History of Laburnum Terrace

Thornbury, South Gloucestershire

This website presents the results of research undertaken by Chris & Sandra Doig on behalf of the Thornbury Museum Research Group, to investigate the history of the part of Gloucester Road in which we live.  We are very grateful to all the members of the group, especially Meg Wise, for all the photographs and documents that they shared with us.  It provides a brief summary of the early history of Laburnum Terrace, the row of houses now known as numbers 8 - 22 Gloucester Road, with details of the owners and occupiers of each property.  We are gradually extending the coverage to include all houses between the Royal George and the Workhouse.

The information is as accurate as possible from the sources we have found so far and will be updated as we find more.  Please go to the Feedback page if you have further information, documents or photographs and can add to, or correct,  what you find here.

It includes sections on the characters who played an important role in the history of Laburnum Terrace:

• John Hodges who was the builder who started the terrace

• George Hodges, John's son, who finished off the building and lived in terrace all his life

• Emma Hodges, John's daughter, and her husband, John Williams whose family became major property owners in Thornbury as well as owning several houses in the terrace.

Most of the houses in Laburnum Terrace were built over a long period between 1830 and 1870.  They were built by a local builder, John Hodges, and his sons.  The house now known as No. 22 was built earlier and purchased by John Hodges from James Ford, a maltster.  There is one thing which has puzzled many of the more recent residents of the terrace - click here to learn more about this mystery.

Prior to the building of the terrace, the land was an orchard and garden on the edge of Thornbury.  The houses were built very much on the outer fringe of the town.  The next building down Gloucester Road was the Workhouse which was deliberately built right outside the town in 1837.

This page was last updated: 22/01/2012

Chris and Sandra Doig