Old Sodbury

"OLD SODBURY, a parish in the lower division of Grumbald's Ash hundred, county Gloucester, 1½ mile E. of Chipping-Sodbury, and 3 miles E. of the Yate railway station. The village, which is chiefly agricultural, is situated on the western side of the Cotswold hills. The soil is of various qualities, with a subsoil of clay and limestone. Numerous fossils, including Nautili and Belemites, are found on the side of the hill. In the vicinity is a Roman encampment. The road from Bristol to Chippenham here meets the Bath and Cheltenham road at the "Cross Hands" inn, which owes its name to an ancient Roman coin discovered in the encampment, and bearing the legend, "Caius Marius, Imperator, concordia Militum".

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £460, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient stone structure with a square embattled tower containing one bell. There is a National school for both sexes. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. Lye Grove House is the principal residence. W. H. H. Hartley, Esq., is lord of the manor."

"CROSS HANDS, a hamlet in the parish of Old Sodbury and lower division of the hundred of Grumbalds Ash, in the county of Gloucester, 2 miles E. of Chipping Sodbury."

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