Oldland

History

Oldland was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Aldeland, the Saxon name for "old tract of land". Before the Norman Invasion of England, the overlord of Oldland was King Harold Godwinson, who had appointed Alwy as Lord of the area. After the conquest, King William I of England confiscated the land of Oldland and gave it to the Bishop of Exeter as tenant-in-chief. Oldland consisted of six houses with two plough teams. Oldland went through several variations of its name throughout history. Some of the names were Holande, Wholdland, Wooland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Ouldland after the Restoration of the Monarchy and Eland.

Barrs Court

Barrs Court is a moated ancient monument which was part of Kingswood Chase, a royal hunting forest (successor to the larger forest of Kingswood, deforested in 1228). The name comes from Lady Jane Barre who owned the land in the mid 15th Century. A manor house existed here from 1485, owned by the Newton family, until it was dismantled in 1740 and replaced with a farmhouse, which is now a ruin. There are a number of monuments in Bristol Cathedral to the Newton family.

One of the original outbuildings, the large cruciform tithe barn, was converted in the late 1980s into a public house; it is now an Indian restaurant.

Church

Oldland had a chapel constructed in 1280. The churchyard contained a large yew tree which had been growing since the Tudor period. It remained standing until 2020 when it was blown down by a storm. In 1827, the medieval chapel was demolished following Oldland being made its own parish. The newly constructed St Annes Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield and the Bishop of Gloucester. In 1981, it was granted grade II listed building status by English Heritage. The church's vicarage and gateway were each granted separate grade II listings.

References

References

1. "The District of South Gloucestershire (Electoral Changes) Order 1998". OPSI.
2. "Historical Timelines Oldland". Warmley District.
3. "Oldland". Open Domesday.
4. "Exeter (St Peter), bishop of". Open Domesday.
5. "Moated site 725m north east of Mount Pleasant Farm". Historic England.
6. (24 November 2009}}{{Dead link). "Footsteps into History - Barrs Court". Bristol Post.
7. "Mughal Palace - Contact & Map".
8. (1830). "Oldland Chapel". R. Newton.
9. (27 February 2020). "Graves to be relocated after 400-year-old tree ripped up in storm". Bristol Post.
10. "CHURCH OF ST ANNE, Oldland". Historic England.
11. "ST ANne's VICARAGE, Oldland". Historic England.
12. "GATEWAY AND DOORS TO ST ANne's VICARAGE, Oldland". Historic England.