I have just been asked to find out about someone born in Shortwood in the first half of the nineteenth century. The name Shortwood tells me that the family were nonconformists – Baptists in fact. The original site is no longer in use, the graveyard sadly neglected when I last went and took photographs of all the tombstones there a couple of years ago. Some records do remain for the church which is now situated in the town of Nailsworth so it may be possible to locate ancestors who attended the church.
Hidden Heritage
Genealogical Researchers
hi where in nailsworth are the records you speak of. i spent day at glos archives and found my gggg grandparents are buried in shortwood but they dont have a grave plot plan or map. have you found or seen one please
Hi Charlotte
The records are held at Gloucestershire Archives. They DO have a plan of the graveyard – I have seen it there several times – but it is in an uncatalogued box of records. However, the plan does not exactly relate to the graves that are there now – some graves have been re-used over the years. Email me on ejack@gloster.demon.co.uk with details of who you are seeking and I will see if I can help.
Liz
Hi,
I am just looking around and found this site. I am trying to research my family who lived in Nailsworth and I cannot find any burial details.
My gggrandfather was William Hill 1846-1917, and gggrandmother Eliza Milton 1846-1920.
Very little is known about these two, and therefore I am having trouble climbing over the brickwall that has developed and tracing their parents etc.
William was a blacksmith and a churchwarden at the local church, and had 12 children, all living in Nailsworth, and I did read somewhere that he and Eliza were buried at Shortwood but I cannot find any records.
I live in Australia so I have only access to online sites, so any help from you or your readers would be grately appreciated. Thanking you
Hi jasmine
I have a transcription of the Shortwood Burial Book covering the period from 1808 to 1791. Whereas there are quite a few HILLs in the book, there is only one William, who was buried in 1880 aged 69 and nobody called Eliza. Likewise, I have photographs of many of the gravestones in the Shortwood burial ground and none of them appears to have the HILL name on them – some are illegible. If you need to follow up on this response, do please contact me again. You may find your ancestors were buried in Stroud Civic Cemetery. Contact Stroud District Council with the details and they should be able to tell you if they are buried there. Best wishes, Liz