Historical Descriptions of Leckhampton

Leckhampton, a parish in the hundred of Cheltenham, county Gloucester, 2 miles S.W. of Cheltenham, its post town. In this parish is the Devil's Chimney, a peak of the Cotswold hills. The village, which is considerable, was formerly a market town under the Despencers, and came through the Giffards and Norwoods to the Fryes. There is a tramway for the conveyance of stone in connection with the branch railway from Cheltenham to Gloucester. The soil is clayey, and subsoil gravel and limestone. Stone is quarried for building purposes, and for burning into lime. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1778.

The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £356. The parish church, dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient structure, with a spired tower containing six bells. The interior of the church contains several monuments and mural tablets, and a brass of W. Norwood, bearing date 1598.

There is also a district church, consecrated in May, 1840, the living of which is a perpetual curacy This church, dedicated to SS. Philip and James, is situated near Cheltenham Park. There is a National school for both sexes. Leckhampton Court, the principal residence, is an ancient mansion built in the reign of Henry VII., but since modernised. The Rev. Charles Brandon Trye, M.A., is lord of the manor.

Leckhampton, a village and a parish in Cheltenham district, Gloucester. The village stands under the Cotswolds, 2½ miles S of Cheltenham r. station; was once a market town; and has a post office under Cheltenham. -The parish contains also outskirts of Cheltenham, with numerous villas. Acres, 1, 330. Real property, £13, 617; of which £100 are in quarries. Pop. in 1851, 2, 149; in 1861, 2, 523. Houses, 459. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged to the Despencers; passed to the Giffards, the Norwoods, and the Tryes; and, with Leckhampton court, belongs now to the Rev.B. Trye. Leckhampton Hill is a steep and curious member of the Cotswolds; has an altitude of 979 feet; comprising 749 of lias formations, and 230 of inferior oolites; includes, in the latter, a fossiliferous freestone, quarried for building; and commands, at the summit, a most exquisite view. A tramway, for the conveyance of stone, leads from the foot of the hill. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £400.* Patron, the Rev.B. Trye. The church is of the 15th century; was repaired and enlarged in 1866, at a cost of £1, 800; comprises nave, S aisle, chancel, and porch, with tower and spire; and contains several fine mural tablets. A church, called St. Philip and St. James, was recently erected near Cheltenham Park; and is a tasteful structure, served by a p. curate, appointed by trustees. There are national schools.