwork and partly roughcast, probably of the 17th century. The village may have expanded along that road at an early date, but the other surviving houses are mainly of the 19th century. A small group of council houses was built in the village before 1939.

By the early 19th century a few scattered houses had been built along the Gloucester-Cheltenham road, (fn. 18) and during the 19th and 20th centuries the main increase of houses in the parish was there and south of the road, along Bamfurlong Lane at the south boundary of the parish. The houses along the main road were sufficiently numerous by 1871 for the Golden Valley to be described as a village, (fn. 19) and to justify the opening of a mission church there in 1893. (fn. 20) A striking feature of the parish in 1964 was the number of caravan sites, mostly south of the main road: between 1951 and 1961 the number of dwellings in the parish almost doubled, from 127 to 251, (fn. 21) largely because of the increase in the number of caravans, which in 1964 was estimated to be 230. (fn. 22)

The low tax-assessment in 1327, (fn. 23) divided among eight people, suggests that the population was small. The fluctuations in the figures indicating the size of population from the 16th century to the 19th result partly from the differing notions of the boundary between Staverton and Boddington. The number of adults, c. 50 in 1551, (fn. 24) may have been much the same in 1603 when a combined total was recorded for Staverton and Boddington together, (fn. 25) but had risen to 64 by 1676. (fn. 26) In the early 18th century the population was given as 200 and the number of houses 40, (fn. 27) but in 1775 corresponding figures were 120 and c. 24. (fn. 28) There was a rapid increase between 1801 and 1811, from 159 to 230. By 1861 the population had reached 315, and after a decrease rose again to 413 in 1901, helped by the transfer in 1882 of 76 people from Boddington to Staverton parish. Between 1931 and 1951, with the opening of several large factories near the parish during and after the Second World War, the population more than doubled. By 1961 it had fallen again to 703. (fn. 29)

The road running north-east across the parish to Cheltenham existed by the 14th century, for by 1325 one of the landholders in Staverton had built Staverton Bridge to take the road across the Hatherley brook. Earlier the stream had been crossed by a ford. Responsibility for the repair of the bridge was disputed in 1387 when it was said that the bridge had been built without any obligation on the tenants or lord of Staverton, and was maintained by the alms of those using it. (fn. 30) About 1700 it was said that the parish maintained the bridge, (fn. 31) but in the late 19th century it became a county bridge. (fn. 32) It carried the main GloucesterCheltenham road, which was turnpiked in 1756. (fn. 33) In 1809 a new and more direct road was made along the Golden Valley between Cheltenham and the Gloucester side of Staverton Bridge. (fn. 34) A tramway from Gloucester to Cheltenham ran beside the main road from 1811 (fn. 35) to 1859, when it was closed. (fn. 36) The minor roads have altered little since 1803. (fn. 37)

The Plough Inn on the Gloucester-Cheltenham road just south of Staverton Bridge, and on the former boundary between Staverton and Churchdown, was open by 1755; (fn. 38) the Pheasant Inn, on the same road at the Golden Valley, was opened in the early 19th century, (fn. 39) evidently after the new main road had been built. A beer-house that was open in 1891 had closed soon after. (fn. 40)

In 1839 the Pheasant Triennial Friendly Society met at the Pheasant Inn, and in 1865 Staverton and Boddington had a joint friendly society. (fn. 41)

Manors.

An estate of three hides in Staverton was part of the property formerly of Deerhurst monastery held by the abbey of St. Denis, Paris, in 1066. (fn. 42) The manor of STAVERTON remained part of the Deerhurst Priory estate until the Dissolution. (fn. 43) Geoffrey of Langley and his son, Robert, who held the manor successively in the late 13th century, were presumably tenants of the priory. (fn. 44) Their successors may have included Richard Chelmwich and his wife Margaret, who in 1396 conveyed Staverton manor to Roger de la Hay and others, apparently acting as trustees. (fn. 45) In 1387 Deerhurst Priory's tenants in Staverton were said to hold as of the manor of Uckington, (fn. 46) and Staverton was later often not distinguished as a separate manor from Uckington. John Dean held the manor of Staverton of Deerhurst Priory in 1493, when his heir was his nephew, John Moore, a minor. (fn. 47) In 1496 a John Moore claimed the manor against his son, also John Moore. (fn. 48)

Staverton manor descended, after the Dissolution, with Uckington manor, through the families of Baker, Bayning, Rogers, and Lechmere to Benjamin Gibbons in 1858. (fn. 49) The manor, which included little land by the early 19th century, (fn. 50) was severed from Uckington in 1920 when John Skipworth Gibbons, nephew of Benjamin Gibbons, sold Uckington. (fn. 51) The lordship of Staverton manor passed to John Skipworth Gibbons's daughter, Mrs. Edith Stacey, in 1942, and in 1962 to another daughter, Maud, wife of Canon Rowan Grice-Hutchinson. (fn. 52) No evidence has been found of a manor-house associated with Staverton manor.

In 1336 Gilbert of Kinnersley granted land in Staverton, with the manor of Leigh, to Joan of Rodborough. (fn. 53) The land, which descended with Leigh manor to the Whittington family, (fn. 54) comprised a messuage and two plough-lands in 1415. (fn. 55) The later descent of this estate is not clear, but one of two later estates may be connected with it.

In 1514 William Greville held land in Staverton with his manor of Elmstone. His heirs were his three daughters, one of whom, Margaret, was married to Richard Lygon, (fn. 56) and in 1556 Richard Lygon died seised of a manor of STAVERTON in right of his wife Margaret. The manor descended to Richard's son, William (fn. 57) (d. 1567), (fn. 58) and the site of the manor was owned in 1581 by Richard Lygon, William's son, and his wife Margaret. (fn. 59) John Lygon of Arle sold the site of Staverton manor to Ralph Atwood of Staverton in 1612, and Ralph's son, Robert Atwood, sold it to Richard Browne of Norton in 1630. Richard Browne's son, also Richard, sold the site to Edward Fluck of Wightfield in 1655; (fn. 60) its descent beyond that time has not been definitely traced.

William Rudhall was said to hold a manor of STAVERTON, with the manor of Leigh, when he died in 1609. His heir was his son John, (fn. 61) who in 1612 granted the manor to Joan Aubrey. (fn. 62) William Rudhall and Herbert Aubrey were dealing with the manor in 1637 and 1639. (fn. 63)

It may have been either of the above estates that was owned by George Savage in the early 18th century, (fn. 64) when it included a chief messuage called the Farm. After his death between 1732 and 1737 his estate, sometimes referred to as a manor, (fn. 65) descended in turn to his son, the Revd. Thomas Savage (d. 1760), (fn. 66) to Thomas's son, George (d. c. 1793), and jointly to the second George's three sisters and two nieces. (fn. 67) By 1813 the estate, not then called a manor, was owned by Messrs. Fendell and Evans. (fn. 68) In 1816 the ownership passed to a Mrs. Hebblet, and by 1818 James Lawrence, the former lessee, had bought it. (fn. 69) The estate became the nucleus of the Staverton Court estate built up by Capt. D. L. St. Clair (fn. 70) in the mid-19th century. Staverton Court, near the house formerly called the Farm (which came to be known as Staverton Court Farm) was built c. 1825. (fn. 71) It stands in extensive grounds west of the old road to Cheltenham, and is a large stuccoed house, of two stories, with cornice and parapeted roof. The windows on the ground floor have verandahs. Staverton Court was owned by the St. Clair family, which became one of the principal landowners in the parish, until the late 19th century. Thereafter its ownership changed frequently. (fn. 72) The estate was broken up in the 1930's, most of the land becoming part of Staverton Court Farm. (fn. 73) In 1964 Mr. G. B. Gray was the owner of Staverton Court.

Land in Staverton belonged to the Cravens' manor of Boddington, (fn. 74) and in 1436 Joan Toky's estate in Evington included 17s. rent in Staverton. (fn. 75)

Economic History.

The estate of the abbey of St. Denis in Staverton comprised three hides in 1086. No details were given then of the number of tenants or the amount of demesne land. (fn. 76) The three hides may represent less than the whole of the abbey's estate in Staverton, unless it was enlarged later by the clearing of new land, for in the 14th century one holding alone comprised two plough-lands. (fn. 77) Some land in Staverton may have been recorded in 1086 as part of Uckington, with which Staverton was closely linked. No evidence has been found that Deerhurst Priory kept any part of Staverton in demesne, and after the Reformation the owners of Staverton and Uckington do not appear to have had any demesne land in Staverton. (fn. 78)

By 1327 Staverton seems to have included one large holding and a number of small ones, for one man, John Sage, was assessed for tax at 4s. 2d., almost half the comparatively low total for the vill, and the seven others were each assessed at 1s. or less. (fn. 79) John Sage's estate was perhaps the one, later held by the Whittington family, which came to be regarded as a separate manor. (fn. 80) In 1387 it comprised two messuages and two plough-lands, and apparently included tenants' holdings. At that time it was regarded as part of the manor of Leigh. (fn. 81) In 1496 the estate included 240 a. of land, 30 a. of meadow, and 70 a. of pasture in Staverton and other places. (fn. 82) It seems that the rest of Deerhurst Priory's land in Staverton was by the 14th century held mainly by free tenants. Reynold atte Townsend, who had a tenement in Staverton in 1328, (fn. 83) and in 1334 acquired 20 a. there from the Prior of Deerhurst, (fn. 84) was evidently a substantial landholder, for he was responsible for building Staverton Bridge. His estate may have become part of the Whittingtons' manor of Staverton, for in 1387 John Browning held land called Reynold's tenements. (fn. 85) Thomas Prick held at least 28 a. in Staverton of Deerhurst Priory in 1345, (fn. 86) and in 1352 Nicholas of Ampney was a freeholder in Staverton. (fn. 87) John Edwards, described as of Staverton in 1430, (fn. 88) was dealing with an estate there in 1452. (fn. 89) In 1535 the rent from the free tenants of Deerhurst Priory in Staverton amounted to considerably more than that of customary tenants. (fn. 90)

After the Dissolution the land in Staverton continued to be held mainly by freeholders, who may have had fairly large holdings as their numbers were few. A survey of the manor of Uckington and Staverton in 1631 records no copyholders, and only four freeholders, in Staverton. The freeholders apparently paid only cash rents. (fn. 91) Court rolls of the manor from 1777 to 1844 contain no reference to copyholders. (fn. 92) One allotment at inclosure in 1803 was for a copyhold estate; almost all the others were for freeholds, and a few for leaseholds. (fn. 93)

Although Staverton was closely connected with Uckington manor its open fields, at least by the 16th century, were distinct from those of Uckington. (fn. 94) Some of the fields extended into Boddington parish, (fn. 95) and it is possible that the lands of the two parishes lay intermingled in those fields until inclosure; alternatively it may be that the same names were used for adjacent fields in each parish. The manors of Staverton and Boddington evidently had their own groups of fields. The fields of Staverton were regulated by orders in the manor court of Uckington and Staverton. (fn. 96) By 1572 there were at least four fields in Staverton: Little field, Elmhill, Bridge field, and another, (fn. 97) and in the 17th century the names Broadfield, Westcroft field, and Ashfield were also used. (fn. 98) Broadfield lay north of Staverton village, stretching into Boddington, Westcroft west of the village, Little field on the north-west side of the parish (also partly in Boddington), and Ashfield on the north-east side. (fn. 99) Bridge field, not named in 1803, was apparently in the south part of the parish near Staverton Bridge. The fields were divided into furlongs, (fn. 100) and holdings lay in lands or selions of between ¼ a. and ⅓ a. (fn. 101) Some land, particularly that belonging to the larger estates in the parish, was inclosed before the parliamentary inclosure of 1803, but until 1803 about half the land still lay in the open fields. (fn. 102) Staverton had no large area of common pasture. The vicar's glebe in 1572 included lot meadow in Haw Meadow in Deerhurst parish, (fn. 103) but most of the lot meadow was in Boddington Moor. (fn. 104)

Farming in Staverton was, before inclosure, predominantly arable. About 1700 the land was said to be good for corn but not for meadow. (fn. 105) Few references to sheep have been found, and the fact may indicate their relative unimportance in the husbandry of the parish. In the late 18th century Staverton was described as mostly tillage. (fn. 106) Wheat and barley were the main crops in 1801 when 291 a. altogether were returned as sown. (fn. 107)

The open fields of Staverton and Boddington were inclosed by a single Act and award of 1803. (fn. 108) The award was made by only one commissioner, and it was remarked in 1807 that this had saved time and expense, the inclosure being made for less than £1 an acre. (fn. 109) The award dealt with small old inclosures as well as the open fields. In Staverton much the largest allotment was that to the vicar for glebe and tithe, which in both parishes totalled 290 a. Apart from land in Staverton that formed part of two of the larger allotments lying mainly in Boddington, there were 4 allotments wholly or mainly in Staverton of 25–100 a., and 13 under 20 a., of which 7 were less than 3 a. (fn. 110)

In 1815 there were five fairly large holdings, and c. 20 small ones; (fn. 111) during the 19th century some of the smaller holdings were merged in the Staverton Court estate. (fn. 112) In the late 19th century the largest estates were the Staverton Court Estate, the Staverton House farm of c. 280 a., (fn. 113) and the vicarage estate; the rest of the farms were small. Six farmers were recorded in 1870; the number had risen to 14 by 1889, but later decreased again to seven. In 1935 three farms were over 150 a. (fn. 114) During the 19th century there was a decline in arable farming in the parish, and a corresponding increase in pasture and meadow. In 1901 140 a. were arable and 678 a. were permanent pasture and meadow, (fn. 115) and in 1933 there were only small areas of arable. (fn. 116) In 1964 the farming included arable, beef and dairy cattle, and poultry.

A tailor and a shoemaker were recorded in 1608. (fn. 117) In 1801 66 people were said to be occupied in agriculture compared with 13 in trade and industry. In 1831 there were 37 families supported by agriculture and 6 by trade or industry. (fn. 118) In the late 19th and early 20th century the parish had a few tradesmen and shops, and included, from 1889 to 1909, a catgut manufacturer. (fn. 119) With the increase in population during and after the Second World War the social character of the parish changed: the new population, particularly that of the caravan sites, worked mainly in industry outside the parish, especially in the large factories close to Staverton on the main road. Several small factories and workshops were opened in Staverton south of the main road after the Second World War.

Local Government.

In the early 18th century there was a joint constable for Staverton and Uckington (fn. 120) who was chosen at the court of Uckington manor. Staverton had a tithingman elected at the same court by the late 18th century, and a hayward from 1780. In 1822 a separate constable for Staverton was elected. (fn. 121) It was said in the 18th century that Staverton and Uckington were taxed jointly for some purposes. (fn. 122)

Churchwardens' accounts for Staverton survive from 1818. (fn. 123) Expenditure on poor relief more than doubled between 1783 and 1803, when £104 was spent on six people receiving permanent relief and six receiving occasional relief. (fn. 124) In the 1830's the parish owned a cottage at Staverton Bridge which was let to poor families. (fn. 125) In 1835 Staverton became part of the Cheltenham Poor Law Union, (fn. 126) and in 1964 was still part of the Cheltenham Rural District. The parish council met regularly from 1894.

Church.

Staverton was presumably once part of the parish of Deerhurst. There was a church there by 1297 when a vicar was presented by the Prior of Deerhurst. (fn. 127) The chapel of Boddington was annexed to Staverton church by the 16th century (fn. 128) and probably from its foundation.

The advowson belonged to Deerhurst Priory until the Dissolution. (fn. 129) In 1557 it was granted to Thomas Gratwick and Anselm Lamb, (fn. 130) and by 1603 it belonged to the owners of Boddington manor (fn. 131) with which it descended until 1880. (fn. 132) Thomas Purnell, who was vicar as well as patron, retained the patronage (fn. 133) when he sold the manor; the advowson descended to his son, Robert Purnell, and in 1921 passed to the Bishop of Gloucester. (fn. 134)

The clear annual value of the vicarage, with Boddington chapel, was £12 in 1535. The vicar's glebe was 59 a., and he paid a pension of 8s. to Deerhurst Priory; (fn. 135) the pension was perhaps for the great tithes which may have belonged to the vicar then as in the early 18th century. (fn. 136) The living was valued at £100 in 1650, (fn. 137) and also 100 years later. (fn. 138) The glebe comprised c. 117 selions in the open fields of Staverton, a house, and several closes. (fn. 139) At inclosure in 1803 the vicar received 51 a. in Staverton for glebe, and 159 a. in Staverton and Boddington for the tithes of both parishes. (fn. 140) The value of the living was £450 in 1814, (fn. 141) and it remained about the same during the 19th century. (fn. 142) In 1819 the vicar was not living in the glebe house because it was too small, although it was said to be in good repair. (fn. 143) A new house was built between 1819 and 1824 south of the church and close to it. (fn. 144) It is a large twostoried house, stuccoed, with a hipped slate roof and wide eaves. The front entrance has a stone portico with Doric columns and an ornamented frieze. During the 19th century the curates usually lived in the vicarage, the vicars living in Boddington manor. (fn. 145) About 1900 a new vicarage was built, of red brick, close to the former vicarage which then became a private house. Most of the glebe was sold in the early 20th century, and in 1964 22 a. remained. (fn. 146)

In 1345 Thomas Prick of Staverton gave 28 a. to support a chaplain to celebrate mass daily in the chapel of St. Mary in Staverton church. (fn. 147) Another 14 a. were granted to the chantry of St. Mary in 1352 by Nicholas of Ampney. (fn. 148) No later evidence of the chantry has been found, and it had apparently lapsed by the mid-16th century.

Between 1348 and 1353 the parish had six different vicars. (fn. 149) None of the medieval vicars is known to have been a graduate. The vicar in 1540 was holding two benefices; the cure was served by a curate paid by the vicar. (fn. 150) From 1559 to c. 1579 the living was held probably by one man called variously John Braithwaite, Brayford, and Brasset. He was resident but had little knowledge of Latin or scripture, (fn. 151) and in 1563 the churchwardens complained that services were not held regularly. (fn. 152) The next vicar was neither a graduate nor a preacher, (fn. 153) and in 1593 he was presented for incontinence. (fn. 154) Thomas Bannister, vicar from 1598 to 1627, was probably a member of a family holding land in the parish. Several of the 18th-century vicars were not resident, the parish being served by curates. (fn. 155) About 1743 services were held alternately in the morning and afternoon with Boddington, (fn. 156) and so they were in 1825. (fn. 157) John Neale, presented in 1794, held the living for 47 years. From c. 1803 he held Boddington manor in trust and lived there, while a curate usually lived in Staverton. (fn. 158) In the thirties Neale was involved in quarrels and law-suits with some of his parishioners. (fn. 159) Thomas Purnell, vicar 1841–92, owned Boddington manor, where he lived, and his son, Robert Purnell, was vicar until 1898. (fn. 160) From 1917 to 1957, following a libel action brought by the patron, Robert Purnell, against the vicar, G. A. E. Pearson, the living was sequestrated and the cure was served by a curate-incharge. (fn. 161) Services were held every week in Staverton church in 1964. (fn. 162)

Land and a cottage given at an unknown date for the poor and the repair of the church produced £3 in 1683, (fn. 163) and by 1743 the income had risen to £6. (fn. 164) From c. 1750 the money was used only for the upkeep of the church, (fn. 165) and at inclosure in 1803 8 a. were allotted for Staverton church land. (fn. 166) There was a lawsuit between the vicar and the churchwardens c. 1816 about the use of the rent from the church land, and for several years afterwards the rent was used to pay the expenses of the suit. In 1958 the income from the land and from another 2 a. was £17 10s. (fn. 167) A charitable endowment by Jessie Mary Maud Purnell was partly for the repair of Staverton Church. (fn. 168)

The church of ST. CATHERINE, formerly called the church of St. John the Baptist, (fn. 169) is of stone and brick with a Cotswold stone roof, comprising nave, chancel, north transept, short south transeptal tower, and south porch. The proportions and position of the tower give the church an unusual appearance. The nave and chancel, not separated by a chancel arch, are of rubble masonry and are perhaps of the 13th century; a small north doorway in the chancel may be of the same period. The east window and the south windows of the chancel and nave were renewed in the 14th century. The south window of the chancel replaced a priest's doorway. The tower, or a transept in the position of the tower, was built on the south side of the nave in the 14th century. The lower stage of the tower had a stone vault, traces of which remained in 1964, but the vault had been replaced by a flat ceiling and the tower was open to the nave, forming a transept. It was evidently used as a chapel in the 14th century, for a piscina of that date can be seen in the south wall, and it was probably the chapel of St. Mary mentioned in 1345. (fn. 170) The blocked west doorway of the tower is of the 14th century; the three-light south window is of the same period, but appears to have been inserted, perhaps having formerly been at the west end of the nave. The tower, recorded c. 1700, (fn. 171) is of ashlar, in two stages, and has an external stair-vice, from which the stairs have been removed. The tower appears to have undergone considerable alterations, and the battlements are dated 1712. The north transept opposite the tower, and also built of ashlar, is perhaps of the 15th century, and its 14th-century windows may have been taken from the north wall of the nave, which has no north windows and has a crown-post roof of the 15th century. The 15th-century work may have been the reason for the consecration of the church in 1470. (fn. 172)

By c. 1850 heavy buttresses had been added to the tower and transept. (fn. 173) The church was restored between 1870 and 1885. (fn. 174) The stairs were removed from the tower, a west gallery was taken down, and the church was reseated. (fn. 175) The walls of the nave and transept were partly rebuilt in brick and the 14thcentury windows were restored. A south porch was added, adjoining the west side of the tower, and a brick vestry was built on the north side of the chancel. It was presumably at the same time that the window was put into the west end of the nave to replace a doorway, and the arches to the tower and transept were rebuilt.

The east window of the chancel has a reset fragment of 14th-century glass showing the Crucifixion. (fn. 176) Although it was said c. 1700 that the church had no monuments, (fn. 177) a floor-slab for Thomas Bannister (d. 1627) can be seen in the chancel. Other monuments are of the late 18th century and the 19th. Two of the bells are medieval and the other is of 1771. (fn. 178) The plate includes an alms-dish of 1678, and a paten of 1726; (fn. 179) in 1680 the church had a silver cup and a pewter flagon. (fn. 180) The registers are virtually complete from 1538.

A mission church was opened in 1893 (fn. 181) in a small iron building on the main road in the Golden Valley. A curate was living at the Golden Valley in 1897. (fn. 182) The mission church was closed c. 1960 and the building pulled down. The Golden Valley mission church shared in Miss Purnell's charity, and after it had been closed the charity was used to provide transport to Staverton church for the people living in the Golden Valley area. (fn. 183)

Nonconformity.

Three nonconformists were recorded in Staverton in 1676, (fn. 184) but no later reference to nonconformists has been found until 1834. In that year one house, and in 1835 two houses, were being used by Protestant dissenters for worship. (fn. 185)

Schools.

There was a school in Staverton by 1824 in a building east of the village on the old road to Cheltenham, (fn. 186) and in 1825 there was said to be a day school open to all the children of the parish. (fn. 187) By 1833 the parish had a mixed school supported by private contributions and fees, serving Boddington also, and two girls' schools supported by fees. Two Sunday schools were supported by the vicar and Mrs. St. Clair of Staverton Court respectively. (fn. 188) A Church of England mixed school was opened in 1874 in a red-brick building in the village, built in 1873. There were c. 80 children and two teachers. (fn. 189) A school board for Staverton and Boddington was formed by 1879, (fn. 190) and the former Church school premises were used for a board school, which in 1889 had an average attendance of 80. (fn. 191) Attendance had increased to 108 by 1906, (fn. 192) and there were separate mixed and infant departments from 1910. (fn. 193) The number of children had fallen to 42 in 1938, (fn. 194) and in 1964, when the older children went to Cheltenham or Bishop's Cleeve, there were c. 32 children. (fn. 195)

Charities.

By 1612 four sums of money amounting to £8 10s. had been given to the churchwardens for the poor of the parish by Joan Malvern, Robert Bower, Nicholas Rogers, and Thomas Bannister. (fn. 196) In 1683 £2 for the poor was presumably derived partly from those charities, and the £3 income from the church land was partly for alms. (fn. 197) A sum of £4 for the use of 'decayed housekeepers' was recorded c. 1700, (fn. 198) but was not mentioned later. In the early 18th century it was said that of £16 from land given for the poor £12 had been lost. (fn. 199) The only charities for the poor recorded in 1826 were the ones mentioned in 1612, from which the income was then 6s., distributed annually to six people. (fn. 200) Those charities were apparently lost soon after. The poor and sick of Staverton shared in Jessie Mary Maud Purnell's charity for Staverton and Boddington, founded by will proved 1937. (fn. 201)

Footnotes