Elberton, Gloucestershire

History

The name Elberton means the farmstead of a man called Æthelbeorht. The name dates back to at least 1086, when the village was listed in the Domesday Book. In 1931 the parish had a population of 137. On 1 April 1935, the parish was abolished and merged with Aust.

Elberton Camp

The earthworks of an Iron Age defended settlement, Elberton Camp, can be found in the Vineyards Brake woodland overlooking the village.

Quakers

In 1654, in the wake of the English Civil War, the influential early Quaker preachers John Audland and John Camm held a meeting in the village of "1000 people". Elberton and neighbouring villages remained home to many Quaker families, such as the Goldney family who from 1674 owned Elberton Manor over multiple generations. The family later sold the manor to the Sturge family, who were also Quakers.

Later generations of the Sturge family included the leading abolitionists Joseph Sturge (1793–1859) and Sophia Sturge (1795–1845) who were both born in the village. Joseph Sturge purchased a sugar plantation in Montserrat and renamed it Elberton, hoping to demonstrate the commercial viability of a plantation built on free waged-labour, as opposed to slave labour.There is contradiction between sources on whether the plantation was purchased in 1837 or 1857.

Quarry

On the edge of the village lies the former Harn Hill quarry, which has since been filled in as a landfill site. The expansion of the quarry in 1960s saw the demolition of a number of buildings, including the old vicarage. The landfill now serves as a source for biogas generation, producing 2.6MW for the national grid.

Miscellaneous

From 1799 to 1802 the Welsh antiquarian Edward Davies was curate to the village.

The organist and composer Basil Harwood composed a hymn tune named after the village.

St John's Church

The tower of the Church of St John the Evangelist dates back to the 14th century, while the rest of the church was mostly rebuilt in 1858, and the spire refurbished in 2000. The graveyard includes a number of Grade II listed tombs.

Notes

References

References

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7. Horle, Craig W.. (1981). "John Camm: Profile of a Quaker Minister During the Interregnum". Quaker History.
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10. (2004). "Goldney, Thomas (1696–1768), ironmaster".
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13. (23 September 2004). "Sturge, Joseph (1793–1859), philanthropist".
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16. Fergus, Howard. (1982). "Montserrat's Days of Lime and Cotton". Caribbean Quarterly.
17. "Aust Parish – Olveston and Aust Community Website".
18. "Harn Hill Quarry Landfill Site Landfill Gas Renewable energy scheme / Landfill Gas".
19. (2004). "Davies, Edward (1756–1831), antiquary and author".
20. "Tune: ELBERTON".
21. (1997). "Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland". Bloomsbury Publishing.
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23. "Historic England".