Diocese of Gloucester
Who are we?
The diocese is the Anglican (Church of England) family of God in and around Gloucestershire.
The Church touches almost every person’s life in Gloucestershire, whether they are regular worshippers, occasional visitors or passers-by. Our buildings are important focal landmarks and significant community and historic assets. We have over 300 parishes and 390 churches in Gloucestershire and beyond, and a core set of records about every community in Gloucestershire, which we keep at Gloucestershire Archives. The records cover every one of our parishes and include parish registers dating back to 1539, records relating to policing, road maintenance and looking after the poor (formerly a parish responsibility), Parochial Church Council minutes and parish magazines. People use them for family and local history research.
The Diocese of Gloucester is one of the founder members of the fledgling Gloucestershire Heritage Hub network, initially comprising ‘For the Record’ key stakeholders
Parish of Haresfield Register 1558 - 1654
Part of Gloucestershire Heritage Hub
We have been working with Gloucestershire County Council since the early 1900s to care for our parish and diocesan records, continuously depositing these at the County Archives since 1974. So we are delighted to be joining Gloucestershire Archives and other ‘For the Record’ stakeholders as members of the newly launched ‘Gloucestershire Heritage Hub’ community. This new working arrangement secures provision for local archives, including future Diocesan records, both physical and digital.
‘Name the Strong Room’ for Diocese of Gloucester
As part of our involvement in the ‘For the Record’ project, Diocese of Gloucester is excited to be naming one of the new strong rooms that are due to be built at Gloucestershire Archives. We have organised a competition for this, inviting parishes to send in suggestions. The parish that comes up with the winning name will be offered a group tour of the new Gloucestershire Heritage Hub facility at Alvin Street, Gloucester, including a peep at the three new strong rooms that will house the next generation of archives. They will also get to see a unique display of archives relating to their area.
You can view our Gloucestershire Archives blog here at https://gloucestershirearchives.wordpress.com/