Gloucester House

Nos. 2/4 Gloucester Road, Thornbury

The house now known as Gloucester House was built by John Hodges, a Thornbury builder, between 1840 and 1852.  This information is derived from two sources:

The 1840 Tithe Map shows that Gloucester House is located on the plot of land referred to as Plot 244.  There is no building on the land in 1840 – it was just a garden at that time.  The garden was owned by James Ford, a maltster and rented by Aaron Marsh, a glazier, tinplate worker and brazier whose shop was in the High Street.

An indenture dated 24 August 1852 shows that John Hodges had bought the land from James Ford and built a house and other buildings on it.  Later in this indenture is a reference to a prior indenture of 26th March 1842 between James Ford, John Hodges and George Scarlett the younger.  We have provisionally assumed that this indenture describes the transfer of land from James Ford to John Hodges and gives us a slightly better picture of when the house was built.  George Scarlett appears to be acting as the solicitor.

The indenture of 1852 also makes it clear that the house was divided into two households; John Hodges in the one and his daughter, Emma and her husband John Williams in the other.

The 1851 census is confusing.  There are very few houses listed and no vacant houses indicated.  It is impossible to say with any certainty who is living in which house.  We are also unsure as to whether Gloucester House was built at the time of the census.  Although the 1852 Indenture shows that the house had been built by that time, it is possible that at the time of the census, John and Emma were living in another house in the terrace whilst their house was being built.

Our 'best guess' is that John & Emma were living at Gloucester House and John Hodges living at number 16.  Although John Hodges was 65 at the time of the 1851 census, he was still active as a builder and he is shown in the census as employing 6 men.  George Hodges had also married by 1851 and he and his first wife were living at what we now know to be number 22.  George was a carpenter employing 2 men.  James Hodges, the wheelwright, had moved with his family to St John Street.

John and Emma continued living in the house up to the time of their deaths, both in 1897.  Click here to see a fuller description of their lives.

The naming of Gloucester House - The first record of the property being known by this name that we have seen is a handwritten agreement written by the Williams family (or their solicitor) in 1894.  Thus it would appear that the name was used shortly after the adoption of the name of Gloucester Road.  It is found later in the parish records referring to the baptism of John Arthur Merrick Williams on 11th April 1902, and was later used regularly in trade directories.

House numbering: there was no official numbering of houses in Thornbury until about 1952, although some houses within terraces were given numbers earlier.  Our earliest reference to Gloucester House being No 2 Gloucester Road is the 1954 electoral register.  Strangely the maps drawn from the 1950’s onwards show the property to have two numbers Nos. 2 and 4.  Presumably this was because the house was split into two units at the time of the numbering, and occupied as separate dwellings.

  Click on the following link for more information on the OCCUPANTS  of Gloucester House.

This page was last updated: 23/03/2007