Dymock

"DYMOCK, a parish in the hundred of Botloe, in the county of Gloucester, 4 miles N.W. of Newent, and 4 S. of Ledbury, said to have derived its name from dint and acle, the "dark oak", for which it was in early times famous. It is situated on the river Leaden, and is intersected by the Gloucester and Hereford canal. It is now only a straggling village, but in the reign of Henry III. was a place of considerable importance, having a weekly market and three annual fairs, all long since disused. In the time of Edward III. the Dymokes, champions of England, had possession of the manor, and a seat known as the Old Grange formed part of the demesne of Flaxley-Abbey.

"Castle Tump", an eminence in the neighbourhood, is said to have been raised by Cromwell as a post of observation, near to which is the seat of the Wyntours, an old moated building, which was garrisoned for Charles I. The White House is celebrated as the birthplace of John Kyle, the Man of Ross, immortalised by Pope. Roger Dimoc, a Dominican friar, who lived in the 14th century, is also said to have been born in this parish.

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £104, in the patronage of General Drummond. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a cruciform structure, said to be of the 11th or 12th century. A chantry was maintained here, temp. Henry VIII. It has a strong, heavy-looking tower, with a spire, and nave of large dimensions.

The charities produce about £125 per annum, £91 of which is for Mrs. Ann Cam's Charity school, for 100 children of both sexes. The school-house was built in 1825 out of the same fund. Earl Beauchamp and Reginald Wynniatt, Esq., are lords of the manors. Wilton Place, Hill Ash, the Old Grange, and Boyce Court, are the principal residences."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]