Batsford (GLS - see Note)

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I originally included Batsford on this site because Frederic A Youngs in his Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Volume II - Northern England  listed the parish in the County of Worcester.

I am indebted to Gus Tysoe for showing that there is no evidence to support Youngs' assertion that Batsford or part of that parish was at some time in Worcestershire. Gus has shared with me his in-depth and convincing research and I am happy to share his opinion .

Since my aim is exclusively to help those researching families with their roots in the old county of Worcestershire, as it existed prior to the reorganisation of local government in 1974, it would be misleading to include an entry for Batsford without some qualification,. I have removed the detailed information relating to the parish from this page but have left reference to it in the index for the benefit of those researchers who may wonder why it is listed in Youngs but not on my website.

What follows is an explanation of why Gus and I have come to the above conclusion.

In my original page for Batsford I paraphrased Youngs' entry for the parish as follows:
Batsford was partly in Gloucestershire (Kiftsgate Hundred) and partly in Worcestershire (Oswaldslow Hundred). In 1896 the civil parish was made entirely Gloucestershire.

As his source Youngs cited an Act of Parliament defined as 30 Sept, 59 & 60 Vict, c lxxiv.

Two problems arise in citing that Act as a source. The Act is in no way connected to Worcestershire or Batsford. It is related to Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bridgewater.

It is almost certain that Youngs meant to refer to the Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (No.3) Act 1896, dated 30 Sept, 59 & 60 Vict, c lxxv which refers to the counties of Devon, Dorset, Gloucester, Somerset, Warwick, Wilts and Worcester. (Note the Chapter number lxxv and not lxxiv as quoted in Youngs.) Again, the only section of that Act referring to Worcestershire deals with the transfer of Oldberrow from that county to Warwickshire. There is no reference to Batsford or part of Batsford being in Worcestershire.

In the Section of the Act relating to the counties of Gloucester and Warwick it is stated that:

"The boundary between the Counties of Gloucester and Warwick shall be altered so that the part of the said Parish of Batsford which at present forms part of the Administrative County of Warwick (herein-after referred to as " the transferred area") shall cease to be within that county and shall form part of the Administrative County of Gloucester."

Even though the Act states clearly that a part of Batsford was originally in Warwickshire no mention of it appears under that county in Youngs. That is where it should have been and not in Worcestershire.

To confirm our findings we searched many other sources - censuses, topographical dictionaries, maps etc - but could find no mention of Batsford ever having been in Worcestershire. Hence my decision not to include details of Batsford on this site.